Page 44

Chapter 43

I put the finishing touches on a wedding cake that was to be delivered this weekend and stood back to admire my handiwork.

“That’s gorgeous,” Barry said, walking up beside me. “Those silvery pearls are a nice touch.”

“I think Andrea will be pleased.”

“But will her mother?” he scoffed, and I shook my head in silent commiseration with the poor bride. She was dealing with a full-fledged mom-zilla.

“Who the hell knows? That woman is something else.”

Barry checked his phone, and his ginger eyebrows shot straight up. “Whoa, they caught that serial killer.”

“The one near Miami?” I asked, instantly on high alert.

“Yep.” His eyes scrolled down the screen. “Wow. Dude dressed up as Prince Charming for kids’ birthday parties. That was how he found his victims. Holy shit!”

“Would you mind storing the cake for me? I need to make a phone call.”

“Sure thing.”

Walking out the back door to the employee parking lot, I found a shady spot beneath a full oak tree and leaned against the thick trunk before dialing Eden’s number. She answered right away.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe. I was wondering if you’ve seen the news today.”

“The serial killer thing?” she asked.

“Yeah, that.”

I could hear the excitement in her voice. “I did. I got to see Monty doing some press conferences and stuff. He’s kinda famous and shit now.”

I laughed. “That’s pretty cool.” The sounds of waves crashing in the background caught my ear over the phone line, and I frowned. “Are you at work?”

She hesitated only for a second. “No, I wasn’t feeling great, so Maz sent me home.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, pushing away from the tree.

“Just an upset stomach. I’m fine. Sitting on the lanai with a glass of iced tea, a cute dog, and a grumpy cat.”

“Did you throw up?”

“Just once, but—”

“I’m on my way. I’ll stop and get some 7-Up.”

“Dane,” she sighed, “I’m fine. I promise.”

“See you in a few minutes,” I said and hung up.

When I arrived at home, my wife was indeed on the back porch with her feet up. I watched her through the window for a moment before filling a glass with ice and the clear soda. Taking it outside, I swapped it for her glass of tea and kissed the top of her head.

“How are you?”

“I told you I was fine, you sweet, ridiculous man. I think I just got emotional, you know? I haven’t heard my brother’s voice in sixteen years, and it was weird.”

I took the seat beside her and draped my arm around the back of her chair. “I guess that makes sense. I was done anyway. I finished up a wedding cake, and all the baking is done for the day.”

Eden tilted her head over against my shoulder. “Then I guess I get to spend the rest of my day with my husband.”

Almost three weeks later, I was wiping down tables at Sweet Heaven at the end of the day. There was only one table of customers left, two twenty-something ladies who were sipping lattes and eating coffee-flavored cupcakes with a chocolate ganache drizzle on top, one of our most popular desserts.

“Did you hear that Bouvier woman died?” one of them said in a conspiratorial voice.

It was all I could do to keep from whipping my head around, but I continued with my task and shamelessly eavesdropped. “Who? The one married to Auburn? Because I wouldn’t mind being a shoulder he could cry on.”

Oh fuck. Are they talking about Gianna Bouvier?

“No,” the other one giggled. “The older one. Auburn’s mom.”

Holy shit! I hightailed it to the kitchen and found one of the high school kids who worked after school. “Brandon, can you finish up in the dining room? I’m going to head home. Got some… family stuff.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Osbourne. Hope everything’s okay.”

I arrived home a few seconds after Eden and pulled into the driveway beside her cute little sports car. She didn’t seem to be aware that anything was amiss, if her exuberant wave was any indication.

Hopping out of the SUV, I pulled her into a hard hug, and she laughed. “What’s that for?” She snuggled into my chest. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Come inside, sweetheart. We need to talk.”

Twenty minutes later, I was squatting beside my wife as she threw up in the toilet. After showing her a news article about Chloe Bouvier dying in a car accident, she’d immediately taken off for the bathroom with me right on her heels.

I helped her stand and massaged her shoulders while she brushed her teeth at the silver sink. When she was done, I handed her a hand towel to wipe her mouth and met her eyes in the mirror.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I think so. It was just a shock. We’ve never been really close.” She dropped her head and leaned her palms against the countertop. “I feel bad saying this because she’s dead, but I never really knew her. She was cold, you know? Like someone who just lived in our house, not like a mother at all. I was closer to our housekeeper than my own mother.”

I continued massaging her shoulders when I asked my next question. “Are you pregnant?”

Eden blew out a breath and then turned to face me, her brown eyes meeting mine. “I think… maybe.”

