Coming Home (Morelli Family 6)

The doctor definitely thinks I’m a whore. But I’m a wealthy patient’s whore fiancée, so he didn’t bat an eye.

The ride there was a little more optimistic. We were both hoping I would find out I definitely got pregnant that week in the Bahamas. I’m furious at my body for ovulating at the wrong time, but unless the doctor misjudged my due date, there’s no chance.

We make it all the way home without a single word to each other. I would usually push past his bad mood and pull him in with my affection, but I’m not feeling much of it right now. I’m feeling scared and alone. When Mateo’s on your side, everything is great and life is peaceful, but when he’s not… I can’t even think about it.

I especially can’t think of this being the thing that puts us on opposite sides, because this is maybe the only thing in the world I will dig my heels in and fight him over.

Which, I think, will make things even worse.

I’m still hoping and praying he doesn’t put me in that position, so we’ll never have to find out, but the anxiety lingers. His track record and everything I know about his traditional beliefs leads me to believe that fear is valid. He’s not going to want to raise Vince’s son. He’s just not.

Mateo climbs out of the car when we get home and glances back at me, since I haven’t moved from my seat.

“Are you coming inside?”

I glance at him, addressing me for the first time since we left the exam room. “I just need a few minutes.”

He watches me for a moment, then glances up front to Adrian. Finally he nods and heads into the house alone.

I lean forward and yank the car door shut, leaning back in the seat and sighing.

Adrian glances at me over his shoulder. “You okay back there?”

“He seems so mad at me.”

“He isn’t mad at you,” Adrian assures me. “He’s just in problem-solving mode. He gets a little cold sometimes when he’s working out a problem.”

“My baby isn’t a problem,” I mutter, my hand moving protectively to my tummy.

Now Adrian nods, but I can see that my words add about 80 pounds to his shoulders. “You want to keep it even if it’s Vince’s, don’t you?”

Smiling without humor, I say, “Do you know you are the first person to ask me that? You might think I’d be the first person anyone would ask, but no.”

Adrian understands. “It’s Mateo’s world, we’re just living in it,” he remarks lightly. “People probably just… You know, you usually yield to him.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s different. That works for us, that makes us both happy. That doesn’t cost me anything.”

“This would.”

I don’t know if it’s a question or an acknowledgement, but I don’t answer either way. After a couple more minutes of silence, he says, “Weren’t you guys supposed to go to lunch?”

“If it went well we were going to, yeah.”

“You’re probably hungry.”

I shake my head. “Not really.”

He looks back at the house. “So… do you just want to keep sitting here in the car?”

“That’s the plan,” I say, nodding. “I don’t want to go in there right now.”

“Okay,” he says, easily enough.

We sit there for another minute, then he puts the car in drive and suddenly we’re moving. At first I think he’s just parking the car, but then he heads down the driveway toward the road.

“Where are we going?” I ask him.

“Gotta go pick something up. I guess you’re coming along.”

—

When Adrian told me he had to pick something up, he led me to believe I was being a pain in his ass, and he was just taking me on an errand since he still had shit to do.

I have no idea where we are when he parks, but he comes around to get the door for me, and once I’m out, he says, “Close your eyes.”

“Close my eyes?”

He nods, and even though I’m completely confused, I obey.

Only I still have to walk out of the parking area and up a sidewalk, so Adrian braces an arm around my waist and lightly takes my hand, leading me and telling me when I need to do more than just walk.

“Step up.”

I keep my eyes closed, but I’m sorely tempted to cheat. There’s a blast of cool air as we walk into somewhere with air conditioning, thankfully, but Adrian warns me to keep ‘em closed, like he knows I want to cheat.

“What are we doing?” I ask again.

“I’m gonna buy you a present.”

“Oh, I like presents,” I tell him.

Chuckling, he says, “I know you do.”

I don’t even know what it is or where we are, but at least I’m smiling for the first time today.

He positions me where he wants me, then he drops his hands and says, “Okay, now you can open them.”