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Ready to Run
Leigh
IswearI’mgonnapunch someone.
“Take a breath, Señorita,” Nick says, squeezing my hand.
Did I say that out loud?
He smirks and leans in toward me, his breath warming my ear as he whispers, “I just know you.” Then he winks and steps back, that panty-melting smirk still on his lips.
Asshole.
Anyway, I’m not the one they need to worry about. If they screwed this up again, Abuelita is going tokill.
And with all those freaking cold case and murder mystery podcasts she listens to, no one wouldeverfind the body.
But that’s what they get for messing with her finding out the sex of her great-grandbaby.
Nick and I had our doctor’s appointment last week. We were supposed to bring the info to this fancy-ass bakery, then they’d have the cupcakes ready for us the next day, and we’d do a fun gender reveal. It sounded great at the time. Once we were in the appointment, though, I really wanted to know. I did my best not to watch, and the tech told us when to close our eyes. We dropped the paper off and everything was supposed to be good to go.
We came to pick up the cupcakes, only to find that they had messed up the order. The soonest we could get everyone together and they had time to fix their mistake was a freaking week later.
Now, here we are, standing in the same spot as we did last week, talking to a girl at the counter who looks flummoxed by us being here. Abuelita has on a sugar-sweet smile, but her fists are clenched and she is a word away from ripping everyone in this place a new asshole.
We should’ve just asked Mackenzie and her mom to do them at the bakery down the street from Maia’s house.It’s not their usual thing, but they’re reliable and they’d know nevereverto cross Abuelita.
Yet, here we are.Waiting.
How many times do I need to say it? I’m impatient.
“Ah, Miss Romero,” the owner says, walking out of the back. She walks over to the girl and whispers something. The girl visibly relaxes, then runs the hell away. Don’t blame her. Abuelita is terrifying. Don’t even want to see the look in her eyes right now.
“I have the cupcakes here for you, and I have triple-checked that everything is correct. Here’s the paper you gave me to confirm afterward.”
I reach for the paper, but Maia steps up and yanks it out of her hand before I can. “I’ll take that. Just so no one is tempted to look in the car.” She stuffs it in her purse, then grabs the large box of cupcakes the girl just set down. “Come on, let’s go do this.”
“Be careful. If you drop that, Abuelita will have your head.” I look back at where Abuelita is no doubt putting the fear of God in the bakery owner. Or perhaps the fear of El Diablo himself. I’m never sure exactly where Abuelita’s loyalties lie.
“Hey, at least then you’d know what you’re having,” Maia says with a wink.
If she wasn’t the greatest friend in the world, I’d smack her.
Once in the car, I lean back against the seat and close my eyes. I can’t wait to find out what we’re having, but it also makes me that much more nervous.I want to be a good mom.
I know mine is nothing to compare to. She shouldn’t even represent the lowest bar, but she’s constantly on my mind. So many people in my life have had parents walk away. I don’t ever want my child to question my love for them. Then, of course, there’s Maia who handles it all with grace—well, maybe noteverything—and makes it look natural. And besides Nick, she’s been my biggest cheerleader, reminding me of my own strength—something I rarely need reminding of. If this pregnancy has changed anything in me, it’s increased my self-doubt. I always did things on my own terms, but I didn’t choose this. It’s not easy for me to accept there’s a lot about this that I can’t control.
Despite being in the seat behind me, Nick’s hand slides over the top of mine. I turn slightly and see he’s leaning forward, head practically pressed into my seat, just to reassure me.
I used to get so annoyed with him for being immature, but maybe that’s not really who he was. All I know is he’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t think anyone could ever love me as much as he does, and I really hope I do a good enough job at returning it.
There’s that self-doubt again. It’s hard to feel self-assured when I’m being so vulnerable. I thrive on control. And control and vulnerability do not go hand-in-hand.
“Get out of your head. Come back to the moment. We’re about to find out more about the little human growing inside you right now.Inhala, exhala. Calm down.”
How does he know me so well?I swear it’s some sort of voodoo written in the Ardito genetic code. I know Vince does the same exact thing to Maia.
Or maybe it’s just the insane, epic love those Ardito boys have for us. Hard to say.
