Passion(15)

“Laugh now, kitten” he growled. “Because you’re the one who’s going to pay for it later.”

I was sure he meant it as a threat, but we both knew I’d more than enjoy whatever form of punishment he doled out later.



I was completely relaxed, leaning against Brandon’s side while I enjoyed a delicious slice of chocolate cake and a glass of wine. Anna and Nic were in much the same positon across from us. We’d finished cleaning up from an impromptu barbeque in our backyard about ten minutes ago, and the children had raced off to play in the yard. Sophia sat in the grass near the play set, her legs crossed while she texted with friends on her cell phone. Regan and Niccolo Jr. were in a competition to see who could swing the highest, while Claire, Molly, and Natalia were busy pretending to cook in the play house.

“I forgot to tell you, the school called me about Niccolo this morning,” Nic told Anna. “Apparently, he gave another boy a black eye during recess.”

“My little boy hit someone?” she gasped, sounding horrified. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We should have talked to him about it before coming over for dinner and letting him play with Regan like nothing bad happened today.”

“Calm down, bellissima,” he murmured soothingly while stroking her back. “He had a good reason to hit the other kid.”

“What could another kindergartner do that possibly warranted getting a black eye?”

Nic’s gaze slid towards Brandon, and I braced myself for his answer at the hint of apprehension I saw there.

“He tried to steal a kiss from Regan.”

My husband’s body stiffened as Nic’s response sunk in. “Some little punk tried to kiss my baby girl?”

“Blackening his eye seems like an overreaction when they’re only in kindergarten,” Anna inserted.

Brandon glared at her while I tried to stifle a giggle. Nic ignored us all and continued with his story.

“Niccolo said she went down the slide before he did, but he was less than a minute behind her. While she was waiting for him, the other boy cornered her and demanded a kiss. When he saw what was happening, Niccolo pulled him away from her and socked him one, right in the face.”

“Exactly as he should have done,” Brandon muttered.

“No less than what I would expect of my boy,” Nic agreed proudly.

“Remind me to buy him something special tomorrow,” Brandon told him. “Without boys of my own, I could use all the help he can give me watching out for my girls. I’m not above a little bribery to make sure I get it.”

“Bribes aren’t needed,” Nic replied.

“Maybe not, but I’m sure they’re appreciated.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Nic chuckled and waved his hand towards Regan. “From what my son told me, your daughter is more than able to defend herself. Part of the reason he was so easily able to get the boy away from her is because she’d already kneed him in the balls. The kid didn’t share that information with the teacher because he was too ashamed to admit he’d been hurt by a girl.”

“Not just any girl,” Brandon said smugly. “My girl.”

I hadn’t planned to say anything until tomorrow morning when I took a test to confirm my suspicions, but this conversation was too good an opportunity to pass up. We could still continue our tradition with me taking a pregnancy test with Brandon hovering over me like he’d done the last two times since he’d missed out on it when I was pregnant with Regan. He could just look forward to it all night like I was going to do.

“About that help you seem to think you need,” I whispered in his ear, sliding his hand around my waist until it rested on my stomach. “Maybe you'll get lucky and we'll have a boy this time.”

Eight months later, we were in for a surprise. Little Callum had tricked us during the ultrasound, and we’d been expecting another girl. But, Brandon ended up getting his son after all.