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“We’re having a baby?”
Ingrid chuckles. “We’re having a baby. Oh my God, that’s terrifying to say out loud.”
I lean in, pressing my lips to hers, kissing her tenderly, and placing my hand on her stomach. “So what do we do about Bella? Do we bring her back to New Orleans with us? Because I’m not missing out onanypart of my child’s life. But I also don’t want to leave Bella to fend for herself.”
Ingrid caresses my face and smiles. “I think you know what we have to do… her doctors are here. She will need to be comfortable, and I want our baby to know their Aunt Bella as much as they can before…”
My heart races as I stare into her eyes. “So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying, the three of us…” she places her hand on her stomach, “… need to move here to take care of Bella for as long as it takes. Then, we can reassess if we need to move back to New Orleans. But we’ve taken care of my family, and now we need to take care of yours.”
My heart feels so fucking full right now as I stare into the eyes of the woman I love, the mother of my unborn child. “Are you sure? Because when we tell Hurricane, he’s probably going to try to feed me to La Fin again.”
She chuckles. “When I tell him about this baby and that family needs to stick together, that we can’t be away from you, and you can’t be away from your sister, it will all make sense to him. Plus, we’re only a plane ride away.”
“So we’re doing this?” I ask.
“We’re doing this as long as Bella is on board,” Ingrid replies.
Bella rushes around the corner. “I am so on board! I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt. Oh my God, this is the best news you could have brought me today. I am so happy for you guys. And of course, you will be moving in here with me if you want to. I mean, this house is huge, so there’s plenty of room. We can even make a nursery for the little one.”
Ingrid clings to me, smiling wide. “Sounds perfect. I can’t wait.”
A Few Hours Later
Ingrid and I arrived at the LA Defiance clubhouse after I called ahead and told Alpha we’d be popping in. The memories and nostalgia of being back here are making me feel all kinds of things. If I said I hadn’t missed this place, I’d be lying. If I said I didn’t miss the people, I would really be lying.
As we walk through the entrance, it looks exactly the same as when I left. Ellie is working behind the bar with the club girls. Alpha, Swift, Ink, and Loki are playing doubles on the pool table, and the rest of the brothers are mingling about. They all send a cheer around the room after we walk in.
“The prodigal son returns, motherfuckers,” Loki calls out, throwing his pool cue onto the table.
Alpha steps up, nodding his head. “Glad to see you. It’s been a while, brother. Everything calm and collected now we’ve taken care of those Bratva bastards?”
I chuckle and nod. “All five by five.”
Alpha smirks. “Mm-hmm, you and Ingrid wanna head to the Chapel? I feel like there’s more for us to discuss?”
I glance at Ingrid and then back to Alpha. “Yeah, Pres. We got shit to discuss.”
The Next Day
As we pull up to the mansion and turn off the car, I spin to look at Ingrid, anxiety rippling through me in waves. “Are you sure we should be doing this? Because I’m ready to write these fuckers off for good!” I tell Ingrid.
She leans over, placing her hand on my cheek, and sighs. “I know they’re in everyone’s bad books right now, but if we don’t make an effort to at least tell them about us while we’re here before we move back, Rome, your parents willneverforgive us.”
I snort out a huff. “I don’t really care at this poi—”
“I do, South. They’re the grandparents of our child. Ineedthem to know about me and about that. Soplease,put your emotions aside, and let’s go tell them…together.”
Letting out a huff, I nod. “Okay, but I don’t think this is gonna go as smoothly as you’re hoping.”
Ingrid smiles. “They might surprise you.”
I raise my brow. “You remember meeting them, right?”
She chuckles, opening her car door. “C’mon. Let’s do this.”
Groaning like an errant child, I jump out of the car, taking a deep breath. I don’t know what it is about my parents that makes me feel like a teenage boy all over again. Somehow, they have this power that makes me feel inadequate and powerless just by being here before I even see them.
