Bound By Blood Anthology

“I’m fine,” Aria said firmly. “It’s not broken, just bruised.”

Luca kissed her wrist, then her palm before he leaned forward and kissed her lips. Fuck, my brother was one of the craziest, cruelest, most brutal assholes I had the fortune of knowing, and yet he made his marriage work, and was a fucking great father.

And what about me? I couldn’t even take care of one kid.

Gianna nudged me lightly. “Hey, what’s wrong? Is it because you felt the baby kick?”

“The baby kicked?” Aria asked excitedly from the ground. She let Luca pull her to her feet and came over.

“It is still,” Gianna said. “It’s going crazy today. You can feel it.”

I took a step back as Aria rested her palm against Gianna’s belly, then smiled brightly. “My God, it seems to be step dancing in there.” She peered over her shoulder at Luca. “You have to feel that.”

I took another step back. Luca watched me closely.

“Go ahead, you should really feel it,” I said quietly. “I need to cool my fucking cheek. Don’t want a bruise to ruin my good looks.”

I turned and headed inside but not in the direction of the bathroom, instead I headed for the study where I grabbed a glass of Brandy. I felt like shit and not because of the pain in my face and ribs. I’d had worse injuries. No, my insides were burning up with emotions I didn’t understand. I downed my Brandy, hissing as the alcohol burned a trail down my throat, then filled my glass again.

“One for me as well,” Luca said as he stepped inside and closed the door. I filled another glass without a word and handed it to him, before downing my second. I hadn’t been shitfaced since I’d found out about Gianna’s pregnancy, wanting to be ready in case she needed me, but today felt like the perfect day to drink myself into oblivion.

“Did you feel the kid move?” I asked neutrally.

“No,” Luca said.

“Why not? You should have. The kid is a wild one. It kicked my palm really strong.” I fell silent, remembering this moment, and knowing it was better to forget it quickly.

Luca stepped up to me and downed his own drink. “I’ll say this once and it better get through your thick vain skull. You’ll be a great father to that kid. You’ll love it and protect it, and you’ll cherish every fucking second you spend with it.”

I glanced up. “I’m not going to be its father.”

“Yes, you are,” Luca said. “Because I won’t be, and Aria won’t be its mother. You and Gianna are going to raise this kid, understood?”

I frowned. “Listen, you might be Capo, but that’s not something you can demand. We got a deal.”

Luca smiled darkly. “You want to raise this kid, and you will, and now you take that pretty face out of my view and talk to your bitchy redhead, and straighten things out while I figure out a way to break the news to Aria, and then I will knock her up so we get our own kid.”

I stared at my brother. “You’ve lost your fucking mind.” But his words had lifted the heavy weight that had rested on my shoulders since we’d agreed to have Aria and Luca take the baby. Yet, Gianna didn’t want to be a mother, and I wouldn’t force her. I wanted Gianna to be happy more than anything else. I wouldn’t limit her freedoms even more than they already were, and being a mom would restrain her more than me.

A knock sounded and Gianna poked her head in. “I need to talk to you.”

Luca gave me a look before he set the glass down on the desk and moved toward the door. He stopped briefly beside Gianna and muttered something but I didn’t catch what it was. He closed the door, leaving us alone. Gianna frowned at the door then slowly turned to me. For a moment we only looked at each other and didn’t move. Fuck, how was I supposed to tell her that I wanted this kid, that I wanted to raise it with her at my side?GiannaI watched Matteo stalk away.

“Luca?” Aria asked hesitantly. “Don’t you want to feel the baby?”

Luca tore his eyes away from the spot where Matteo had been not too long ago and walked up to her, touching her cheek. “Not now, Love. Let me have a word with Matteo to straighten things out.”

“No fighting,” she warned.

He kissed her mouth and left.

Lily joined us on the terrace, wrapped in a thick bathrobe which couldn’t cover up her huge belly anymore. Hers was even bigger than mine and I already felt like a wrecking ball. “What a way to wake up.”

“Yeah, it’s a miracle that they don’t fight more often considering all the alpha male dominance they have going on,” I muttered.