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“You’ll figure it out,” Matteo said quietly. “You’ll be a wonderful mother. You’ve always been a nurturing soul. And you’re strong. We all know that.”
The smile his baby sister shot in his direction had been worth those few carefully chosen words. “Thank you, Matt. I’m going to call Gavin and then we should probably go soon. I’m sure traffic is a nightmare out there.”
Matteo watched her walk away, her phone glued to her ear, her voice going soft when her husband answered. He remained in the foyer of his apartment alone, hands shoved deep in his jeans’ pockets, lost in thought.
And of course, his thoughts were filled with Paige.
They always were. He’d become consumed with her, especially after the night they shared. Which in all reality hadn’t amounted to much. Somehow, some way, his little redheaded nanny had left a mark so deep in him, it was as if she’d scratched his very soul.
He wanted her to gouge it deeper. Wanted her to curl herself up within him and become a part of him. Ridiculous. Foolishness.
Yet here he stood, thinking of her. Could imagine Paige quietly creeping into Matty’s room, sitting on the edge of his bed, reaching out with those tiny, soft hands of hers and touching his son on his shoulder, gently waking him up.
The smile Matty would offer her when he first cracked open his eyes, so full of joy as he beamed like the brightest sun. Indeed, his son was just as enamored of Paige as he was. She’d twisted both men in the Renaldi household around her slender finger and she hadn’t a clue how she simply wrecked them both with a glance. A smile. A touch.
Neither of them wanted to make her escape either.
Loud stomping alerted him that his son was awake and Matteo glanced up, watching as Matty strode toward him, a scowl on his face, his thick, dark hair mussed. A crease wrinkled his cheek from sleeping so hard and Paige followed behind him, her expression completely neutral though he saw the irritation in her pretty blue-green gaze.
So much for his son’s usual good mood—he looked the grumpiest Matteo had ever seen him.
Yet Paige tolerated his son’s sometimes volatile behavior with the patience of a saint, but every once in a while, he saw a hint of determination and fire creep through that cool, calm exterior she kept in place.
Like now.
“Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Matteo tried his best to keep the amusement out of his voice, but he earned an irritated glare from his son anyway.
“I don’t wanna go to dinner,” Matty protested, flinging his arms around Matteo’s legs in an aggressive hug that nearly toppled Matteo over. “I wanna stay home with Paige.”
“Ah, Matty, it will mean so much to your zia if you’re there tonight. You know she would want you to go.” He smoothed a hand over his son’s head.
Matty buried his face in Matteo’s kneecaps. “Don’t make me go, Daddy. I want to stay home.”
Paige shot Matteo a helpless look, one that made him feel like a momentary hero. She wanted his help, which he would gladly offer. He always tried his best to be there for his child, to have a hands-on approach and be present in his son’s life. Especially after Lucia’s death, when he realized he was all Matty had in his life.
More than anything, Matteo refused to be like Lucia. Shut off from the world, so wrapped up in her own warped sense of reality, she couldn’t see her own damn child in front of her face, constantly begging for her attention.
Matty had adored his mother. The more she’d ignored him, the more he’d loved her.
Straightening his son’s tousled hair with his fingers, Matteo looked down at him. “Son, you’ll want to be present at this dinner tonight. It’s a special evening. Your Zia Stasia is going to have a baby and she wants everyone in our family with her while we celebrate.”
Matty lifted his head, his wide, dark eyes meeting Matteo’s. “She’s having a baby?”
“I am.” Stasia appeared out of nowhere, a giant smile on her face as she swooped in, captured Matty in her arms and started twirling him around. “You’re going to be a cousin, my friend.”
Matty squealed with laughter. “I hope it’s a boy!”
“You’ll take what you can get,” Stasia teased.
“Should you be doing such a thing? Swinging Matty all around?” Matteo asked, full of concern. After all, this was his pregnant sister and his son. It would probably be best if she took it easy and rested. Matty may be young, but he was solid. And getting heavier by the day, what with the way the child grew. “And did you get a hold of your husband? Is he going to meet us at the restaurant?”
