Page 99 of Good as Gold
The truth is that I can’t wait to see him. I miss him like crazy.
But I can’t say that. It wouldn’t be fair.
Matteo and I need to have a talk, though, so I finally compose my reply.
Can you come see me on Monday afternoon? How about 2? That would be the best time.
My reply sounds cold. Like I’m just fitting him into my schedule.
But I have my reasons.
CHAPTER36
MATTEO
Late November isn’t the best time to see Vermont. All the pretty foliage is gone, and there’s no snow on the ground yet. When you scan the horizon, it’s like someone desaturated the photo—gray-brown mountains with patches of washed-out green where the pines are thick.
We call it stick season.
But it doesn’t matter. I’m having fun with my family. They waited Thanksgiving dinner until seven p.m., the earliest I could get to Otto’s farm on my cheap airline ticket.
I spend the weekend watching football and hockey with my siblings. I read a book to my niece. I hang wallpaper with Benito and Skye, and I go to the movies with Alec and May. Sunday night, I even work a shift with Alec behind the bar, just for fun.
Leila doesn’t come downstairs while I’m there, even though I keep watching the door for her.
When the shift ends, I don’t go upstairs and knock. If she wanted that, she would have said so. She said Monday, and I’ll respect that.
It’s just that Monday takes a long time to arrive. By the time I’m finally climbing the stairs to her apartment door, I feel dread in my gut. And—fine—a little bit of anger.
I mean—what was she doing all weekend that kept her so busy?
God, do I even want to know?
I knock on the door, and she opens right away. Instantly, my bitterness and dread drain away. One look at her soft eyes, and I melt like butter. And she’s so pretty that a man could weep.
Yet it looks like she’s beat me to it. Her cheeks are tear stained. “Are you all right?” I ask softly.
She nods. Swallows. “Come in. I’m fine, I swear.”
Still, she’s throwing off a weird energy. I follow her to the sofa and sit down, taking her hand in mine. I stroke my thumb across her palm. “All right, sweetheart. Tell me what’s up with you.”
She removes her hand from mine. “There’s something I need to show you. Look.” She grabs an envelope off the coffee table and pulls out…
My breath catches in my throat. It’s a sonogram image. With a bean-shaped baby on it. “That’s…yours?”
“Yes,” she whispers. “And also yours.”
“Ohshit.” I let out a strangled laugh as joy rises inside me. “Seriously?”
She nods, eyes watery. “I’m due in early May. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But I wanted to know if it would take.”
Holy…
I can’t stand it any longer. I lean in and scoop her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “How many months are you? Three?”
“And a half,” she says. “I went to the doctor on Wednesday for a whole bunch of screenings, and the results just came back today.” She gives me a shaky smile. “All clear so far. This might really be happening. I heard the heartbeat.”
My mind is blown. I tuck my chin onto her shoulder and try to absorb this news. “I can’t believe it. We did it.”
