The death of our mother had been hard on her, and there were days she still struggled with it. But with all of us loving and supporting her, she was finding her footing in the world again. While I would like to take credit for all the normalcy in her life now, that was more due to Anya, who spent as much time as she possibly could with my little sister. That was probably the best part of moving Jenny from Chicago to New York, so she could spend more time with Anya.
The transition for Dante, however, had been a little tenser. Vito had asked him to stay in New York, and because my husband loved me and knew I would be happier closer to my family, he hadn’t even hesitated. But taking him away from Chicago meant a power shift not just there, but also in New York.
Sighing tiredly but happily, I typed a quick text to all three of my cousins and turned away from the window. As I descended the stairs, Jarvis appeared from the living room, leaning on his cane. “You should be in bed,” he rebuked sternly. “Your doctors told you to rest, little one.”
I grinned at him. “Only until I go into labor. Then I’m allowed out of bed.”
He shook his head then seemed to freeze. “Oh fuck,” he groaned. “I’ll get the car out of the garage.”
“Yeah,” I giggled. “You do that.”
Still laughing, I headed for the French doors and stepped out onto the veranda right behind Jenny. “Hey there, little sister,” I murmured softly so as not to catch Dante’s attention just yet.
She dropped her phone onto the table and looked up at me, concern wrinkling her brow. “You should be lying down, Allie. If Dante sees you down here, he’s going to blow a gasket.”
I waved her off. “I’ll deal with him in a second. Do you think you could help Eloise watch the little terror over there for us? It’s going to be a long night.”
Her eyes widened, and she nearly jumped out of her chair. “Are you okay? Is he coming?”
Grinning, I nodded. “It’s time. So, can you help Eloise with Adley?”
“Yeah, of course I can.”
A contraction hit me, effectively wiping the grin off my face as I held on to the back of her chair. While I focused on breathing through the pain, I watched as Dante caught Adley around the middle and swung her into the air, making her scream with delight. With her long, raven’s wing hair in pigtails and her golden tan reflecting in the afternoon sun, she was the most beautiful creature I’d ever set eyes on.
Ten months after Dante and I were married, Adley made her appearance. She turned our lives and home upside down, but I loved every moment of it.
“Mamma!” Adley squealed when she spotted me.
Dante’s head jerked around, his eyes narrowing when he saw me standing behind Jenny. “Allegra baby, am I gonna have to spank your beautiful ass again for not following doctor’s orders?”
Pink filled my cheeks, and I had to press my legs together to ease some of the ache just the look in his eyes was causing. Biting my lip, I watched silently as he carried Adley toward me. “Get your sweet ass back up in bed, woman.”
“Sorry,” I murmured. “I have other plans.”
His brow wrinkled for just a moment, and then he was setting the toddler on her feet and grabbing me. “You’re in labor?” he wheezed out.
I nodded, grinning happily. I was two weeks from my due date and had been on semi-bed rest for the past six weeks because of my blood pressure. I’d never been so happy to have contractions than I was when I felt the first one that morning. My doctor had told us during my last visit that he was going to induce me soon if I didn’t go into labor naturally. “I thought we could go to the hospital, have your son, maybe make a family night out of it,” I teased.
“Jenny, watch the baby,” he commanded and lifted me into his arms.
“Daddy no go!” Adley cried out when she realized we were leaving.
Jenny rushed to get her and carried her into the house. “Let’s go take a bath, Adley.”
“No! Daddy play.”
Usually unable to walk away from his daughter when she was screaming for him, Dante was suddenly lost in his head as he marched around the side of the house. “Jarvis said he would pull the car out,” I assured him.
He only nodded, and I rolled my eyes as I laid my head on his shoulder. It was going to be a long, long day. Smirking, I clung to him, knowing he wouldn’t leave me for a single second during the coming hours.
Just after midnight, with our son sound asleep on my chest and Dante wide awake, I was still smirking, if exhaustedly.
“What?” he asked, finally able to relax now that both our son and I were resting.
“Nothing. Just thinking.”
“Uh-uh. What’s that smile for?”
I sighed happily. “I was just thinking, I’m so glad I married my mafioso.”
Leaning forward, he brushed his lips over mine tenderly. “I thank God every damn day for you, Allegra baby.”
Terri Anne Browning, Marrying Her Mafioso
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends