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Liv snorts a laugh. “Never a dull moment.”
I chuckle as I pull open the door of my wife’s ballet studio. “We’ll chat soon. Kiss the kids for me, and tell Ri that I’ve signed those contracts he requested.”
“Will do.” Liv disconnects the call, and I pocket my cell with a smile on my face.
Silence hits my ears as I walk through the entryway of the studio – the one that Rey adores so much that she would quite happily live here on Staten Island, just a stone's throw from Sunrise Harbor.
The bay outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is beautiful, the sun glinting across the water and lighting up the space.
It isn’t until I step inside the main room that I hear the unmistakable bars of the“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”over the surround sound speakers, and my skin comes alive as goosebumps scatter across my entire body.
“Now, Dean, arabesque…andgood! That was beautiful,mi amor.”
My wife’s demure tone resonates through the entire space, and I open the double doors wide to find her with our soon-to-be four-year-old nephew, Dean, who’s watching his godmother with an adoring smile.
My own mouth mirrors his when I take in her pastel pink leotard and tights, gently rounded with the swell of her four-month-pregnant stomach.
“Where’s Mama?”
Dean’s voice rings out through the space, and I smile before I answer.
“How would you like to spend the next couple of days with your Auntie Rey and Uncle Al, hmm?”
“Uncle Al!”
Dean’s big brown eyes light up when he spots me, and he takes off across the floor, dead set on finding his way into my arms.
I catch him with a grin, swinging him around as Rey watches in smiling silence. “Whereismy sister, anyway?”
I hold Dean snugly against one hip as I close the distance between us and my watching wife. I pull her in against my other side, ensuring to smooth the palm around her waist over our precious cargo while smiling into her chocolaty eyes.
“She’s on her way to Costa Rica with Aidan and baby Adam, Sunshine. We join them in three days.”
Rey’s face blooms to life with a smile. “Seriously?”
I nod with a wide grin. “YouknowI love to surprise you, Sunshine.”
She shakes her head with a chuckle. “I know you do, pretty boy.”
My smile becomes entirely lopsided when I tilt my head. “The Malones are joining us too, baby. Bailey’s due a vacation since his latest promotion.”
My ex-personal assistant has found his niche in the HR department of DeMarco Holdings, much to the delight of Darcy, who’s become like a surrogate mother to my beautiful wife.
Rey squeals with delight, pressing her cheek against my chest in a side hug before she looks up into my eyes.
“This is perfect. I’ve been teaching both Darcy and Leonard to speak Spanish!”
I chuckle. “I know you have.” Then I shake my head exaggeratedly. “My poor bleeding ears!”
She shoves my chest even as she laughs.
“Why are your ears bleeding, Uncle Al?”
Dean’s small voice is too damn cute, and I can’t help but preen under his attention.
“Oh, don’t you worry, little dude. My ears are just fine.”
I bop his nose with my index finger. “How about you show me what your Auntie Rey taught you today before we bring you home for some tamales?”
