Page 3 of Bellini Born

With my temper overruling the fear I’d felt walking into this building, I gritted out, “Take me to my wife.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but that’s not possible.”

“And why the hell not?”

He exhaled deeply. “When your wife was brought in, her injuries were severe. From what the paramedics explained, the car had rolled several times, and the damage to the exterior was so extensive that it required the use of hydraulic rescue tools toextract her body. That’s when they discovered she hadn’t been wearing her seat belt.”

I shook my head, silently cursing Allegra. Damn stubborn woman refused to wear one while pregnant, claimed it didn’t sit right over her belly.

Dr. Finch cleared his throat. “We rushed her into surgery as quickly as we could, but despite our best efforts, we were unable to stop the internal bleeding caused by the crash. That’s when we had to make the snap decision to deliver your daughter before we lost them both.”

My brows furrowed. His words didn’t make any sense. “What do you mean, lost them both?”

Looking me straight in the eye, the doctor explained, “I’m very sorry, Mr. Bellini, but your wife succumbed to her injuries sustained in the crash.”

Those words were like a bucket of ice water dumped directly over my head, and I sucked in a gasping breath. “A-Allegra’s dead?”

Dr. Finch hung his head. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

The scoff I let out was extremely inappropriate, given that I’d just been told my wife had died, but I couldn’t help it. I was practically unaffected by death at this point, but you know who wasn’t? The three-year-old little girl waiting for me at home, who no longer had a mother. How the hell was I supposed to explain to her that her mamma was never coming home? How could she trust that I would always keep her safe when the hole in her heart was a constant reminder that I’d already failed at that task?

Then there was the brand-new baby girl who would never know the comfort of Allegra’s arms, who would never get to hear the sweet sound of her softly sung lullabies as she rocked her to sleep.

It was all so unfair that my frustration with a situation I couldn’t control or change boiled over, and with two hands pulling on the stands of my hair, I shouted, “Fuck!”

My sudden outburst drew the attention of the medical personnel nearby, and Dr. Finch glanced around nervously.

“How about I show you to a waiting room where you can grieve in private?”

“No. Take me to my daughter,” I commanded.

“Mr. Bellini,” he began, his tone placating, which set me further on edge.

I arched an eyebrow. “Is there a reason you’re keeping me from my child?”

“It’s just that . . . The NICU aims to maintain a peaceful atmosphere, and I think it’s best if you calm down before I take you there.”

With my blood boiling, my jaw clenched. “I’m not going tocalm downuntil I see with my own eyes that my daughter is alive and well.”

The doctor must’ve realized he was fighting a losing battle because he ducked his head. “Yes, of course. If you’ll follow me.”

I fell into step beside him as we navigated the hallways of the hospital that led us to the neonatal intensive care unit, which featured no less than two dozen clear incubators. Each one contained a teeny-tiny infant who should by all rights still be growing within its mother’s womb—including my baby girl.

Dr. Finch came to a stop before an incubator that had a bright pink placard affixed to the outside, bearing the name BELLINI in capital letters. My breath caught in my lungs as I stared down at the baby lying flat on its back, attached to so many tubes it made my heart hurt.

A nurse in pink scrubs joined us. “Are you this little one’s daddy?” Her mood was too damn cheerful for this dark day.

I managed to grunt in the affirmative.

“Don’t let her size fool you; she’s a fighter. I can already tell.”

Of course she was. She came from strong stock.

Not strong enough to survive a car crash without a seatbelt.

“We didn’t manage to get a first name, though . . .” The nurse’s words trailed off expectantly.

Swallowing thickly, it struck me that Allegra and I hadn’t made it to that part of the planning for our new arrival. Truth be told, this pregnancy had flown by. I was busy with work, and Allegra was busy taking care of Bianca. We’d thought we had three more months to make these decisions, and never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined it would fall to me alone to name our child.