The room is soft and warm with cream walls and an antique crib that makes me smile every time I see it.
And in the crib, my son.
He's awake, making those soft baby sounds that mean he's content but will demand attention soon. Six months old now. Healthy. Perfect. A miracle after everything that happened.
"Hello sweet boy," I say softly, reaching in to pick him up.
He makes a happy noise, his little hands reaching for my face. He has Adrian's eyes. Silver-gray and already too observant for a baby. He watches everything with an intensity that reminds me of his father.
But he has my smile. And hopefully my temperamentbecause God knows we don't need another Adrian Nero in this world.
One is complicated enough.
I change his diaper, clean him up, talking to him the whole time. He babbles back, nonsense sounds that I pretend to understand.
"We're going to a wedding today," I tell him as I pull out the little suit I bought for this occasion. Black with a tiny bow tie. "Your Aunt Gemma is getting married." I try to sound excited, but I can't.
Gemma is the one thing Adrian and I have fought about lately.
A lot.
Angelo grabs my finger, his grip surprisingly strong, and I smile as I look down at him.
"She loves you so much, you know." I pause, thinking about Gemma. She comes around when Adrian isn't home, and while she won't talk to me about her feelings regarding this wedding, I've seen the way she has curled in on herself and how, when she does see Adrian, her eyes are filled with hatred. I know that look, and I try to warn Adrian that it's more than just defiance. He ignores me, and it pisses me off.
"We are going to do everything to help Aunt Gemma," I say, dressing Angelo carefully. "Even if daddy doesn't like it."
I smile at his little suit. It's ridiculous but also adorable.
"Handsome," I murmur. "Just like your father."
"Talking to yourself?"
I turn. Adrian is in the doorway, dressed now in a black suit that fits him like sin. His hair is still damp from the shower, pushed back from his face. He looks dangerous and beautiful and mine. I can feel him between my thighs, and I shiver wondering if he will lick himself off me later.
Angelo makes a small noise and waves his chubby fist at his father.
"Talking to our son."
Adrian takes him carefully, holding him with a gentleness that still surprises me sometimes.
"Look at you," Adrian says to Angelo. "Already breaking hearts."
Angelo makes a sound that might be agreement. I laugh.
"He won't break hearts," I say. "He'll mend them. He'll be a gentleman."
Adrian's brow raises, but he allows me this fantasy. Kissing the top of Angelo's head, and then, my own.
"We should go down," Adrian says, looking at me. "People are arriving."
Right. I deflate slightly at the thought of Gemma's wedding. Here at the mansion another display of power and alliance as much as a ceremony. Another young woman sacrificed to this world.
I frown.
"Don't," Adrian warns.
"Adrian, you can't?—"
