Page 98 of Worth the Risk
“Let’s get this over with,” Nick says. “Sofia made an excellent dinner, and I’m starving.”
I let out a pained giggle at his nonchalantness, and he peers at me. “This is just a technicality, Hannah. It’s clear to all of us that you’re meant to be Luca’s.”
“I hope so,” I murmur, and only Arianna hears. She gives my hand a quick squeeze as Luca motions for me to follow him to the front door.
I get a whiff of food through the open door, and my mouth waters. I’m just at the end of the first trimester, and the nausea has finally begun to wane. I’m craving salt and savory foods constantly.
“Alright. This is super easy. Nothing to worry about,” Luca mutters to himself. He might have talked a big game in the car, but I know he’s worried. He bends down to scoop me up, and once I’m in his arms, our eyes meet. He gives me a tender smile. “You’re the love of my life, Pixie.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, my hands finding his hair and scratching his scalp with my fingertips.
“I love when you do that,” he whispers.
“What?”
“Scratch me.”
“Luca, your parents are right there!” I hiss, my eyes widening in horror and embarrassment.
“They know we have sex, Han. Clearly when we tell them you’re having my baby, they’ll realize it even more,” he jokes.
“You’re having a baby?” Isabella shrieks.
Luca winces. “Whoops.”
“Nice, Luca. We had a whole plan for telling them, and you blurt it out while standing outside your parent’s house,” I say.
“Technically, I said it inside their house.”
I jolt, looking around, and realize we’re now well inside the house, standing by a beautiful stone fireplace.
“Told ya we’d be okay,” Luca says proudly. I’m still in his arms as he smiles at me.
“You can put me down now,” I whisper.
“Not until you give me a kiss.”
Luca’s eyes sparkle with mischief, love, and adoration, and I’ve never felt so complete in my life. “I love you so much, baby.”
“I love you too, Pixie. Now kiss me.”
Laughing, I grab his face in my hands and lay one on him, then listen as his entire family cheers in the background. I finally have a supportive family, and a phenomenal man.
Leaving Georgia, taking a job with a hockey team, and taking a chance on Luca were definitely worth the risk.
Hannah
“What are you staring at, Mommy?” my three-year-old daughter, Melanie asks. I look down at her, my mini-me, and smile broadly. Melanie, the little bean in my tummy when Luca thought about retiring.
“Well,” I say, lifting her up to my waist and pointing at one of my favorite pictures, “this picture is from when Daddy won the Stanley Cup at his last game. And you were in my belly.”
“Like brudder,” Melanie says, patting my heavily pregnant stomach.
“Yes, sweetheart. Just like brother.”
If I had to take a guess, I’d say the newest Santo offspring would come out wearing skates, much like his dad and uncles did. As soon as we found out the baby’s gender, Luca was over the moon. That’s not to say he wasn’t thrilled with Melanie’s birth. The only other person wrapped as tightly around her little finger is her Nonno, Luca’s father. He might seem stoic and standoffish, but Nick Santo lives and breathes for his grandkids. He reserves most smiles for the youngest generation, and I’m fine with that. At least he has a relationship with them, which is more than I can say for my own parents.
Within a few weeks of Caroline being arrested, more information came out highlighting just how involved my parents were in the mess. Caroline folded quickly, explaining how she was the victim. How Woodward promised her he’d leave his wife, but always came up with excuses why he couldn’t do it. How she didn’t have a great relationship with her own parents, so when her older sister reached out and asked for her help, she jumped at the opportunity. Besides, she claimed, I had been given everything my entire life. I deserved to be taken down a few notches.