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I sigh and push the kids a little higher. “I don’t know. She seemed like she was so much more ready for this than I am.”
Aria shakes her head. “That poor woman is likely as terrified as you are. She’s pregnant and the man she did the dance with no pants with kicked her out of his house when he found out.”
The corner of my mouth twitches. “I don’t know if now is the time for humor.”
“Look,” Aria says as she hands me Theo and starts pushing the kids. “You can either laugh about it or you can cry, but one way or another, you’re going to have a baby. You need to figure out whether you’re going to be there for the baby or not.”
I bounce Theo around as he pulls at my shirt. “I know I do but I have no clue what to say to her. This is terrifying. I could turn out to be a father like the one we had. Hell, I could end up getting myself killed before the baby ever arrives.”
“Well, you go talk to her after you take the time you need to think. You tell her that you’re sorry for kicking her out the way you did, and then you talk to her the way you’ve spoken to me.”
I groan and make a face at her. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Nothing in this life that’s worth the trouble is ever easy.” Aria grins and nods to Brielle. “Things might be complicated with her, but do you think that she’s worth it?”
“Whoa, slow down, you’re acting like this is some love story. It’s nothing more than two people who hook up with each other.”
Aria shakes her head, her slow smile making me feel like she has a secret she’s hiding from me.
“What’s that face for?” I ask as I twirl around with Theo, grinning at his shrieking laughter.
Though I might be terrified of having a baby, there is nothing in the world that makes me feel better than spending time with my family.
“Nothing,” Aria says as she watches Brielle head inside. “I just think you might by lying to yourself about what is really going on between you and your neighbor.”
“I think you’re making up stuff in your head,” I say, grinning as Grace leaps off the swing and lands in the grass. “Why don’t we go inside and order some pizza?”
“Pizza!” Spencer shouts, running toward the house.
“I think that’s a yes,” Aria says, shaking her head as we follow the kids.
As we walk to the house, everything that she’s said plays over and over again in my mind.
What she said is nothing revolutionary.
I already know that I’m lying to myself about how I feel for Brielle.
15
BRIELLE
Salvatore follows along behind me, saying nothing as I search through the mall for a new camera. Mine hit the ground a few days ago, shattering into a dozen different pieces.
The camera was dead on impact.
“You know, if you don’t want to be here, I can finish shopping on my own,” I say as I step into another camera store and start browsing through the display models.
Salvatore sighs and keeps pace behind me. “I don’t want to be here but we both know that there is no going out without me after that message you got two nights ago.”
“They only said theywantedto kill me. Nobody ever said that they weregoingto kill me. As far as I’m concerned, I’m in the clear.”
He scoffs as I adjust my baseball hat. I pick up one of the display models and turn it on, pointing it at one of the shelves on the other side of the store. I adjust some of the settings and snap a few pictures before setting it back down.
“You’re not in the clear. Matteo is getting here later today. After that, he is going to be watching over you. I already cleared it with Brennan. I’ve been spending too much time following you around and not enough time building the family business.”
His words cut deep but I keep my emotionless mask in place, not wanting to let him know how much he is hurting me.
Since finding out about the baby, he’s barely said anything to me. What little he has said has nothing to do with the baby or what he wants to do about it.
