Page 121 of Denim & Diamonds

“Yeah, I love baby fingers and toes. I want to see them.”

He zoomed in to show me little Patrick’s hands and feet. For a nine-and-a-half-pound baby, he didn’t look very chubby. His arms and legs were long and lanky. I suspected he was going to be a big boy, like his daddy. “He’s perfect, Brock. Absolutely beautiful.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Brock looked down at the baby and rubbed his cheek tenderly. The baby seemed to smile up at him, though I wasn’t sure that was possible yet. “Did you just see that?” he asked.

Considering my ovaries were currently exploding, I certainly had. “He loves his daddy already.”

Brock sighed. “Daddy. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

We talked for a few more minutes, but I didn’t want to monopolize the important bonding time between father and son. “Go enjoy your time with Patrick. Give me a call when you can.”

“Alright.”

“Congratulations again. You’re going to be a great dad.”

***

The following day, melancholy set in. I was sad that Brock had this new chapter of his life starting that I wasn’t part of. Yet I was also terrified of becoming part of it. I wasn’t ready to be a mom, wasn’t sure I everwould. And it wasn’t fair to be in their lives unless I was in it for the long haul.

This morning was my meeting with Giovanni, which was a welcome distraction. Unlike my initial meetings with the venture capitalists, our talk today wasn’t all about numbers. Giovanni had real vision, and we spoke about long-term goals, rather than focusing on ROI. And as we wrapped things up, Giovanni told me he would invest. I was convinced he would be a much better business partner, yet I hadn’t received a formal decline on my loan application with the bank yet, and ultimately, my first choice would still be to take full ownership back myself.

“Is it alright if I take a week or so to think about things? I have a lot going on right now.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want a partner who didn’t think things through thoroughly.” Giovanni stood and smiled. “Do you need to rush back to the States, or can I interest you in seeing some of the sites of beautiful Milan? My wife would love to take you to her favorite shops where the goods are all handmade. And I would be happy to give you a tour of our leather-manufacturing facility. Perhaps we can end the day with a wine tasting at our favorite grower?”

My gut reaction was to decline. I needed to get back home. Brock just had a baby, after all. But then it hit me that I wouldn’t be going to see Brock. At least not until I felt certain I could commit to them. So instead, I forced a smile. “Sure, why not?”

CHAPTER 30

Brock

“Jesus Christ.” I rocked the baby back and forth, but it didn’t stop him from crying. Beads of sweat dripped down my back, and I could feel the eyes of the passengers sitting nearby boring into me. I looked to the woman sitting to my right. “Sorry.”

She gave me a bullshit smile and whipped to the next page of her magazine. I should’ve asked her to switch seats with my brother before we took off. Elvin was seated two rows back, and I could’ve really used his experience right now. I had no idea what the hell was wrong with Patrick. He’d been fine when we boarded, and he’d fallen asleep while we were on the runway, but as soon as we took off, he started wailing. I looked down at his red face and rocked some more. “Shhh… It’s okay, little buddy. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

A few minutes later, we leveled out at flying altitude, and the captain made an announcement that we were free to move about the cabin. I thought about getting up and going back to see Elvin, but what if we hitturbulence and the baby got knocked from my hands? No, no… I needed to stay seated and belted in.

Butthank God, a few minutes later my brother appeared in the aisle at my side. “Kid’s got some set of lungs.”

I sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He was fine until we took off. I tried to give him the bottle, but he sucked once and then let the formula dribble out of the side of his mouth.”

“Hand him over. Let me give it a try.”

I shook my head vigorously. “No way. It’s not safe. What if we hit turbulence?”

Elvin looked amused, but I definitely wasn’t. He leaned toward the woman sitting next to me. “Excuse me. Would you mind changing seats with me? I’m just two rows back in a window seat, same as you.”

The woman couldn’t unbuckle fast enough. She grabbed her bag from under the seat and practically ran to row fourteen. Elvin parked himself next to me and put his hands out for the baby.

“Buckle first,” I snapped.

My brother reached for the seatbelt, shaking his head. “Jesus Christ. You’re not going to wrap the kid in foam padding, are you?”

After a click, he held his hands out again. “Come visit Uncle E, buddy.”

I passed Patrick to him, and Elvin rocked back and forth a few times. To my utter amazement, the baby stopped crying. “Seriously? What was I doing wrong?”

He laughed. “Maybe he felt the stress radiating from you. Babies tend to be sensitive to the emotional cues of their parents. They pick up on anxiety from movements and body language.”

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