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I cracked my neck side to side as I stepped away, taking one last look at her, then walking into the bedroom.
Ma was holding my son now, grinning down at him as he slept in her arms, dressed in a white onesie and wrapped in a baby-blue blanket.
“Where do you want this?” Romeo asked, and when I turned to face him, I saw him holding up the bassinet that Navy had spoken about at length. It was one of those that could stand on its own but also attach to the side of the bed. It had loads of features, all of which went straight over my head, because all I knew was that it was a bed for the baby, and that was all that I needed to know.
“I’ll take it,” I told him, stepping toward him and removing it from his arms. “Thanks for today,” I added, widening my stance.
“No worries,” he said, schooling his features into his usual expression. “I better go home and get cleaned up.” He spun around, leaving the room, and a moment later, Navy shuffled out of the bedroom. Her gaze zoned in on the baby, her body moving toward him, but at the sound Ma stood.
“Get into bed, gioia.” My stomach jumped at the way Ma called Navy gioia. She cared about her too. In the small amount of time that Navy had been here—almost a month—she’d slipped into our family with so much ease that it should have scared me. But it didn’t. All it did was tell me that she was meant to be here all along.
Navy halted, her gaze batting back and forth between me and Ma, then she let out a breath and climbed into the bed. Ma cooed at the baby again, passing him over to Navy, then sitting on the edge of the bed. “Have you decided on a name yet?”
I climbed onto the bed so I could sit next to Navy and our son, staring at them and realizing that right now, they were my whole world. I’d do anything and everything to keep them safe. I’d take down any man who tried to get in the way of our happiness, including her father.
My teeth ground together at the thought of her father, and it took all of my strength to push him aside and focus on the here and now. I didn’t want to think about the fact that he’d been quiet since he’d turned up at the gate demanding to see her. I didn’t want to think about the fact that things were too calm right now.
All I wanted was to concentrate on Navy and our son…a son without a name.
“What about…Dario?” Navy asked, her voice a mere whisper.
“Dario Beretta.” I repeated the name in my head, and the more I did, the more I liked it. So I told her that with my lips pulling at the corners, my smile turning into a grin.
“Baby Dario,” Ma murmured, her gaze flitting from Dario up to Navy. “What about a middle name?”
Navy stroked Dario’s head, his ink-black hair the perfect tone next to his tan skin. He was clean now, all of the baby goo gone off him completely, thanks to Ma.
“Romeo?” Navy asked, turning to look at me fully. “He helped bring Dario into this world…” She trailed off, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. I hated the fact that Romeo has seen parts of Navy that only I wanted to see, but she wasn’t wrong. We wouldn’t have done it without Romeo there, so I nodded. “Dario Romeo Beretta.”
“Sounds perfect,” Ma said, dipping down to kiss Dario’s head. She stood, her hand reaching out and stroking Navy’s cheek. “I’m so proud of you, gioia.”
“Thanks, Ma,” she whispered. It was the first time she’d called her that, and the happiness shining in Ma’s eyes couldn’t be mistaken.
Ma cleared her throat, moving her hand off of Navy’s face. “If you need me during the night, send for me. Okay?”
“We’ll be okay, Ma,” I told her.
“I know…” She backed away, holding her hands in the air. “But if you need me…”
“We know where you are,” I finished for her.
Dario started shuffling in Navy’s arms, and by the time Ma had left the room, he was pelting out a cry, demanding to be fed, and just like I knew she would, Navy handled it with ease, latching him on, then leaning back, her eyes closed.
She’d be a great mom to our son, I had no doubt. But what I did doubt was how I’d be as a father. I’d promised myself to be the complete opposite of my own father, but it would be hard, especially living the life we lived. But it was a promise I was determined to keep. A promise that I’d uphold to myself.
I hoped.
* * *
NAVY
“Does he ever stop feeding?” Sofia asked as she walked into the dining room.
I shook my head, wincing as Dario fed. My nipples were red raw, and even just the material of my bra touching them took my breath away. Which was why I was basically going braless all of the time, not caring that milk seeped out and onto the T-shirts I wore—Dante’s T-shirts.
“Every two hours, on the dot, through the day and night.” I was tired, there was no denying that, but I was also happy—happier than I ever thought I could be.
Dario was two weeks old now, growing more and more each day. His eyes had turned from blue to brown, the same color as Dante’s. His hair had thinned out a little, but according to the baby books I’d read, that was normal.
