Page 78 of Single Mom's Secret Diary
Ezra buries his face in the side of my neck and murmurs, “How she heard you, I will never understand, but I swear that woman has bat sonar.”
“You don’t disrespect your mother.” Mai slaps and shoos the three of them away from me, and I’m crushed in her grip as soon as there’s enough space for her. Her arms are tight around me as she rocks me back and forth in a hug. “New baby is greatest luck. You will move in with us. My son take care of you.”
“Don’t forget that it might not be mine,M?,” Ezra says from behind me, and Mai swats her hand through the air.
“If she is yours, and baby is hers, baby is yours. Simple as that. We spoil.” She pulls back to look me up and down before patting my cheek softly.
“I think we’re going to need a bigger house.” Ezra’s voice is laced with amusement. How often does his mother take over for him like this? I imagine far more often than he cares for. But he also seems used to it.
Her thumb strokes my cheekbone, and she gives me another one of those brilliant smiles.
It makes me love her a little, even if I’m a little terrified of her, too.
“We must feed you. You have birthing hips, but you need more padding.”
“Mom.” Ezra blanches with horror, but my head falls back with my laughter.
“You can feed me,M?. I lean a little sweeter during the first trimester.” I squeeze the hand she’s holding. It’s easy to see that her words come from a place of love. If not for me—yet—then for the baby. And that’s all I can ask for.
Besides, my Italian family will react much the same. And they did when I was pregnant with Charlie. The constant baked goods had Dad in his happy place and me fighting morning sickness behind a mountain of pastries.
Mai nods and tuts at the boys, waving them all inside. Ryder slips an arm around my waist and thankfully escorts me to the oversized couch. He lowers us both to a cushion and keeps my side pressed against him.
His mouth teases my ear. “I can’t seem to let go of you now. Is that normal?”
I purse my mouth and side-eye him. “I don’t really know. I haven’t done this with other people before.”
Dad clears his throat behind me, his hands on his hips as he raises a brow at me.
“I had you. I know. That’s not what I meant.”
His eyes narrow, but he bites back his own smile. It crinkles the corners of his eyes before he bends to kiss the top of my head. “I knew it.”
“Too observant for your own good, Dad.” I take his hand, and he squeezes mine.
“I’m glad you don’t have to do it alone this time.” He drops another peck into my hair before he pats Ryder’s shoulder and returns to the kitchen where Mai is banging around his cupboards and pulling things from his fridge.
“Dom. Show me where you keep your pans. They are not in the right place.”
The horror that flashes across my dad’s face has me laughing as Wyatt lowers himself on my other side. His long fingers filter through my hair and graze the side of my neck in such a tender way. His soft side is getting softer.
“How long until we can see it…” Wyatt clears his throat. “Him. Or her?”
“Probably not for another month. I will have to go to the doctor before then.”
Wyatt nods and seems content to be near me, like Ryder.
Ezra props himself on the coffee table across from me, touching my knees. The soft, kneading pressure of his hands lets me relax a little further into Ryder’s side.
“How are you feeling?” His voice is soft and comforting, and emotion clogs my throat at what my pregnancy with Charlie could have been like if I hadn’t run away from Ezra in the middle of the night. If I hadn’t expected it to be just a Spring Break fling.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Hormonal.”
All three of them laugh a little as I try to get control of myself again. I suppose my overreaction this morning makes much more sense to me now. I’ve always had such tight reins on my emotions—or as much as my Italian heritage would allow.
“But really, I’m good. A little queasy, but good.” I look into his brown eyes and decipher the question lingering there. “I only found out this afternoon. Literally two minutes before your mom showed up.”
Ezra’s head falls forward, half hiding his grin as he shakes his head. “That woman has uncanny timing.”
