Nina laughs, shaking, and places both hands on her belly, covering mine with one of them.
“I think it’ll be a boy.”
“I don’t think I’d be that lucky,” I say honestly.
We spend some time in silence, enjoying each other’s presence, feeling on our skin and in our chests the unexpected, wonderful turn our lives have taken.
“A child,Little Fae,” I say for what must be the thousandth time today. “You’re carrying my child.”
I cup her cheek and Nina turns her face to kiss my palm before leaning into it.
“We need to tell my mother,” she says after a while, and I laugh nervously.
Do you think she’ll steal the honour of killing me from whoever doesn’t get picked as one of my best men?
“No—but I do think we’ll be forced into a very awkward conversation about contraception.”
I laugh. “I think I can live with that. We also need to tell my parents.”
Nina bites her lip, and the joy on her face wavers.
“You didn’t seem very excited about me meeting them before,” she says cautiously, and I slowly let the air out of my lungs.
“My parents are complicated… I knew sooner or later I’d have to expose you to them, but I tried to spare you as much as possible.”
“Complicated how?”
I let out a humourless laugh. “I don’t think I can explain. But don’t worry—it’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure? We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“You’re going to be my wife, Nina. The mother of my children—all the ones I can convince you to have,” I tease, and the smile I adore returns to her face. “All I want is to show you off.” I kiss her lips softly.
“I love you,” she says against my mouth, and my entire body reacts to the declaration, still hardly believing Nina is finally saying it out loud.
“I love you too, myLittle Fae. Both of you,” I say, returning my hand to her belly.
CHAPTER 36
NINA MARCHESI
“Pregnant?” my mother asks, shifting her gaze between Nero and me as we sit on the sofa, hands intertwined, trying to present a united front. The gesture doesn’t escape her notice, but she says nothing, too shocked by the news she has just received. “Since when?”
“Six weeks. I found out yesterday, in Athens. I fainted and—”
“You fainted?” she interrupts, eyes wide with alarm. “In the street?”
“It was just a typical first-trimester episode, Mom. It only lasted a few minutes.”
“We’re going to make sure that never happens again,” Nero cuts in.
“You can’t control pregnancy symptoms, Nero,” I repeat for what feels like the hundredth time.
Nero made me tell him everything, detail by detail, about how I found out. When I reached the part about fainting, he completely lost it and decided we needed to make sure it never happened again. I explained—repeatedly—that this isn’t something you can predict or prevent, but he refuses to be rational about it.
“But wecanmake sure you’re never alone while they last. If something like that happens again, you won’t be by yourself.”
“I’m pregnant, not sick. I don’t need a babysitter.”
