Page 104 of Breathtaking

“No fucking way,” Callen groans, and Nonna smacks the back of his head.

“Language, Callen.”

Dad smiles skeptically. “Pretty sure that’s not it, Nonna. That’s just Lennon being postpartum.”

Nonna doesn’t look convinced and starts muttering in Italian as she walks away.

“She’s wrong, right?” I grasp at straws, and I start thinking about the past few weeks.

She has been extra emotional.

And extra tired.

And her boobs have been so sensitive, but I thought that was just a nursing thing... And a fucking fantastic thing. God, I love her tits. But seriously... she can’t be.

Oh, fuck me...

I hand Callen my beer and take the steps two at a time. No sooner have I hit the top step than I hear her crying. Or maybe it’s Caitlin. Shit. Or both of them.

I turn back around and whisper-yell down the stairs, “Hey, Callen. Get your ass up here.”

When he gets to the top, he stops and looks at me. “The fuck?”

Like two jackasses scared to set off a bomb, we basically tiptoe down the hall and stand outside Caitlin’s childhood bedroom, staring. “Knock, man. She’syourwife,” I tell him.

“Dude, my wife wasn’t green when she came up the stairs, and it’syourparents’ house.Youfucking knock.”

Lucky comes out of his bedroom across the hall and shoves open Caitlin’s door without knocking. “They’ve been crying for ten minutes. Fucking fix it. I’m trying to concentrate in here.”

I don’t even want to know what the little shithead is concentrating on because as soon as I look in the room, I find my sister and my wife both sitting with their asses on the floor and their backs against the bed. Matching red faces are covered in tears, and they’re each holding a pregnancy test.

“Somebody want to explain what the hell is going on?” Callen asks, clearly not catching the tests in their hands.

And the look my sister gives him means she’s unimpressed. “What’s going on is that I have an eight-month-old downstairs, and you managed to knock me up again, you jackass.”

I tune out whatever those two are saying as I stare down at my wife, who’s refusing to look up at me. But judging by the white test strip with the giant pink plus sign, I’m guessing Caitlin’s not the only one who just passed this test with flying colors. I squat down and pick her up, then carry her into my old bedroom, looking for a little privacy. Once I’ve sat down on the bed with Lennon in my lap, I brush her hair from her face, turning her to look at me. “Want to tell me something,amore?”

She looks at me with crocodile tears pouring down her face. “How come you only speak Italian words when they’re romantic?”

“What?” I ask, completely caught off guard. “I do not.”

“You do. You use my love for the way you sound speaking Italian to get into my pants. Admit it.”

“Baby...” I try not to laugh at her because I’m pretty sure she’s serious. “I don’t know. My dad always used to do that to my mom. It just kind of seemed natural. And you never gave me shit when I’d call youprincipessathe way you would when I called you princess. Plus,principessameans something different in my world. It doesn’t just mean that you’re a princess, it means you’remyprincess. It isn’t something I’ve ever called anyone but you.”

“Are you going to be mad if I tell you I’m pregnant again?” she asks softly.

“Pretty sure you didn’t get that way by yourself, Lennon. Why would I be mad?” Shocked maybe... but not mad. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.” She wipes the tears from her face and blinks away the remainder from her lashes. “Brennan isn’t even two months old. What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to order another crib and convert one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery. And then maybe we’re going to hire someone to come in and help you, but this seems like a lot on your body.” My mind is going into fix-it mode, but my heart... my heart is fucking melting. “Maybe I shouldn’t love the idea of you pregnant again, but I kinda do. I didn’t get to do all those early months with you last time. This time, we know right away. And this time, we can go through it together.”

“You and your super sperm had better plan on fucking me a whole lot during this pregnancy because I swear to God, I may never let you near me again after this one.” She’s not serious. No matter how hard she’s fighting to keep a straight face. “We’re going to have another baby.”

I lean my forehead against hers. “We’re going to have another baby.”

“I want an epidural this time,” she whispers.

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