Worth the Chance(56)
My phone rings and Vinny’s voice calms me, even though he’s the subject of everything else in my life that brings tension these days. “Hey.”
“Hey, Beautiful.” His voice warms me after a long day of feeling cold.
Sighing loudly, I give in to what I’m feeling, even if I don’t fully understand it. How did I go from running from him to his voice bringing me comfort? “It’s good to hear your voice.”
“Bad day?” I can tell he’s smiling on the other end of the phone, even though I can’t see him. Male satisfaction throaty in his voice, he likes the thought of making me smile so easily.
“Yeah.”
“Wanna talk about it?” The irony doesn’t escape me.
“No, but thank you. How was your day?”
“Spent it in the hospital.”
“What happened?” Real concern takes hold of me.
“Elle’s having the baby. For real this time.”
“Wow, how is she?”
“She’s doing good. Though the doctor said it’ll be hours still. I’m going to run home and shower, came here in the middle of a workout. Think the nurses are eyeing me because I smell.”
As confident as he is, sometimes he’s totally clueless. “The nurses aren’t eyeing you because you smell. They’re eying you because you’re easy on the eyes.”
He laughs, “Well, I wouldn’t notice. I only have eyes for one woman these days.”
“Good to know.” It’s the first genuine smile I’ve had in two days.
“How about if I pick you up after I shower and we can grab a bite to eat and come back to the hospital. Hopefully the little guy will be around by then.”
“I’d love that.”
Chapter 34
Liv
I’ve never seen Vinny in such a playful mood. We arrive at the hospital and he takes my hand, together we walk, fingers linked, to the maternity ward. “How many kids you want to have?”
His question takes me by surprise. “Two, maybe three.”
He smiles at my response. “How about you?”
“Never really given it any thought.” He quiets for a minute, thinking. “Six.”
“Six?” I respond horrified. The number shocks me.
Vinny chuckles. “All boys.”
“Six boys? You do realize you don’t get to pick what you have, right?” I tease, nudging him with my shoulder.
As we arrive through the double doors, Nico comes into sight. He’s wearing light blue scrubs from head to toe, a cap covering his head, and matching blue paper booties on his feet. His smile is so big, I can see it even before he removes the blue mask from his face.
The two men hug, clinging to each other, tears in both their eyes. “Ten fingers, ten toes. He’s beautiful, just like his mother.” Nico sniffles back the start of tears.
“How’s Elle?”
“She hates me. Screamed something about my head being too big and that it was all my fault, right before the baby came out.” The wide smile never leaves his face.
“She’ll get over it.” Vinny grins, slapping Nico on the back.
“Yeah, nurses said that. Told me it was normal and she’d forget it as soon as they cleaned him up and she could hold him some more.” Noticing me for the first time, Nico greets me with a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, Liv. Thanks for coming.”
“Congratulations. I hope Elle doesn’t mind I’m here so soon after the baby was born.”
“You bring her coffee, she wouldn’t care if you were in the delivery room.”
Two hours later, we finally get to see Baby Nicholas’s mom. Coffee in hand, I greet Elle and congratulate her.
She smiles, quickly sipping the coffee. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”
Surprising me, the nurse wheels in a small clear cradle, where the baby lies wrapped snuggly in a soft blue blanket. Thinking we’d only get to see the baby behind glass, I look down at the perfect pink cheeks, mesmerized by the beauty and perfection of this living, breathing miracle that’s only hours old.
“You think you can hold ‘em without dropping him?” Nico elbows Vinny.
“I’m not you, old man. My hands are still good.” He grins.
“Wash your damn hands.” Nico chastises Vinny. The two have an interesting dynamic. It’s a cross between a father-son and brother-brother relationship, mixed with a bucket load of authority challenging on both their parts. Yet through it all, the two clearly love and care about each other deeply.
Something happens as I watch Vinny gently take baby Nicholas from Nico. A quiet moment, where all the sexual energy that emanates from the confident and controlling man slips beneath the surface, allowing a beautiful, gentle, incredibly loving man to rise to the top. Just watching him look down at the baby in awe of all his perfectness, a protective lion adoring his baby cub, clutches at my heart. I know exactly what he’s feeling as tears well up behind his eyes, love pouring out unbridled for no other reason than his heart decided it loved. I know because I feel it too…staring at Vinny.