She liked his arms around her, but she wasn’t going to beg for more. Milah expected him to leave, but instead, he grabbed a chair and sat down at the counter.
“What are you doing?”
“If you want to bake, then go ahead and bake, but I’m not going to let you be alone.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to have a child together. We’re not doing anything on our own. Not anymore.”
“Are you trying to get me to marry you?” she asked, her suspicions rising with every second.
He rolled his eyes. “Milah, baby, I could be married to you by the end of tomorrow. I wouldn’t even need you to say the official I do. I’ve got men who would be willing to do anything I wanted for a price. When we do marry, it’s going to be your choice. You’re not going to want to back out.”
“You do realize you’re making all of this up, don’t you?” she asked.
He laughed. “You do realize, one day, you’re going to have to eat your words. You want to bake, then bake. I don’t mind.”
She stepped toward the counter and got to beating again, aware of his gaze on her, and she was cautious. “I don’t … trust this.”
Damon chuckled. “So long as you’re not poisoning my child, I don’t care.”
She rested a hand on her stomach. “I’m not.”
“Good.”
She started to work on the cookies, and the scent of the cupcakes wafted toward her. She dropped everything on the counter and went to the cupcakes. They were not brown yet, but the tray did need turning, which she did, breathing out a sigh of relief as she spun it around.
Damon was a distraction. She had to stay focused.
With the cookie batter made, she was sure to add more vanilla than she needed along with lots of chocolate chips, because that was what she wanted.
Once the cupcakes were out of the oven, she slid the cookies inside.
After a few minutes, she moved the cupcakes to a cooling rack and then got to work on the buttercream frosting, which was the most important part of the entire process.
“What do you hope for?” Damon asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“Huh?”
“We’ve never really talked about the baby and what we’d like to have.”
Milah stopped and put a hand on her stomach. “I guess we haven’t.”
“A boy or a girl?”
“I … I guess I just want whatever comes and to hope they’re healthy.”
“I agree.” He smiled and nodded.
She couldn’t help but respond to his smile. “You’re happy about being a dad?”
“I never thought I would be. I know I would have to be at some point. You know, continuing the De Luca line.”
“I guess.”
She remembered her father being so infuriated when her mother would miscarry. They didn’t stop trying with her. Her mother made herself sick trying to please Antonio Russo.
“I’ve upset you.”
“No, you haven’t upset me. I was just thinking about my dad. He was … so angry that I came along. I was a healthy daughter, but he wanted a son.”
“Milah, you are aware that he had more children, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I know, and it’s crazy that he didn’t allow … any of them to take his name.”
“It was the one part he stayed traditional about.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged. “Let’s not talk about him. It will only upset us.” She didn’t want to end a baking night on an argument, and they would never agree on their opinions on each other’s families.
“Do you miss him?” Damon asked.
“No.” She didn’t even have to think about the answer.
“No?”
“Do you miss him?” she asked.
“He was my sworn enemy, Milah. Not my father.”
“Do you miss your father?”
“All the time.”
“Oh.” Milah nibbled on her lip. “I didn’t have that kind of relationship with my father. He was never the kind of person who wanted a daughter.” She forced a smile to her lips. “I’m sorry about your loss.”
“Thank you.”