“Happy baby shower, sis.”Lorenzo hands Dani a card and kisses her temple.
My sister-in-law Dani is due next month with a precious little girl. When I suggested planning a shower, wanting to celebrate her pregnancy, she and Matteo insisted they had everything they needed, but that didn’t stop me from renting out Pasquale’s—their favorite Italian restaurant—to throw them a luncheon anyway.
Dani is one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met, and she and my brother deserve to be doted on before the baby comes. They’ve been through so much this past year, and a little celebrating is good for the soul. Since they didn’t need anything for the baby, I told everyone to get them something creative.
Dani opens the card from her brother, and it’s for a day at the spa. A card from my mom and her husband—who are out of town on vacation, living their best lives—is for baby-and-me classes.
As my other sister-in-law, Peyton, gushes about how much she loves the classes, I keep a smile on my face even though I feel out of place. Not only is Peyton a mother to my three nephews—Damien, five, and twins, Justin and Adam, nine months old—but she and my brother Dominick are happily in love. And now that Dani and Matteo are together with a baby on the way, they’ll have marriage and babies to bond over. Meanwhile, all I have is a deadboyfriend, a womb that once carried a baby that was ripped out of me, and an ex who couldn’t satisfy me in the bedroom.
My thoughts go back to last night, but I quickly push them to the side, refusing to think about the one man who not only gave me the control I’d craved, but satisfied me in a way that was life-altering.
I force myself into the present when Peyton and Dominick give Dani and Matteo a voucher for a weekend away with babysitting duty included.
“Trust me, after the baby comes, you’re going to need it,” Peyton says with a laugh, and my heart cracks because they have what I want and fear I’ll never have.
When Peyton turns her attention on me, I shake myself out of my thoughts and pull the envelope out of my purse.
“Here’s my gift,” I say to Dani and Matteo. “It’s not as creative.” I side-eye Peyton, who sticks her tongue out at me playfully.
“What is this?” Dani asks once she opens it and is reading it.
“It’s your baby’s first investment. I took out stock, and once she’s born, I’ll transfer it into her name. I want her to have something of her own so she never feels like she’s dependent on anyone,” I choke out and then clear my throat, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me. “And every year, for her birthday and holidays, I’m going to add to it.”
“Bri,” Dani says in awe, “this is so thoughtful. Thank you.”
“Yeah,” Peyton agrees. “You just got the twins a stroller.”
I laugh. “I actually got them each one as well.” I go back to my purse and pull out the other three envelopes I was going to give to Peyton and Dominick later. “One for each of the twins and one for Damien. I know their parents are rich, but …” I shrug.
I want my niece and nephews to always have some sort of independence, unlike I had, growing up. It wasn’t until I moved to Russia and went to work for mydedushkathat I experienced any type of real independence.
At his gas company, Gazcom, I started as a junior accountant and worked my way up to becoming the CFO, earning myself a damngood paycheck. When he decided to sell the company, he offered it to me, but I knew I wouldn’t live in Russia forever and that while I was good with numbers, it wasn’t my passion. A year later, he passed away, and six months after that, mybabushkajoined him in heaven.
I was shocked to learn that besides a small sum they’d put aside for my brothers, they’d left everything else to me, including the home I’d lived in with them for over four years.
I considered staying in Russia, but when Dominick came to get me, I agreed to come back to Harbor Point, having missed my family.
When Dani pulls me into a hug and thanks me, my eyes and nose sting with emotion, and I shake my head, needing to move on to something less emotional, like dessert.
“Okay, enough of that,” I tell her. “I think it’s time for some?—”
My words are cut off as the last person I expected to see walks through the front door of Pasquale’s. He’s dressed in a gray business suit, looking as sharp as he did last night. His brown hair is messy, and he hasn’t shaved his face.
My heart thumps in my chest as I remember the way his stubble left bumps along the insides of my thighs when he ate me out.
And then his golden-brown eyes lock with mine, and I suck in a harsh breath.
Did he follow me here?
Before I can find out, the guards are on him.
“Sorry, the restaurant is closed,” Ian, one of my brother’s guards, says.
I’m about to tell them that Kane is here for me—because why else would he be here?—when he says, “Actually, I’m here for the baby shower.”
He holds up a small wrapped package and smirks, and I stumble back in confusion because how the hell does he know about the baby shower? I definitely didn’t mention it last night.
“And you are?” Dominick asks, taking the lead, like he always does.
