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Roman exhaled in relief. He’d been worried for a minute there. He hugged his friend back, coughing when Abel thumped his back hard. “Thanks, man.”
When Abel stepped back, Sal was right there. He snatched Roman up, spinning him around. “Woo hoo! This is amazing! Congratulations!” He dropped Roman back onto his feet. He was from grinning ear to ear and his eyes were suspiciously shiny.
Luca ran over, hopping around from foot to foot. “We’re having a baby! I’m so excited.”
Roman laughed, so grateful. “Yes. We’re all having a baby.”
“What a lucky baby, to have you as a father and Angel as a mother,” Abel said sincerely.
Roman sucked in a sharp breath. It was the perfect thing to say. “I’m not going to lie. I’m absolutely terrified. I don’t want to fuck up a tiny human’s psyche.”
“But isn’t that the fun part?” Sal joked. He winked and everyone laughed before he turned serious. “Roman, you are going to be an incredible dad. You never fail, and you’re not about to start now. Besides, with Angel as the kid’s mommy, what can go wrong?”
“Right?” Abel agreed with a huge smile. “Talk about setting the kid up for success.”
As Luca, Sal, and Abel started discussing baby names, nursery themes, and debating who was going to be the favorite uncle, Roman wandered over to Morrigan. She was leaning against the wall and had yet to speak. Roman put his hands in his pockets, resting his back against the wall next to her.
“A baby, huh?” Morrigan eventually said.
Roman dipped his head. “That’s right.”
Morrigan grunted and pulled out a switchblade. She spun it expertly around her fingers. “Don’t expect me to change any diapers.”
Roman laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He thought about it for a moment and nudged her shoulder companionably. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I think that’s more of an uncle’s job, don’t you?”
Morrigan followed his gaze to Abel, snickering evilly. “I think you’re right. If ever there was a man made for cleaning up shit, it’s Abel.”
“You love him,” Roman pointed out, knowing it was true.
“I really don’t,” she immediately denied. But it was more reflex than anything else. When he simply stared at her, saying nothing, she huffed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. I like him more now that he isn’t trying to get in my pants at every opportunity.”
“That’s fair,” Roman decided. “You’ll be a wonderful aunty.”
Morrigan’s fingers faltered around the blade, and she nicked herself for the first time in Roman’s memory. “Shit,” she hissed. She inspected the small cut, sucking the blood off. “I’m going to be an aunty.”
“You are,” Roman confirmed. There was no way Morrigan was getting out of aunty duties.
“And you’re going to be a father,” she stated.
Hearing those words made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The fear was still there. But the love was bigger. “I am.”
“You’ll do fine. You’ve already had practice with Luca, and he turned out okay,” Morrigan mumbled, sniffing and swiping her nose with the back of her hand.
Roman released a relieved breath. She was happy for him. She was also crying. The opportunity to tease her was like a neon sign, but for once, Roman passed it up. Instead, he simply said, “Thank you.”
Morrigan shrugged. “Uh huh.” Her expression turned pensive before she spoke again. “She’s going to need to learn how to fight. I’ll teach her how to gut someone without getting carpal tunnel.”
“Thanks. I’m sure Angel will appreciate that,” he said dryly. But he was grinning. “She? What makes you think it will be a girl?”
Morrigan looked at him like he was an idiot. “Are you serious? Of course it’s a girl. And she’s going to be just like her mother. Which means you’ll never win another argument in your life.”
Roman froze. His cousin was right. The baby was definitely a girl. And he was definitely fucked. “Dios...” he murmured, performing the sign of the cross.
Morrigan laughed, the sound booming across the room. “I cannot wait to watch this. It’s going to be better than The Bachelorette. And that shit is the gold standard for reality TV.”
Roman scowled at her. “Why are you comparing it to that show? It’s not like she’ll be dating anyone. Ever.”
Morrigan laughed again, finally putting her switchblade away. She patted him on the shoulder. “Oh, yeah. This is going to be great.”
