I felt worthless for not being the one to bring Gia back safely. That was my job, and I’d failed.
“You saved me in other ways.” She spoke so low it was hard to hear her over the water beating on my back. “When I had lost all hope, I thought of you. I knew we would find our way back to each other. And this baby,” she said, stroking her stomach, “kept me going on the worst days.”
Slowly, I dropped to my knees, holding her by the hips, and kissed her stomach. I planted gentle but deliberate kisses on every surface of her skin. My child was growing inside of her. Gia was about to become my wife and the mother of my child.
“I hope it’s a girl,” I admitted.
“Why?”
“Because she won’t be forced to become something she’s not. If we have a boy, my father will stake his claim before he’s even born. Every man in my family was born into this life. We never had a choice. That’s why I want a girl. She will never have to endure the wrath of my father.”
Gia took my hair in her hands and forced me to look up at her until our eyes met. “I want to have the baby before we get married. I want him or her to be part of our wedding.”
I got up from the floor, confused. “You want to wait that long?”
She nodded. “I would marry you right here if someone would officiate, but I want our child to be there, too. If we have a girl, she can be our flower girl, and if it’s a boy, our ring bearer. I’m not in any rush, Angelo. We’ve been together for most of our lives. I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with you when I was a girl.”
“Almost losing you made me realize what little time we might have left.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered. “We are in this together.”
I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed her skin with a wicked grin on my lips. “Till death do us part.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gia
Waiting for the doctor to walk into the exam room with my test results felt like an eternity. He took his good old time, too. Angelo held my hand, while I stared up at the ceiling and closed my eyes, hoping our baby would be okay. After being shot up with drugs and being starved, I was worried about our daughter. So were Angelo and his parents.
Angelo Sr. had insisted I see the best doctor in the city. No expense was spared for the granddaughter of the most powerful man in Philadelphia. He didn’t seem to care much about my health, or even for me, only the baby, which was fine by me. I still harbored some ill feelings toward the Don. Even though he saved me from my prison, he wasn’t guiltless in this vicious world we lived in.
The doctor strolled into the room with an open chart in his hand, scanning the paper inside. He shut the door behind him and peeked up at me with a tiny smile. “Gianna, I have some good news for you.” Dr. Carter pulled a chair out from the counter and sat at my side. “You’re carrying a healthy baby girl. The toxicology results don’t show any permanent damage to you or your child. We will continue to monitor both of you, but I don’t see any cause for concern.”
Angelo squeezed my hand tighter. “Thank you, Doc.” His emotions shook right through me, causing me to tremble along with him. Angelo was a nervous wreck over everything that had happened to the baby and me while I was with Dante.
I turned my body enough to touch his shoulder, and Angelo smiled, a real one for on
ce. He did that a lot more now that I was back in his life and carrying his child. He said Faith and I gave him hope that all the shitty parts of our lives could produce something wonderful.
It was hard to believe that after everything we had been through we could have a happily ever after. Or at least the closest to one we would ever get while we were attached to the Philadelphia Mafia. Angelo promised me he would do everything in his power to help his family legitimize their businesses. He vowed to try at least, which was about as much as I could ask of him given the circumstances.
After the doctor left the room, Angelo helped me up from the table and pressed his palm to my growing stomach. He leaned in to plant a kiss on my lips, the passion behind it making my head spin. No matter how many years had passed, my love for him grew stronger each day.
“I was prepared to go against my father’s orders and kill every last one of them,” Angelo breathed against my lips.
“Faith is okay. So am I. You can stop worrying. We’ll be a family soon enough.”
I was ready to meet my baby girl. She was our little miracle.
“The old man wants me to move on, but I will never forget. It might be years from now, but I promise Dante and everyone involved with your kidnapping will pay.”
I covered my hand over his. “Let it go, Angelo. We have so much going for us now. It’s not worth it. No one forced me to do anything I couldn’t come back from. And now we have Faith and our wedding to look forward to. It’s in the past.”
“You already paid for my past once.” He kissed my forehead, hooking his arm around my back to pull me into his chest. “It won’t happen again.”
“Good, then take me home. I’m starving and need to kick up my feet.”
He smirked. “You got it, boss lady.”