Page 113 of Irreplaceable

The door to the car opened, and Nico peeked his head in. “Ready, boss?”

I took a deep breath and slid my sunglasses into place, steeling myself for the greeting I’d receive. The paparazzi shouted questions at me as we walked through the airport, and I ducked my head and kept moving. I needed to get home. I needed to see my uccellina and make sure she and Aiden were okay.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. Fuck. Fourteen hours seemed like an eternity.

We were about to board when my phone rang again. I tried to answer, but my hands were shaking so much, Nico had to do it for me.

“Lorenzo?”

“Yes.” I could barely force the word out.

“This is Dr. Fulton. Harper’s out of surgery,” she said, and while I wanted to be relieved, her tone told me the worst wasn’t over. I braced myself, though I didn’t know how I’d bear it if anything had happened to her or Aiden. “She’s not out of the woods yet.”

“And Aiden?” I was almost too scared to ask. I placed my hand over my heart, afraid it had stopped beating for a moment.

There was an announcement over the airport PA system, making it impossible to hear. I hadn’t been able to make out anything she’d said.

“I’m sorry. Can you please repeat that?”

“Aiden was delivered by C-section, and they’ve taken him to the NICU.”

“Thank god,” I exhaled. “Thank you. Thank you.” I didn’t know whether I was saying it to Dr. Fulton or God, but I didn’t care. I was just so very grateful they were both alive.

* * *

“Juliana, hey,”I said, jogging down the corridor to where she was standing outside Harper’s hospital room.

I’d intended to stop to pick up flowers on the way, but I’d already waited long enough to see Harper and meet my son. I could’ve used a shower too, but all I cared about was getting to them. Holding them—my family.

Something in Juliana’s expression shifted when she saw me, and it gave my heart a painfully long pause.

“What’s wrong? Is it Harper? Is Aiden okay?” I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle at this point. The past eighteen hours had been the most stressful in my life.

“They’re both recovering.” Her voice was flat, as was her expression.

My entire body slumped. “Good. Good. Where is everybody?”

“Doc is sitting with Aiden, and I just came out from Harper’s room to get some coffee. Everyone else went home to rest.”

“Thank you for being here for her,” I said, giving Juliana’s shoulder a squeeze. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—” I headed for Harper’s room.

“Enzo.” Juliana placed her hand over mine. “Wait.”

“What?” I furrowed my brow, dropping my hand.

She worried her lip then said, “I was with her when she had the seizure. I saw how upset she was. I think you should give her some more time to recover first.”

I jerked my head back. “What?”

There was no way I could stay away from the woman I loved when she needed me most.

“She’s still so fragile right now, you know?” Juliana looked as if she might cry. “And I’m afraid that she’ll find seeing you distressing.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I just wanted to explain and make things better.

The door to Harper’s room opened, and Dr. Fulton stepped into the hallway. “Enzo,” she said, glancing between Juliana and me. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” I forced myself to smile. To act normal.