“You listen to everything I say,” Dante cut in quickly. “When your parents don’t let you do something, come and find me.”
Mia shook her head. “Don’t even think about it, D.”
He laughed and looked down at his Godson. “So, little man, have they given you a name yet?”
“Do you want to tell him, babe?” Mia asked. Mia and I had decided on a name earlier as we held him. I’d even relented to her request of a middle name when she told me what she wanted it to be. Dante looked up at me expectantly.
“Meet Lincoln Charles Foster.”
Chapter Forty
Mia
“Bet you’ll be glad to get home,” Luc said, as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“Hospitals have always made me uneasy,” I admitted to him. “I just want to get him settled at home.” My index finger brushed across the chubby cheek of my child.
Lincoln Charles Foster. I couldn’t stop looking at him. For nine months I’d grown this tiny life inside of me, unsure of what would happen when he arrived, and now that he was here, I was completely besotted. A mixture of myself and Luc in a tiny bundle of perfection. His arrival only confirmed that I would do everything in my power to keep him safe. Although, I wasn’t sure how I’d get anything done when I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.
“What are you doing here?”
Finally, I looked up to see Maria at the doorway, holding onto Dom. “Is he here?” she asked, ignoring Luc.
“Get out.”
“Luc,” I said to him. “I asked her to come and meet her grandson.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked, looking at me. Luc was the one used to being in control. He was the one who called the shots, and I was the one who followed his lead, but this time I needed to take the reins.
“Your mother has agreed to help me with arranging some events for the family. She just wants to be a part of her grandson’s life. Link’s not exactly rich in grandparents.”
Luc had caught on to the compromise that I’d struck with Maria. This wasn’t a deal he had bargained; this was all down to me and my honor code and I intended to keep my word. “Next time I’d appreciate some warning.”
“Where is he?” Maria asked. She’d stepped into the room and Dom had helped her settle into a chair.
“I’m going to grab some coffee,” Dom told us, realizing the need for privacy. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Luc carefully lifted Link out of his bed and crossed over to his mom. I watched from the bed as he placed Link into her arms, staying close by due to her unsteadiness. “He is beautiful,” Maria breathed and pressed a kiss to his head.
“Lincoln,” Luc informed her. “We call him Link.”
“Lincoln,” she repeated and then looked up at Luc. “I am proud of you.”
Luc may not have been impressed with my decision to invite Maria back into our lives, but watching the three of them now, it was a decision I could live with. Both of my parents had left us, and Charlie would never get the chance to meet his grandson, so this was just as much for Link as it was for Maria.
“What a touching family picture.” Xavier stood at the door with Emilia beside him and I felt myself pale.
“Xavier,” Luc said, rising from his seat and taking Link with him. “We requested no visitors.”
When Luc had broken the news to everyone, I’d asked him to add a note saying we would see everyone soon enough. I was tired after giving birth and not quite ready to share Link with the rest of the world. Those we considered immediate family had been the only exception, but Xavier didn’t seem to want to adhere to the rules we’d set out.
His eyes flitted between the three adults in the room and I felt my heart in my throat. Maria being in the same room as myself and Luc was cause for suspicion when we knew his dirty secret.
“It’s been a while, Maria,” Emilia said, and Luc’s mom gave a curt nod.
“It would have been sooner if you’d attended Stefan’s funeral.”
“Unfortunately, there was a clash in my calendar. I’m sure you’d understand that family always comes first.” Emilia was making the point that Stefan wasn’t one of them, but it felt like a low blow. Like the death of Maria’s youngest was an inconvenience that had cropped up in Emilia’s schedule and so she’d chosen to overlook it.
