As soon as he was out the door, I looked at Kelly. “Did you get it?”

“It’s in my bathroom. I went two towns over. I saw no one I knew.”

Charly grinned at me. “This is so exciting.”

“For you,” I replied dryly.

Ten minutes later, I sat beside her, shell-shocked, staring at the lines.

“Oh my God. Rosa was right.”

“She knew before I did, too,” Charly mused. “She’s good.”

“I’m pregnant,” I whispered. “Stefano is still freaked out over the fire and Wayne. Not to mention the whole gun and ‘go ahead and shoot me’ thing. When he finds out it happened while I was carrying his baby, he is going to go mental.”

“Prepare yourself for the Italian caveman.” Charly chortled, clearly enjoying herself. “When are you going to tell him?”

“I have no idea,” I muttered, reaching for the coffee Kelly had given me.

Charly clucked her tongue. “You need to limit your caffeine.”

“Oh God. I need this one. I haven’t had any today.”

“Just one.”

I sipped the brew gratefully.

“What have you told Theo?” she asked, and I knew she was referring to Wayne.

I sighed. “We sat with him and told him the bad man had died. That we never had to be afraid again. Stefano was so good with him and answered all his questions. He accepted it easily and went to bed happy. He said he wasn’t afraid anymore because of ‘Stefo.’” I smiled. “He loves him so much. He’s everything Wayne would never have been. Theo hasn’t asked another question about him.”

Charly rubbed my arm. “So then, this baby is a good thing, isn’t it? You know what an amazing dad Stefano will be.”

I thought about the night after we’d visited Charly in the hospital. We were lying in bed, the dark of the night all around us, Theo asleep down the hall. I was wrapped in Stefano’s embrace. His quiet confession about his reaction to seeing me holding Vivian. That he truly hoped one day it would be his child I was embracing. I had told him what seeing him hold a baby did for me. The tender expression on his face as he looked at her. The patience he had with Theo as he showed him how to hold her. The utterly adorable panic that crossed his face when Theo asked him to get him one.

“He will be ecstatic,” I agreed.

She lifted Vivian to her shoulder, stroking up and down her back. “And you?”

“Excited. Scared. My last pregnancy was so hard.”

“Physically?”

I shrugged. “Wayne was nasty. I wasn’t allowed to show much of any kind of emotion. If I wasn’t feeling well, I had to keep it to myself. If I was happy, same thing.”

“Hey,” Charly called. “This is Stefano. He’ll be exactly like Maxx. Loving, supportive, ready to bring you ice cream at three in the morning. He loves you, Gabby. Totally. And he is as far from that other asshole as you can get. I promise you.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Trust him. Trust in him. He won’t let you down.”

Her words struck a chord inside me. She was right. It was Stefano.

“I do trust him.”

She squealed, the sound muffled by her hand. “Holy moly, we’re gonna have a wedding and a baby soon. This is gonna be so much fun!”

Kelly rolled her eyes and stood. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Is that a euphemism for hooking up with Brett in the stock room?” Charly asked dryly. “Try not to knock over the oil cans this time.”

Kelly flipped her the bird before walking out.

Charly winked. “She didn’t deny it.”

I had to laugh. “No, she didn’t.”

We left the garage, and I frowned as Stefano pulled up in front of Mrs. Scott’s place.

“Kicking me out now?” I asked, teasing, even as it hit me I could move back to my apartment now that the danger had passed. Life could return to normal—or at least as normal as it would be from now on. I had a lot of plans to make.

Stefano chuckled and lifted my hand, kissing it. “No, Mrs. Scott has a lightbulb that went out, and she wants to see you and Theo for a bit.”

“Ah, okay,” I said, secretly relieved.

Inside, we were greeted with hugs and kisses. Stefano changed the lightbulb, and we visited a bit. I was surprised when Mary showed up, bringing dinner. We ate fried chicken and salad, enjoying some time together. Neither woman brought up what happened in front of Theo, but their hugs had been fierce, and the words whispered in my ear let me know how much they cared.

After dinner, Stefano stood and extended his hand. “Let’s go for a walk, Tesoro. I know Mary and Mrs. Scott want some time with Theo.”

“We have strawberry shortcake and a surprise for him,” Mrs. Scott added.

At those words, any protest Theo might have had at being left behind died. He loved strawberry shortcake—never mind the lure of a surprise.

Tags: Melanie Moreland Reynold's Restorations Suspense
Source: readsnovelonline.net