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Her lips curved. “Well. You know me. I’m a cast-iron broad.”
“Right,” he murmured. “So hard, you’ll run into a burning building to save two little kids who aren’t even yours.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “You did, too.”
He shrugged. “They were my brother and sister. And you were in there, too. I couldn’t live without you.”
Tears welled into her eyes. “I figured you were too good to be true,” she admitted. “And when it all fell apart, suddenly you were. Part of me wasn’t surprised. I never quite believed it could be real.”
“It is too good to be true,” he said. “It’s fucking amazing, Lily. But it’s true, too. And you know what? I’m still waiting for you to say it. Spit it out. First time’s the hardest. Go on.”
She gave him a tremulous smile. “Um, Bruno. There’s something I need to talk to you about first. It’s—”
“I know,” he broke in, staving her off. “I know what you’re going to say, and I knew this was coming. It’s because of Tonio and Lena, right?”
She bit her lip. “Ah, actually—”
“It’s true,” he admitted. “My place is a madhouse. My bathroom stinks of the diaper pail, my sink is full of bottles, I’m drowning in laundry, I’ve got Zia Rosa smeared all over my life. It’s not like before.”
“Um, I knew that,” she said. “Actually, I was going to say—”
“It’s not like I can whisk you off to Paris on a whim, like before.” His voice was tight. “It was my decision, to take Tonio and Lena. I made it alone, and I’d understand if you didn’t want to—”
“Bruno, I’m pregnant,” she said.
He stared at her. He gasped for breath. “Pregnant?”
“Six weeks. We played with fire, remember? More than once.”
Lily cupped his chin, pushed it until his jaw clacked shut. She waited for his reaction, soft lips pressed flat. Bracing herself.
The sun was rising inside his chest. “You, ah…you want to…”
“To have this baby?” she finished. “Yes. I do. I plan to.”
“Ah,” he said, helplessly. “I, uh, see.”
“I was going to give you the same spiel you just gave me. That I’d understand, if Tonio and Lena are enough for you to deal with. I made this decision alone, and I don’t hold you responsible if you don’t want—”
“Oh, no,” he burst in. “Oh, no, Lily. You got it wrong. I want it. I want it so bad.” He hid his face against her belly, and lost it.
It took a long time, for it all to work its way through him. His feelings ran so deep. They were entwined with everything else. Mamma, Tony. The lost brothers and sisters. And now, suddenly, his future, too.
She curled herself down around his head, kissing his hair, stroking his shoulders. He pressed his face against her belly, tears soaking into her dress. He was amazed, humbled, at the idea of new life, flickering into being inside her. Making them one. Oh, yeah.
He loved it. A little brother or sister for Tonio and Lena.
He snorted back tears, lifting his head. “Oh, shit,” he said, appalled. “I think I trashed your dress.”
She laughed silently, and dug a tissue out of the purse that lay on the carpet by her feet. “I don’t care,” she said. “So. Your life is all diapers and bottles. By a funny coincidence, mine will be too, in a few months. So I guess it makes sense to just—”
“Marry me?” he blurted. “Immediately?”
She froze, midword, mouth still open. “Ah…ah…”
“I was raised a bastard,” he said. “I want my kid to have my name. I feel very strongly about it. I hope that’s not too antiquated for you.”
She shook her head, eyes wide. Speechless.
