Page 173 of Diego

“My back.”

“You want to go home?”

“I want your child to stop using my spine as a dance floor.”

“That seems difficult to arrange, but I'll see what I can do,” he says, wisely keeping the smile off his face.

She gives him a look. “Very helpful.”

Lorenzo gives her a moment, then gets to his feet and offers her a hand. “Come on. I’m taking you home before he finds another organ to kick.”

Donna lets him pull her carefully upright, one hand braced against the small of her back as she finds her balance. “Probably a good idea. I’ve reached the point where even sitting on someone else’s sofa is exhausting.”

That seems to give everyone else permission to start moving too. Ricardo shifts Cecilia against his chest while Julia gathers the things they brought, and Mario reaches down for Leonardo as Victoria begins collecting the small assortment of toys that somehow appeared around him.

The boys take the food containers they had already claimed, and within a few minutes the room that had been full when I walked downstairs is slowly emptying.

Julia pauses near me before she follows Ricardo. She looks at me, then upward. “Tell Blair we were asking about her.”

“I will.”

“And tell her there’s no rush to see anyone.”

I nod, appreciating that more than she probably realizes. “I’ll tell her.”

Donna stops beside me on her way out and gives my arm a brief squeeze. “Take care of her.”

“I intend to.”

“And tell her we're still buying her those clothes. Including that black dress.”

I look between them and lift a brow. “I'm not sure that's her biggest concern right now.”

Donna’s expression loses its humor for a second, and I regret my words immediately.

“It was a good day. Before,” she says.

That stops me.

I understand exactly what she means.

The boutique cannot remain the place where Blair collapsed, and everyone thought she was losing the baby. Donna and Julia had spent the first part of that day with Blair, getting to know her, dragging her into their lives whether she planned on joining them or not. They want some part of that back.

“All right,” I say. “I’ll tell her.”

Julia nods. “Thank you.”

Julia gives me one last look before following Ricardo out. Lorenzo guides Donna out with Mocha hot on their heels.

The rest of the family follows in stages until Mario and Victoria are the last ones left. Mario gives me a nod on his way past, while Victoria looks toward the stairs and then back at me.

“Call if you need anything.”

“I will.”

A few moments later, the front door closes behind them, and the house settles back into silence.

I stand in the middle of the room and look around at the evidence they left behind. The kitchen is stocked, there is enough prepared food to keep Blair and me fed for days, and someone has already gathered the abandoned cups and plates into the dishwasher.