11
LIANA
“You want to know what I really miss from before I got pregnant?” Izzy asks, walking into my apartment and tossing her coat and bag on my counter. “Wine. I haven’t had a sip of wine inmonths.”
I glance down at the two glasses of rosé I’m pouring for Amalia and me. “Is that a hint that you don’t want us to drink?”
“Oh, no, drink enough for me too.” She looks at my glass longingly, like she’s been yearning for it forever. “I’m just saying, a glass of wine would be really nice right about now.”
“You know, they say one glass of wine is highly unlikely to affect the baby,” Lux says.
“Oh, yeah, and are you willing to risk that with yours?” Izzy asks.
Lux shakes her head. “Oh, no. I’m too paranoid for that. Water has been my best friend during this pregnancy. Nice, safe, and bland. It’s doing me and baby girl well.” She taps her stomach.
“Exactly.” Izzy looks back at the glass I hand to Amalia with that look of longing in her eyes again.
Amalia freezes midair. “Are you sure you’re okay with us drinking? I don’t mind?—”
“No, it’s fiiine. I’ll just be here. Watching. Waiting. Imagining it’s my lips touching the rim of that glass instead of yours.” Izzy says it so dramatically, I roll my eyes.
A laugh bubbles from Amalia’s lips. “Are you done with your theatrics?”
“Will I ever be?” Izzy says with a wink.
We head into my living room and take a seat on my sectional couch.
“I still can’t believe we’re going to be aunts soon,” I say. “How have the boys been holding up?”
“I have to beg Teo to let me out of his sight,” Lux says.
“Same with Nicco,” Izzy says. “I thought that boy was overly protective before, but now it’s like my every move is being watched. You know he wanted to come over here tonight with me?”
“Teo too,” Lux laughs out, shaking her head.
“That sounds about right,” I say. “You want to know who I’m interested to see how he acts around his pregnant wife?” I raise a brow at Lux and Izzy, then glance at Amalia, who’s sipping her wine.
Her eyes widen and she nearly chokes. “E-Enzo? Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine…” She pauses for a moment, surely contemplating those words we all know are false.
“Actually, that man is completely unhinged,” she continues. “There’s a possibility he’d lock me in our room.”
We all laugh.
“I don’t think I could handle a man like that,” I say, then take a sip of my wine.
“I don’t know. The protectivenessiskind of hot,” Izzy says.
“I always thought a guy like that would be overbearing too,” Amalia says, “but there’s something really fucking?—”
“Sexy about it,” Lux finishes. “When your man goes feral with this need to keep you safe… Or he’s just so blatantly obsessed with you. I don’t know. It’s all pretty hot.”
“Agreed,” Izzy says with a nod. “It’s like the ultimate form of desire. What’s not to love about that?”
I give a loose shrug. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem like my thing,” I say with a small chuckle.
“You’ll see. One day you’ll find a man who’ll doanythingto keep you safe, and you’ll see where we’re coming from,” Izzy says.
“Eh, we’ll see about that,” I say, brushing her comment off.
