Page 227 of Made in Love and Blood

“We didn’t miss it. We were in the waiting room anyway, Sal.”

“Yeah, well—”

“Best be doing this tonight, too,” he heard her say sweetly at the same time her backside wiggled a bit in his hold. Damn. “I did get the okay yesterday, so...”

“Not the time, wife.”

“Oh, it’s always that time for us, baby.”

He didn’t argue. He knew where that would lead and she wasn’t wrong.

“Tonight,” he promised as he sat her back to her feet directly in front of a closed elevator. Leaning past her, he pressed the button and then met her glimmering green eyes straight on. “I mean, if you’re not going to put the breaks on again.”

Her teeth cut into her lip. “I was nervous.”

“Why?”

Carina’s face scrunched up warily. “I just...you haven’t even seen me naked since before I had them. Okay?”

Salvatore put his hands on his thighs, totally ignoring the hospital elevator opening so he could be at eye-level with his wife when he said the only thing he intended for her to ever know when it came to her body and how he felt. “You think I haven’t noticed you cleaning out that closet of all those dresses you used to wear that look like a second skin on you?”

Her breath hitched. “Well—”

“And how you started putting in orders for an entirely new wardrobe? Thicker fabrics, more structure, a little looser here and there? Shawls, and scarves, and—”

“Stop it, Sal.”

“Are you denying it?”

“No, but I also want to present myself differently. It’s a different era for you and me, so, that counts for something. It’s not all insecurity.”

He was glad for that. Because she had nothing to worry about.

“You wear whatever the fuck you want because it doesn’t matter to me. Just like the only thing I care about when you’re naked is that you are naked, Carina. Naked for me. You’re mine, and all of this,” he said, gesturing at her, “is far from what got us here. The way you look barely even played a part.”

“It helped sometimes,” she replied, smirking.

“Sometimes, we needed the help, babe.”

Carina only laughed, but that worry in her expression had entirely drifted away. He hoped the last thing on her mind was how her body looked when he climbed into bed with her later. If not, Salvatore didn’t mind revisiting the conversation in a different way. In one she would certainly understand. Sex was their best language.

Standing straight, he nodded toward the elevator. She spun on those fucking heels, and he swatted her ass on the way. “Let’s go meet our grandbaby.”

•••

Salvatore let Carina head into the private hospital room of the maternity wing before he did as something else needed his attention just outside the door. Leaning against the number placard on the wall, Nico couldn’t meet his father-in-law’s eyes when he came to stand in front of him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I told her I forgot the camera,” Nico replied, voice trembling.

Big Mike and his wife had gifted the two a set of cameras, each with a different purpose, for their wedding. A polaroid with ten rolls of instant film. Each to be used on their anniversary, apparently, for the first decade of marriage. The capo got the idea from his wedding, and a gift from his brother. Another camera, a professional Canon EOS R6 Mark II, meant for important moments that could be captured privately in high quality. A perfect choice for Frankie, who had an eye for that sort of thing. The last, a digital cam, was just for fun.

Or so the card said. Salvatore chose not to ask.

“Everything’s okay, though?” Salvatore asked carefully.

Nico lifted his shoulder and then dropped it just as fast. “Damiano’s great. Highest Apgar score today, according to the nurses. Frankie looks like she just took a fucking jog, and barely broke a sweat while doing it, so she’s good, too.”