Page 83 of Always Meant To Be
She nods. “But you’re not sleeping; you're constantly watching over us. If he makes a sound, you’re on him instantly. I wince, you're there. You need to rest; you need to work to help steady you again.”
I lick my lips, “Farfalla….”
She cuts me off and butts in, “I know you are worried, I do, and I love you so much for it, but I don’t want you to lose yourself. You’ve gone from emotion to emotion since I woke up, and I would like the man I fell in love with back. We’re okay, Rome, we’re here.”
Sighing, I round the bed and gently cup her cheek, my eyes taking in every little detail.
“I just want one more week…” I admit, and it's not a lie, but I do. I want a week at home with them, just the three of us. Papa stated he’d help Antonio this morning, as did Leonardo.
She softens, leaning against my touch, and agrees, “One week, then your butt is going to work, but I want you home on weekends and by five in the evenings….”
I grin and fold instantly. “Your wish is my command.”
She smiles, and I lean down, kissing her lips, gently caressing them. Then I sigh and whisper, “Five weeks and three days to go….”
She giggles, already knowing what I mean, and demands, “No more babies for at least two years, Romeo.”
I smirk, knowing Luca’s sibling will be inside her within the next four months, even if I have to make her think her birth control pills are working for the first few.
Kissing her again, I admit, “I don’t want you to go back to work….”
Her eyes go to Luca. “I kind of don’t want to, either, because I don’t want to leave him, but I-I just….”
I smile gently, rubbing my thumb along her jaw. “You love teaching….”
She nods. “Your mamma said she’d be on grandmother duty, and bring him to the school on lunch breaks….”
I nod, proud that she’s willing to return to that school, especially after the principal promised to move her room. Placing my nose to the top of her head, I inhale. She smells like a hospital, and I fucking hate it.
“I’m glad you're being discharged today,” I admit after a few minutes of holding her. She snorts as the door to the room opens, and we pull apart to see her parents walking in.
Anastasia’s eyes go to my son, and the want in them is as clear as day.
I still haven’t allowed anyone else to hold him, much to everyone’s dismay. And Anastasia, well, I don’t see why she shouldeverhold him after everything she’s done.
Although Maxim nearly got to hold him yesterday while he was napping.
He and his wife visited, and my wife tried to distract me, but I caught him before he could lift Luca.
He growled while the women laughed their asses off, and then I proceeded to chew him out.
“Hey,printsessa,” Mikhail rasps as he walks over to us and kisses my girl’s head before his eyes go to Luca, then me, pleading.
I shake my head, and he pouts, making me smirk.
“Rome,” El says sternly, and I snort before gently handing him over to hisdedushka, who instantly grins and takes him from me.
I glare at my wife, but she pats my chest, and gently sits on the bed.
“Elena…” Anastasia says, hurt in her tone.
My wife shakes her head. “If you want to rehash the past, Mama, you may as well leave. I’m still tired because, shockingly enough, being in a coma for five weeks tires you out. I haven’tgot it in me to argue, and Papa, don’t tell his Nonna you held him first. It doesn’t matter if you used to be Pakhan or that you're my father, she’ll skin you alive.”
I chuckle at her words as Anastasia looks down.
“Don’t worry,printsessa, I haven’t got a death wish.” He looks down at my son as I sit on the edge of the bed, my hand going to my wife’s calf as she leans against the back of the raised end of the bed. Mikhail gloats, “I have the best-looking grandson in the world. He’s perfect….”
I grin at his words before looking toward his wife, whose eyes are on her daughter instead of her grandson. I sigh, counting back in my head.