“The first night,” I confirm.
Something shifts in his expression then. It’s not quite a smile. It’s something older than that. A man quietly reckoning with the fact that even before he knew her name, before he’d heard her say “no” and “go to hell, Vitale” and “I hate your guts”—she was already his.
He sits back down on the bed. Reaches for my hand. Turns it over and presses his thumb into my palm like he’s checking I’m real.
“What do you want to do?” he asks finally.
And now—from this—the question sounds completely different. Not evasion. Not self-protection. Just a man who has been left before, asking the only question that matters. Giving me the choice he never gave Sara, because she never asked.
I squeeze his hand. “I want to have our baby, Matteo.”
“What did they say?” he questions.
I sit down again, suddenly feeling exhausted.
“I haven’t been experiencing any typical symptoms of pregnancy. When I first suspected I could be pregnant, it was only because I’d missed my period. Then I started to think about it and I realized I also messed up my birth control shots around the first time we slept together. I put two and two together and took a test, which turned out positive.”
Matteo expels a harsh breath. I continue speaking.
“I was so scared after the test because I had no clue prior to that. I’ve been drinking and doing pretty much everything normally. I was worried it could have affected the baby. Valentina took me to the clinic today to confirm my pregnancy and also to make sure the baby’s okay.”
“And is it?”
“Yeah,” I say on a smile. “It’s growing well. The doctor said some women don’t experience anything during their first trimester and that there’s usually nothing wrong.”
“Which means?”
“We’re going to have a baby, Matteo. A happy, healthy baby.”
“And what would that mean for us?” he asks after several seconds pass.
He looks so unsure right now. So unlike that man that walked into the bar that day, sure and confident with the world at his feet. That Matteo would have taken all he wished from me without a second thought. This one hesitates, wondering how he’s going to reach me.
He has no idea I’m already right beside him and I have no plans to leave. I hate that I made him doubt us so much. A tear slides down my cheek and his eyes are like molten lava as they follow its progress.
Matteo looks at me with an intensity that steals my breath. I step toward him, lifting my hand to stroke his cheek, over his bottom lip.
“You realize you’re the most infuriating person I’ve ever met, right?” I say softly.
He takes my hand and kisses my palm, eliciting a shudder from deep within me.
“Pot, kettle,” he murmurs in reply.
“I’m yours, Matteo. I’m yours and you’re mine. I’ve been yours for so long and I’ve let myself be blind to it. I was afraid of confessing it because I thought I’d be doing myself a disservice. But the truth is, I wouldn’t have known who I was if I didn’t meet you. You dug so deep inside of me and pulled out my truest desires. You conquered my fears and you saw me, more than anyone else ever has. How could I not love you?”
Matteo sucks in a sharp breath at the end of my speech. The look in his eyes is innocent and filled with so much wonder. I’m full-on crying now.
Pesky pregnancy hormones. They picked the worst time to make an appearance.
I melt into his touch when he reaches for my cheeks, wiping away my tears and staring at me like I’m the most important thing in the world.
“You’re not leaving?” he says softly.
“Never,” I assure him, gripping his hand in mine. “It’s going to be you, me, Leonardo, and our baby. Forever and always.”
“Forever and always,” he repeats. “I could live with that.”
“You’d better.”
