Page 113 of Bellini Bound

Chapter 28

Allie

“Ifyou’llexcuseme,I have to use the restroom.”

Like he was a perfect gentleman instead of a mafia boss, Matteo stood as his wife rose to her feet after making that declaration. Then, he watched with his brow furrowed as she gracefully navigated her way through the sea of tables toward the hallway where the bathrooms were located.

When he sat down, his eyes locked on mine, and he silently pleaded,Go with her?

Removing my napkin from my lap, I placed it atop the empty spot on the table in front of me, as we were between the salad and entrée courses of our meal. “You know what? I need to go too. Be right back.”

Enzo followed his cousin’s lead, standing alongside me when I pushed back from the table. I put a hand on his forearm, thanking him with a smile before following Summer out of the room.

I entered the lavishly appointed ladies’ room in time to hear a toilet flushing. Propping my hip against the sink, I waited, and a few seconds later, the door unlatched and Summer came out of the only occupied stall.

Without a word, she cupped her hands beneath the automatic faucet, bringing water to her lips and swishing a mouthful of it before spitting into the sink. After a quick wash, she lifted her eyes to view her reflection in the mirror, and I did the same. Her pale skin was clammy, and her normally bright eyes had gone dull.

“How far along are you?” I asked.

Placing both hands on the marble countertop, she dropped her head with a sigh. “What gave it away? Was it the vocal stylings of my salad making a sudden reappearance?”

My stomach clenched involuntarily. Thank God I’d walked in too late to hearthat.

“Actually, it was the bartender. He asked if I needed another ginger ale in a champagne flute for my friend.”

Summer huffed out a humorless laugh. “That’s what I get for trying to pretend like I’m still drinking. And to answer your question, I hit fourteen weeks a few days ago. All the books say the morning sickness should be tapering off by now, but I’m still puking my guts out morning, noon, and night.”

“I’m guessing Matteo knows since he all but begged me to follow behind and make sure you were okay.”

An audible swallow sounded as she lifted her head. “Yeah. The girls don’t yet. Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this whole thing.” She blinked furiously, her voice growing thick. “I may have shed more than a few tears. And not the happy kind.”

Well, that answered the question I had about the pregnancy being something they planned.

Gripping her hand, I gave it a sympathetic squeeze. “It can be . . . overwhelming if it’s an unexpected surprise.”

She blew out a heavy breath. “Tell me about it. We thought we were done, you know? Our family was already perfect. But then Italy happened, and we were careless, and now this.” Summer gestured toward her stomach, indicating the baby she was carrying. “And there’s a part of me that is fucking terrified it’s going to be a boy. I love Matteo with my whole heart, but the thought of handing over our child to this life, of him becoming the don someday and all the danger that comes with that? It’s—” There was a shake of her head. “It’s too much.”

“Your feelings about the situation are completely valid,” I reassured her. “You had this idea of what your future was going to look like, and now you have to pivot and make peace with this new reality.” Taking her hand, I offered, “Whenever you need to vent, you can come to me. I promise to provide a judgment-free zone.”

Summer’s blue eyes grew glassy. “Thank you. That’s really nice.” Tears spilled over her lashes, and she cursed, “Dammit. Apparently, I can’t shake the crying or the nausea.”

I bit back a smile, tossing her a wink. “Yeah, but at least you can blame the hormones.”

Watery laughter spilled from her lips.

“You ready to go back out there? Or do you need to go for round two?” I motioned toward the stalls.

She shook her head. “I’m good for now. But I can’t promise I won’t be back once dinner is served. Matteo ordered the chicken before we discovered my aversion to the smell.”

“You know what? I got the steak. Why don’t I swap with Matteo? Take his chicken so it’s nowhere near you?”

Her mouth dropped open. “You would do that?”

Lifting a shoulder, I said, “It’s no big deal.”

Arms linked, we left the restroom to rejoin our men. Leaning into my side, Summer remarked, “It probably makes me a bad person for saying this, but I’m glad you got stuck marrying Enzo. You’re a really great friend, Allie.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I teased back, depositing her at her husband’s side when we reached the table.