Page 64 of Glass & Groundwork
“Gio?”
“Yes?”
“What do you think about Parker and Emily?”
He turned to face me with a questioning look. “I think they’re adorable kids. Nico brings them by Heartcraft sometimes to visit Jason at his pie booth. Why?”
“Have you ever thought about it?”
Gio’s fingers toyed with my hair. “Thought about what?”
“Having kids? I mean, wehavekids, butchildren, like raising them?”
A beautiful, hope-filled look shone on his face. “I have.”
“Is that something you see in the future?”
He hesitated for a moment. “I told you once that I had a vision for us, something I was trying not to let myself get too eager about and allow us to be in the present. I’d be lying if I said a child wasn’t a part of that. But… I don’t know. I’d be an old dad.”
“They say children keep you young,” I teased. “Besides, you’re notthatold. You’re only forty-two.”
Gio looked into my eyes, searching, as he asked, “Is that something you want?”
“I never thought about it before you. My family is cold and unloving, I didn’t want to pass that on as a parent. I understand, now, what a family can look like, and there’s so much love here.So much love I want to share it. So my answer is yes. I want to be a dad some day, when we’re ready.”
A smile stretched his lips and his eyes welled up behind his glasses. Gio kissed me again, not a heated one, but one filled with promise and hope. “Some day you will.”
When we walked into the house, we were immediately met with the twinkling of glasses.Gotta give the people what they want, I thought, and obliged them by stretching up to kiss Gio, despite the several we’d shared on the way here. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. This lifetime, the next. From Queen Beeatrix, the first, to Queen Beeatrix, the ninety-first, generations of bees would bear witness to our love, as would the generations of people that would grace the land of the McNeely Honey Farm.
What started with a frame—a building, a marriage—grew with work and a solid foundation into a permanent fixture—a shop, a family—tempered and unbreakable.
Gio
Ifelt sick with worry. Jasper had kicked me out of the room.Iwas supposed to be the calm one, and I couldn’t seem to keep it together. He’d been gentle about it, but he insisted I step outside and get some air. Now, I was outside and I couldn’t stop thinking about what was happening, what I was missing. The air wasn’t helping.
A hand clapped on my shoulder, making me jump. “Relax, Papa. Everything is going to be fine.”
Running a hand over my hair, I replied, “Anything could be happening right now, I should be in there.”
Eddie arched a brow. “So why aren’t you?”
“Because Jasper kicked me out.”
He pursed his lips as if he was trying not to laugh. “Why do you think he did that?”
“Because he said my pacing was stressing everyone out.”
This time he snickered. “Well, he was probably right. I know you didn’t ask for advice but I’m going to offer it to you anyway. You need to calm the fuck down—and I mean that in the most loving way—or you’re going to miss one of the most important moments of your life.”
I stared at him, so proud of the man he’d become. “I’ve had a lot of important moments, and you’ve been a big part of so many of them. I hope you know nothing, no one, is ever going to take the place you have in my heart. I love you so much, Eduardo.”
Eduardo’s look softened and he leaned into me, hugging me tight. “I know, Papa. I love you, too. I know this doesn’t change anything between us, none of us think that at all. Please don’t worry about us.”
“I’ll always worry,” I replied.
Eddie pulled back and gave me an affectionate smile. “I know. Now, get back in there and be there with your husband. This is too big to miss.”
I exhaled deeply and straightened. “You’re right. I gotta go. Thanks, kiddo.”
