Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
I press my cheek on his chest, allowing the strong, steady beat of his heart to reassure me. We’re quiet as he strokes my hair. The moment is peaceful. Until the door is flung open so hard that it bangs against the wall.
I give a start. Dante acts fast, reversing our positions so that he’s covering me even though he’s the one who’s naked. I’m still wearing my nightdress.
“Daddy!” Noah comes bouncing into the room. “You’re back!”
Suppressing a giggle, I make sure the covers are pulled up to Dante’s waist. He rolls off me just in time because Noah is already clambering up the bed. Our son is wearing a shirt and a pair of chinos that resemble the clothes Dante wears when he doesn’t go into the office. Noah always wants to dress like his dad, so in my absence, Jazz took him clothes shopping to cheer him up. She told me Dante gave her his credit card and told her to spend as much as she liked.
Noah makes his cross face. “You weren’t here for breakfast.”
Dante moves up to the headboard, taking the covers with him. “That will happen from time to time, big man. Sometimes, I have to go away for work.”
I sit up too, attacked by a sudden bout of guilt. “Have you been awake for long?”
Noah nods. “Emily made me scrambled eggs.”
“I’m sorry.” The wine must be the reason that I slept so late. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Noah makes big eyes. “Emily said I shouldn’t wake you. She said you needed to rest.”
I wrap my arms around his small body and pull him closer. “You can always wake me up.”
“Emily was right,” Dante says. “You obviously needed the sleep, my darling.”
“She said she didn’t mind looking after me,” Noah pipes in. “She said she likes it when I talk to her.”
“You should make use of her offer to keep an eye on Noah,” Dante says. “You may as well accept her help while she’s here.”
“All right, you two.” I smile. “Don’t make it seem as if I’m not capable of doing my motherly and wifely duties.”
“Never,” Dante says with a glint in his eyes.
As if I haven’t just drowned in his serious gaze so full of frenzied passion and possessive heat a moment ago, I get lost in his eyes all over again. I almost forget where we are and about everything else until Noah bounces on the bed.
“Can we make pancakes, Daddy?”
Dante mock-wrestles him. “I thought you already had breakfast.”
My heart melts as I watch them play. Dante looks like a god sculpted from granite with his broad chest, strong arms, and well-defined muscles. Noah takes so much after him. Every day, their resemblance grows stronger. Our son is going to be a looker when he’s grown up.
What more can I want when I have the two men I love most in the world with me? This, right here, is what happiness is.
Maybe Dante is right.
What matters is the present, not the past. Worrying about the blondes he took to galas doesn’t serve any purpose other than poisoning my thoughts. I’m the woman Dante chose to spend his life with, and that’s enough. I’m not going to allow history to put a damper on my joy. Being married to Dante and having his babies is what I always wanted. Why spoil perfectly happy moments by being jealous? Our marriage deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt.
Noah laughs from his belly as Dante tickles him. “Stop!”
Dante imitates the monster voice of one of Noah’s favorite storybook characters. “Do you give up?”
“Yes!” Noah laughs some more. “You win. But I’m still hungry.”
Dante chuckles. “In that case, I better feed you.” He shoots me a meaningful look. “Just let me get dressed first.”
Noah hops off the bed. “Yay, pancakes!” Making a beeline for the door, he calls back, “I’ll tell Emily.”
“It’s good of you to spend time with him,” I say when he’s gone.
My mom and I did a lot of fun activities together. Saturday morning baking was always special. My heart contracts painfully at the sweet memory.
“I love spending time with him. He’s a great kid.” Dante’s grin is boyish. “Although, that was close. It’s a good thing I was too eager to get inside you to strip you naked.”
My cheeks heat when I think about what Noah almost walked into. “Next time, lock the door.”
“Lesson learned.” Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he gets up and offers me a hand. “Shower?”
He stands there in all his naked glory, dressed in nothing but a condom, looking too perfect to be human.
I scoot over the bed and take his hand, letting him help me up. Unable to resist, I draw closer and wrap my arms around him. “You smelled like you’d already showered when you woke me up with… you know what.”