“What is it?”
“I’m going to keep her hostage and change her mind.”
“What?” I play along, but I can read his tone of voice and know all I need to know.
“Let’s just say I can’t hurt her.”
“This is on you, Nero,” I remind him because I’m still the boss, and if this goes south, we could all be fucked.
“Domani, where are you?” Aria calls out, sounding fucking annoyed, which means I’m in trouble for something even though I haven’t done shit to earn her ire.
“I’ve got to go; the queen is summoning me.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” Humor returns to his voice, and I end the call.
“Domani, there you are,” Aria huffs, coming into the room with our baby boy on her arm.
I’m up on my feet and around my desk in a flash. “What’s wrong?”
She grins from ear to ear and squeals, “He said his first word.” God, she’s beautiful. I live for that smile.
“What?” I ask my little man who is also my pride and joy. We had to wait a couple of months before Aria became pregnant with Luca. I anxiously waited every month, but the damn period came anyway. He was my Christmas present though. Aria surprised me Christmas morning with the news that I was going to be a papa.
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“Papa.” My eyes fly open because I expected him to say “mama” or “baba” or something else. We spend a lot of time with him, but I’m dealing with business matters most of the day, both the legal and illegal side, so he doesn’t see me anywhere near as much as he does Aria.
“Say it again for your papa,” I coo, grabbing his chubby little fingers.
“Pa-pa. Pa-pa.” A little drool dribbles out of his mouth, so I pull out my handkerchief and wipe it away. One day he’ll rule all of this, but for now, he’s my little bambino, my pride and joy who needs me to care for him the way a father should.
“Good boy!” I take him from his beautiful mama and kiss his head, which is covered in jet black hair. He takes after both of us so much, although everyone says he’s gonna look just like me—but I don’t mind if he looks like his mama. Either way, the little man is going to be a heartbreaker.
“He’s learning quickly. According to the books, he’s ahead of schedule,” Aria cheers, clapping her hands softly. Luca grabs her hands and claps them for her. He’s an intelligent baby for sure.
“He’s going to be a smart little one like his uncle Niccolò.” Aria and I are above average, but my brother’s a genius and a nerd, so I wouldn’t mind at all if he took after him.
“Speaking of, Niccolò. He’s been taking some time off lately.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your mom and I went to go get some coffee this morning at the one café in town that we love, and Niccolò was there.”
“Yes, well, the owner owes us a pretty penny. I have Nico checking out the financial stability of the place.”
“Si, but that’s not what he’s doing. He’s watching the girl behind the counter. I don’t know if it’s his first time being there or if he’s been going there, but he was watching her like the way you watch me.”
“What? He’s falling too?”
“I don’t know, but I think it’s possible. He’s got that Domani look that says, ‘Mine.’”
“You mean this one?”
“Mm-hmm,” she sighs as I press my lips to hers.
“That’s because us Bianchi men know what’s ours and claim it.”
"Whoa, whoa. Where do you think you're going, buddy?" He's getting stronger and searching for independence every day. At eight months, he's already standing up against surfaces. It won’t be long until he’s walking.
“He’s ready to run, Domani. Aren’t you, Luca?”
“He’s gonna be just like me. We’re in for it, for sure. I used to run up and down these halls until I cracked my head open—right here.” I point to a faint scar in my hairline.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t have any major accidents. I don’t think my heart could take it.” Luca stretches out his hands for Mama, tugging away from me. I hand him back so he doesn’t fall because he’s too damned stubborn like his daddy.
“So do you want to come out to the pool with us?”
“Yes, my queen. I could use some time with my little family. Besides, I believe you said you had a new bikini for me to see.”
“Maybe I should wait to wear it. I’ve gotten a little heavier lately.”
“Are we going to have this discussion again? I think you are sexy, even if you put on another hundred pounds.”
“Hardly, but I mean… well, I suppose if I don’t wear it now, I might never get a chance with you putting babies in me.”