Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
My axis tilted. My center shifted toward her. Now, Allegra’s my everything.
I like it. I don’t want to lose this feeling. Not for anything.
“You want something?” I ask, pushing open the door. “Gonna get coffee.”
“Yeah, just a regular large. Cream, no sugar.”
“You got it.”
I head toward the shop, but I stop before I reach the door. My phone’s ringing. I lift it to my ear.
“Yeah, this is Gian.”
“Baby. It’s me.” Allegra’s voice is shaky and all my hackles rise. My heart starts racing and I freeze about a foot from the coffee shop entrance.
“What’s wrong?”
“You need to come home.”
“Allegra. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m okay. I mean, I’m fine, I just need you to come home. Can you come home?”
“I’m on my way.” I hang up and race back to the truck. I hop behind the wheel, throw it into gear, and peel out, roaring into traffic.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
I flinch and glare at Carlo. “I forgot you were in here.”
“Uh, right, that’s a little insane. Why the fuck are you driving like the world’s about to end?”
“Allegra needs me.”
“Motherfucking—” He rolls his eyes. “She okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, hurry your ass up, your wife needs us.”
“Me,” I growl at him. “She needs me.”
“She’s getting two for one. Lucky girl!”
I ignore my dickhead brother as I race through the city, blowing through a couple stop signs in my haste to get back home. Each second is forever and I’m vibrating out of my skin by the time I roar to a stop in the driveway. I leap from the truck and barrel inside. “Don’t worry, bro, I’ll just hang out in the kitchen!” Carlo yells after me.
I’ve already forgotten about him again. I stomp up the steps. “Allegra?” I call out. “Where are you?”
“In here.” Her voice is muffled by doors. I find her in the master bathroom sitting on the edge of the tub with her face in her hands.
Fuck, she looks so small. I hurry over to her and drop to my knees, gently prying her face up so I can see into her eyes. “What’s wrong? Baby, talk to me, what happened?”
She’s smiling. There are tears in her eyes. “Look on the counter near the sinks.”
“I don’t understand.” There’s nothing, just a toothbrush and some toothpaste. Also, the floss. I left it out again even though she keeps telling me to put it in a drawer. Fuck, I’m bad at that.
“Gian,” she says softly. Her smile gets bigger. She kisses my cheeks. “Look again, you idiot.”
I get up slowly. She’s not upset. Actually, she looks fucking happy. “What’s going on right now?”
“Would you just look?” Her knees are bouncing and she’s chewing on her lip like she’s struggling to keep herself from laughing.
I turn around and look. Floss, toothpaste, toothbrush… and two white stick-like things. What the hell? I get closer, frowning as I stare at them.
And my heart goes haywire.
My head’s spinning out. My mind’s burning rubber. I grip the edge of the counter just to keep from buckling.
Two tests. Two pregnancy tests. And they’re both positive.
I whirl around. My mouth hangs open. She’s beaming at me.
“Figured it out this morning after I puked. My period’s late, and I just thought—” She gestures at the tests. “Sophia got them for me.”
“You’re serious?”
“I’m serious. We haven’t been careful, and I guess this is what happens, right?”
“You’re pregnant.”
She nods slowly. “I’m pregnant.”
I walk to her. I feel like I stepped into the center of a hurricane. The world around me is all chaos, but right now, with my Allegra, my wife, my girl, everything is still. Everything is right.
“You’re pregnant,” I say then pull her to her feet and wrap her in a rough hug. I kiss her hard, and hold her, and we’re laughing together. Well, she’s also crying a little bit, but mostly laughing. I look at the tests again then kiss her some more, until I hear the bathroom door open.
We both look over. Carlo’s standing there with a bottle, grinning like a maniac.
“Mazel tov, you happy fucking freaks,” he says, rips out the cork, and sprays champagne into the air.
Allegra shrieks, laughing. I can’t help but laugh with her. Carlo looks like a maniac pouring champagne down his throat. “What happened to waiting downstairs?” I ask, shoving his shoulder.
He pulls me into a hug. “Got bored. Congrats, bro.”
I take a long swig from the bottle. Allegra takes it from me and sets it aside. “Now that I can’t drink, you can’t either,” she says, kissing my neck. “Sorry, baby. It’s a solidarity thing.”
Carlo looks horrified. “You wouldn’t. Would you?”
She bursts out laughing. “No, I’m not a monster.”
“I would’ve done it,” I say even though I’m massively relieved. “But I really don’t want to.”
“I’m gonna go call for a driver to come pick me up,” Carlo says, backing out of the bathroom. “You two have some private time to celebrate then head up to the house for dinner. Want me to break the news or do you want to?”