My heart turned Grinch-like, growing three sizes in the span of a couple seconds. “Really?” I was practically breathless with excitement. Just as I was about to suggest that I go get a pregnancy test, Eden reached into a drawer and pulled one out.

“I bought this when I got sick a couple weeks ago but never used it because I felt better.”

I cupped her face and leaned my forehead against hers. My blood was moving entirely too fast through my veins, like the blood cells were in an all-out sprint. “Will you take it now?”

Five minutes later, we stared down at the little stick on the glossy red tiles of the counter, and our entire lives changed.

Pregnant.

Joy. Elation. Wonder. My mind was a fucking thesaurus of every happy word in existence.

As if our eyeballs were being pulled by invisible ropes, we looked at each other, and I didn’t have to ask if she was as happy as I was. Her brilliant smile said it all.

“We’re having a baby,” she whispered.

“We’re having a baby,” I said in a much louder voice because fucking hell , I was going to be a dad! Grabbing Eden’s butt, I lifted her until her legs banded around my waist. Then I spun us in circles until I was so dizzy I was at risk of tipping over.

“You’re going to make me puke again,” she giggled, and I leaned my back against the wall for balance and fell even more in love with the woman who was now carrying my child.

Dr. Makenna Katten smiled as she turned from her computer to face us. I’d called and insisted that the OB/GYN’s office get my wife in for an appointment the very next day. I was fully prepared to pull out my old Damiano persona to get what I wanted, even if that meant busting into the office with guns blazing and demanding they check her out. Luckily, they’d had a last minute cancellation, and I was saved from reverting to my former proclivities.

“Congrats, kids. You are indeed expecting. I’d say you’ll be getting a new member of the family in late October.”

Eden and I shared a smile, our intertwined fingers resting on her thigh. She was freaking glowing. I knew that sounded cliché, like something everyone said, but I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if her skin glittered like the vampires in those movies.

“And everything’s okay?” I asked, only pulling my eyes from my wife’s when the doctor hesitated. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Eden is fine, I promise. Just a bit anemic.” She tilted her head back and forth a few times, her dark-brown ponytail swinging around her shoulders. “Quite a bit, if I’m being honest. That means your red blood cell count is low.”

My wife sensed my rising panic and squeezed my hand. “What can we do about that?” she asked calmly.

How the hell is she calm right now when she doesn’t have enough red blood cells? Because that seems like a really big fucking deal.

“You’ll start on prenatal vitamins with plenty of iron, but you’ll also want to include plenty of leafy greens in your diet. Asparagus, brussels sprouts, and broccoli have lots of folate, which is also vital.” The doctor held up a bottle of pills and some paperwork before placing it into a white plastic bag. “There’s a month’s worth of vitamins and some literature for you to read. Feel free to call me if you have any questions.”

She stood, and I leaped from the plastic chair I was sitting on, alarm bells ringing in my head. “Wait! I mean… what? Shouldn’t she be in the hospital or something? For god’s sake! She doesn’t have enough blood cells.” I shook my head manically. “Isn’t there somewhere she could go to fix this? I’m pretty sure I read about a place in Switzerland that specializes in… blood. Or something.”

I was fully aware I sounded like a lunatic, but my wife— my freaking wife —was not well. And the best medical advice we could get was to eat more goddamn broccoli? The woman smiled indulgently, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Mr. Osbourne, I can assure you, this is not an uncommon thing for pregnant women. And I give you my word, I will stay on top of this.”

My mind whirled through all the things I knew about pregnancy, which admittedly, wasn’t a lot. “Should she be on bed rest?”

“That’s not necessary and can cause more harm than good, like blood clots. Though I would say that restricted activity would be wise since dizziness, fatigue, and weakness can be symptoms of anemia. That means no extreme sports like rollerblading or skiing. Since Eden has mostly a desk job, it’s fine for her to continue working. I would like for you to avoid traveling long distances though,” she said, patting Eden’s knee.

“Should I get her a wheelchair or something?” I asked, and I swear to god, the woman was biting her lip to keep from laughing at me.

“Not at all, Mr. Osbourne. Walking is actually a very healthy form of exercise.” Her lips crooked up at the corners. “And before you ask, normal sexual activities are also fine. In fact, I encourage it. A happy mommy is a healthy mommy.”

I lowered my voice. “Define normal sexual activities because—”

“Dane,” my wife broke in, her voice a razor-sharp warning.

