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She settled into Stefano’s arms as they went to the reception, smiling at him as he handed Xavier their wedding present. He tried to refuse but Stefano was not about to back down and neither was she. They wanted their friends to be happy, not working to pay for a tiny apartment or house but saving their money for their family and future. Olympia’s gasp of surprise when she saw the deed and address of the house said it all and she hugged her tightly before pulling back quickly to smooth her hands over Hailey’s belly making her laugh.
“You won’t smash them Olympia, I promise you that,” Hailey stated letting her hand rest on her stomach with a content smile.
“Are they running about my darling?” Stefano asked knowing the look that settled into her eyes quite clearly.
“Yes, they’re very happy that Mommy’s good friend will be so near to us,” she answered, and Olympia’s eyes widened at that knowledge.
“You have felt them move?”
“For a few days now, Stefano is quite jealous,” she teased earning a kiss from her husband.
“What is there to be jealous of,agape mou? I get to hold you and them all at once every night. I could ask for nothing more than that.”
“Nothing?” she said lifting a brow at him.
“Nothing, I would be content to simply hold you each night should you not wish to make wicked love to me,” he stated, and she knew the color was rising into her cheeks making him pull her tighter into his arms. “There is my innocent wife, I’ve quite missed her.”
“I believe that is our cue to move on to a new guest wishing us well,” Olympia told her husband who looked at her so adoringly that Hailey felt tears prick her eyes.
“What is wrong,pethi mou?” Stefano said lifting her face to him once they were alone. “Did I upset you with my teasing?”
“No, you know I love your teasing,” she said giving him a smile as he brushed away a single teardrop clinging to her lashes. “Blame your children and the added hormones; I’m as happy for my friend as I am for us and these babies, Stefano. It’s simply…”
“Happy tears, well that is acceptable, had they been tears of upset I would be very cross with myself,” he stated, and she smiled softly trying to hold inside the slight pain that came from him not acknowledging his love for her. She wanted the words. His actions, his embraces, and his eyes all said that he loved her, yet the words had never come from his lips beyond his endearment and she wanted them in English just for her.
“No need to be, just to love me,” she said well aware others were listening to them and he pulled her up against him, his arms around her as he caressed her side.
“I adore you,yineka mou. You know I love you always,” Stefano stated, pressing a kiss to her hair hoping that when their children arrived, they would be boys and she would see how much he genuinely loved her, and that she loved him all the same.
Chapter 21
“H
ow is my beautiful darling doing today?” Stefano asked as Hailey answered the phone with a sleepy hello. “Did I wake you?”
“Mmm, I decided to take a nap in order to get through the shower later this afternoon,” Hailey answered rubbing her stomach where the babies were quite active. “How is Theo and Greece?”
“Good, he will be coming to see us in a few more weeks,” Stefano stated moving onto the Zeno’s private jet in order to get home to her sooner. “I should be home sometime tomorrow my darling and I will remain next to you until after our sons are here.”
“Who says they’re sons Stefano?” she questioned with a smile for she did know they were; she had just yet to tell him or anyone else of the fact.
“Our children arrive then,” he corrected. “You will have to forgive my speech; I have spent the last week with Theo who has done nothing but refer to them as our sons,agape mou.”
“You’re forgiven. When are you leaving?”
“As soon as the pilot gets the all-clear for takeoff, as we speak, I am settling into the cabin. I have to make a stop in London but once we’re back in the air, I intend to rest so that when I get home to you, I can take over watching over you instead of Mother.”
“She’s refused to go home, saying that you would be quite cross with her if she did not look after me as a mother-in-law should while her son is away.”
“Then it is a good thing that you love Mother as much as your own,” Stefano stated getting up from his seat as someone stepped into the doorway of the plane. The look of urgency on his face had him ending the call to Hailey more abruptly than he’d wished. “I am sorry my darling, but I must hang up now. Take care of yourself,agape mou. I shall be home with you soon.”
“Very soon I hope, my love,” she replied knowing he wouldn’t know she was alone so to tell him of her feelings was easier than in person. “Goodbye Stefano, I miss you.”
“I miss you too,yineka mou, but not for long,” he stated ending the call to see what his man had discovered about Nikolas and the past.
“Good,” Hailey said holding the phone for an extra moment before sitting up to dress for the shower in town. She knew the others were anxious to know if the babies were boys or girls, but she hadn’t told anyone she knew. She’d been working privately on the nursery wanting it to be a room that their sons could enjoy now and then perhaps in a couple years their next child could also enjoy it, whether boy or girl.
She moved into the room once dressed and smiled seeing the whole effect of the mural she’d created with her skills. There’d been plenty of time for it as she was only working part-time, had been since the beginning of the year and the first snow had fallen, worrying Stefano about her safety travelling into the office daily. She’d found that as much as she enjoyed her work, it wasn’t nearly as important to her as the project for the nursery she’d started.
