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“Eli,” he replied in the same tone, both sounding like disapproving fathers.
“Do we need to be here for this?” Lucas asked, gesturing to Hailey, himself, and then my brothers.
James crossed his arms. “I think you should all be present for this because we don’t want secrets any longer.” He reached for my hand, taking it in his on the table where everyone could see. “I’m just going to be blunt. We wanted to have you all over to let you know. Not only are we together, but we’re expecting a baby.”
“Dear Jesus!” My mother gasped.
“Mom,” my brow creased in worry, “before you say anything, I need you to know it was kinda planned.”
“What do you mean, planned?” She snapped her gaze at James. “How do you plan to have a child with a child?!”
“Here we go againnn,” Lucas sang lowly.
“Tara,” James lifted a hand, “she’s twenty-one. You were nineteen when Dan was born.”
“James!” she raised her voice.
“Oh no,” Isaac muttered.
“Dad’s gonna snappp again,” Lucas taunted, sitting back in his seat with a big grin. “Liz, bring back some vacation memories for ya?”
“Lucas!” Vincenzo spat.
“Enough, Lucas!” James added.
The smile was wiped from his face instantly.
I glanced at Vincenzo and Elizabeth, then at my brothers. They were all watching everything unfold in astonished silence.
James brought his bothered stare back to my mom. “Tara, please listen. We planned it because we want to be together and I’m obviously fully capable of being a present dad to my kids.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she frowned at me. “And what about college?”
“I already have my associate degree and I do plan to get my bachelor’s degree, but you know my dream is to be an author. I just finished my manuscript. Being an author is what I want to do, and it allows me to be a stay-at-home mom, which is what I want to do, anyway.” I glanced at James, who gave my hand a small squeeze with a nod of approval.
“Clearly I have enough money to support both of us and you know I'll be good to her because you guys know me.”
My father had been quiet up until now. He cleared his throat, which usually meant he was about to raise his voice at someone. But tonight, he completely surprised me. “Well, I guess we'll be welcoming our first grandchild soon.”
My mother's expression softened, and I saw hearts practically appear in her eyes. “Being a grandma has been my dream now that all of you are grown-ups.” She turned to Elizabeth. “And how do you feel about it?”
She smiled. “At first I acted pretty much how everybody expected me to, but in the end all I've ever wanted is for my dad to be happy and we all know my mom never did that because she was a selfish bitch.” Vincenzo nudged her, and she rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I’m just really ready for the family to be whole. When I met with my dad the other day, he told me she wasn’t just his happiness but the missing piece to the puzzle. So, that’s how I feel about it.” She smiled at me. “Gravity couldn’t keep Vinny and me apart, so I’m not going to be the reason they’re unhappy.”
My father stretched his arm around my mother, pulling her to his side. “And all we want is for you to be happy, Maddie, so if this is what you want, we’ll stand by you both.”
JAMES
Everyone was too full for dessert, but the rest of our visit with everyone was peaceful. By the time they left, Lucas said he was going to stay with his girlfriend for the night and all I wanted was to be alone with Maddie for a while after being apart for weeks. Hands laced together, we strode upstairs to the master bedroom closet. I reached into the shower, turning on the hot water as I passed by.
As she was slipping off her clothes, I watched while undressing myself, laying my clothes in the hamper in the corner. She spun around with a grin, gliding over to me. I brought my lips to hers.
Slithering her hands around my waist, she pressed her lips to my chest. “Tonight went way better than I thought it would.”
“It did.”
“What’s on your mind?”
Running my thumb over her bottom lip, I watched her pull it into her mouth, sucking it. She wrapped her hands around my wrist, sliding my hand down between her legs. “I’m so fucking wet for you.”
