“Hi. I’m Deidre La Russo,” I say politely, even though I want to smack his face off his body.
“Yes. I received a call from Salvatore Diamond that you’re here to surprise Roan and Alina. I just need to see your ID and I can let you go up?” the dickhead guard requests. I’m thankful my dad works for the Diamond family. His call earlier to Salvatore, Roan’s dad, must have gone well. He had to call someone in order for me to get upstairs without them knowing I was down here waiting for them. This needs to be done my way. And my way is to just get this all out in the open at once. Salvatore promised his discreetness. I appreciate him for it.
I reach into the diaper bag, which is also my purse, pull out my wallet, and hand him my ID. He scans it over then hands it back to me while his eyes travel up and down my body. Fuck off, dickface. You just turned your nose down on my baby and now you have the nerve to pop your eyeballs out of your head and gawk at my boobs.
“Thank you,” I say casually. My urgency to get upstairs and get this over with outweighing the fact I like being ogled, even if he is a twat. Wait? Isn’t that what all men want? Until they see a woman holding a baby, that is. Jerk.
Diesel decides to fully awaken at this time. He grunts and stretches, his eyes blinking to the light. Lifting his head, he looks at me with his sleepy, little eyes, then lays his head right back down on my shoulder.
I shrug at the guard then walk to the elevator. One thing I haven’t forgotten is how to swing my ass. And it’s a swinging. I know he’s staring too. I can feel it.
I may have a baby, but every part of my body still functions properly. Including my fingers, which would love to flip the fuckface off. Nope, I remind myself again. I definitely do not need a man.
The elevator dings and opens right after I push the button.
Stepping inside with a deep breath, I kiss my boy on the side of his chubby, little face. The doors click shut behind me. My stomach hits the floor the minute we start to climb.
Diesel reaches forward and grabs a chunk of my hair. “Ouch. You decided to wake up, huh?” I wrinkle my nose at him. He lets out a little snort. By the time we come to a stop, I think he’s pulled out half of my hair and shoved it into his mouth.
One step off of the elevator has me coming to a complete halt when I hear a voice I’m not prepared to hear yet.
“You got the name right, sweetheart, now please leave,” I hear him say. I scurry around the corner, my heart playing as fast as a fiddle in my chest. “Christ,” I whisper as I rest my head against the wall. For the first time since Diesel started chewing on my hair, I’m thankful he has his mouth full right now or he’d be babbling away. God, this is so not how I wanted this to happen.
I wait until I hear the ding of the elevator and the slamming of a door. Does he live here? If he does, I have not been informed of that, and I will definitely be asking my parents why the hell they did not tell me.
Curiosity does get the better of me, though. I need to see what she looks like. I peak around the corner. Her back is to me. My examination of her is quick when she steps in and starts to turn around.
Tall, blond. Shortest damn skirt I’ve ever seen. God. Is she a hooker?
I look back to the now closed elevator door, then down to my boy. “If he’s messed up with hookers, then maybe I don’t want you around him at all.” He tilts his head to the side. His little, chubby hand comes up and smacks me in the face. “Ha,” I whisper to him. “You’re never going to date, buddy.”
A few seconds later, I’m standing in front of Alina’s apartment. “You got this.” I reach up with clammy hands, press the doorbell, and wait.
“Oh, my god, Deidre!” Alina exclaims, pleased to see me. At that juncture, she goes silent. She shifts her gaze down to Diesel, then back to me. Her expression turns to shock, then wonder.
“Deidre. I… he’s—”
“Mine. Yes,” I say with excitement.
“Come in.” She moves out of the way so we can step inside.
“You have got to be shitting me?” Roan smirks, glimpsing down at the baby.
“Well, hello to you too, Roan. And no, I’m not shitting you. However, this one,” I point to Diesel, “shit’s a lot.”
“Wow. I’m not sure what to say,” he stresses, then laughs lightly. I’m assuming he finally got my ‘shit’ joke.
“That’s exactly what I said when I first found out I was pregnant.” I move to the couch. My feet are killing me. Not to mention Diesel is now starting to fuss.
“Is this why you disappeared?” Roan points down to Diesel where I’ve laid him down on the couch. I drop the diaper bag on the floor. Well, let’s get right to the point here, Roan.