“It’s okay. Trust me, it’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” Dr. Katten said with a chuckle. “Many fathers are concerned about this very thing. If you want specific things to avoid, I would say definitely no breath play. Also, many women have hemorrhoids during pregnancy, so be cautious with anal sex. Other than that, my advice is to listen to your partner. She’ll be able to tell you if anything is uncomfortable.”

The knots forming at the base of my skull seemed to loosen just a bit. Specifics. Yes, that’s what I needed, and I appreciated her candor.

I wanted to ask more questions, but my wife dragged me from the office. Once we were in the car, I cupped her chin and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “I’ll take care of you and our baby,” I told her. “I may not have had a very good paternal role model, but I can do this. I can be a good father.”

I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince her or myself, but her returning smile was so sweet, so full of confidence, I felt it in my bones.

“And I didn’t have a warm, loving mother in my life, but you did,” Eden said. “And I had a wonderful father. So we can help each other. Fill in the blanks we each have in our own experiences. We’ll be a team.”

My hand slid around to the back of her head and held her still for my kiss, one filled with all the promises I intended to keep.

“A family team,” I murmured against her lips before pouring all my love into another soul-bending kiss.

“I liked Dr. Katten,” she told me once we were on our way home.

“Hmph. She’s really young,” I said, unimpressed.

“She’s in her fifties. I looked up her bio before the appointment.”

“Yeah, but is she really? She could be lying. Just like your paperwork says you’re thirty-eight, but in actuality, you’re thirty-five. Maybe she’s—”

“Dane, it’s fine. She’s fully licensed and is known as the best OB/GYN on the Keys. Don’t make a big deal of it.”

I closed my mouth and nodded. I didn’t want to upset my wife, but I fully planned to have Robert do a deep dive on this Makenna Katten person—if that was even her real name.

They say when it rains, it pours. And a few nights after Eden’s mother passed away, I realized that was the truth.

I was roused from sleep by the ringing of my phone. A call, not a text. Glancing at my still sleeping wife in my arms, I carefully extricated myself and rolled to snag my cell from the nightstand. My brother’s name flashed on the screen, along with the time, 3:04 a.m.

Answering it as I rose from the bed, I whispered, “Give me a second.” Once I was downstairs and safely out of earshot, I spoke again. “What’s going on? You better not be drunk dialing me.”

“Luca’s dead,” Fiero blurted, and my heart almost fell out of my chest.

“Holy fuck. What happened?”

My brother’s voice was a little breathless. “The entire organization was at a party at Luca’s estate tonight. You know he hardly ever does that, has everyone under one roof, but he’s been planning this for weeks.”

I started preparing a pot of coffee because I had a feeling I was going to need some caffeine. “Go on.”

“An anonymous person sent a tip to the police that there would be unlawful activity going on there.”

My mind whirled. “And were you that anonymous person?”

There was a brief pause and then… “I was. I made an appearance and then scrammed. It was just as I suspected. Drugs, prostitutes, even underage girls partying like it was 1999.”

“Holy fuck,” I repeated because it pretty much summed up my feelings.

“Yeah, I’ve been listening on the police scanner, and I heard that everyone was arrested. Luca and two others were killed. The entire organization is going down. Well, except for me.”

I felt dizzy at the thought, and I wondered if maybe I was anemic too. Pouring myself a mug of coffee, I settled on a barstool at the breakfast bar. “Are you safe? Where are you?”

“I’m on my way to Florida. I stopped to get a new phone, and I’m going to toss this one in the river. I’ll text you my new number, so if you could send me Jamie and Robert’s address…”

“I’m on it,” I said, my chest filling with so much gratitude and love for my brother. I knew he’d done this for me. For me and Eden and our baby.

We hung up, and I rested my elbows on the bar and buried my hands in my hair. I could take her home. I could fulfill the promise I’d made to Eden all those years ago. And it would finally be safe to do so.

Then a voice popped into my head, the voice of Makenna. And yeah, I’d gotten on a first name basis with the doctor over the past few days. Robert had checked her out, and she was completely legit, thank god. She had finally given me her cell number after I’d called the office nine times in two days. Apparently, I was “disrupting the staff” with my questions. But whatever. There were detailed things I needed to know, and Makenna had very patiently answered them each time I called her.

I would like for you to avoid traveling long distances though , I remembered her saying to Eden on our initial visit, and my mood sank slightly. Though her anemia was much better due to the diligent use of vitamins and a solid diet, I still wasn’t taking any chances.

I was going to take my wife home… but we’d have to wait until our baby was born.