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Elio gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. “I’m your family now,” he whispered. “Me and this little firefly in here.”
They moved together as one, his lips finding hers, kissing her so softly, so sweetly, she feared she was going to start crying again. Every single thing he’d said tonight had been perfect.
“I should warn you, Freckles, my mom is going to freak out when we tell her,” Elio said. “She’s a very hands-on grandmother, always stopping by Bruno and Viv’s house for cuddles and kisses from her grandbabies. She’ll be out of her mind with happiness when she finds out about our firefly.”
Firefly.
She loved that Elio had already given their baby a nickname, already found a way to make this seem even more real.
And while kisses and cuddles hadn’t been the norm for her, after being exposed to all of the Moretti affection on Christmas Eve, and Elio’s nonstop kisses and hugs, she was now a huge fan.
“I’m sorry Grandma Mary couldn’t be here, couldn’t…” Her throat clogged up as she remembered her beloved grandmother, the woman who’d raised her.
“I’m sorry too,” he murmured.
“I’m glad this baby will have your mom as a grandma.”
“Noni,” Elio corrected. “That’s what my mom likes to be called. Since there could only be one Nonna in our family, my mom goes by Noni.”
“Noni,” Gianna repeated. “I like it.”
“Liza and Aldo are going to flip,” Elio added, his excitement growing as he started thinking about the long-reaching effects of her pregnancy.
“This baby is going to have a huge family,” she said, smiling, so grateful for that. Her childhood had been too quiet, too lonely. She’d never wanted that for her child.
Elio wrapped one hand around the back of her neck, pulling her forward until their foreheads touched. “Our baby is going to be the most loved, the most spoiled, the smartest, best-looking, most athletic…”
“Our baby,” she whispered, trying out the new pronoun. Since yesterday, she’d been thinking in terms of “my baby.”
Her throat tightened with unshed tears, her happiness growing too big to keep inside. This baby was going to have a loving, wonderful, supportive father—a foreign concept to the girl who’d been raised by a single grandmother and abandoned by a single mother.
Elio placed his cheek against hers, the two of them simply holding each other, sharing each other’s space and air. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it two more months in Baltimore,” he admitted. “All I can think about is how I want to be here, back home in Philly, with you and the baby.”
She kissed him. “I know. It’s going to be a long eight weeks.” She looked back toward the hallway. She could hear the faint strains of the music thumping, laughter coming from the ballroom. “I guess we should get back to the wedding.”
He sighed. “Yeah. But beware—we’re only keeping the pregnancy secret. If I can’t go in there and scream from the rafters that you’re having my baby, you’re going to have to let me tell the world you’re mine.”
“Yours,” she said. “So, so yours.”
Chapter Nineteen
Gianna couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as they reentered the ballroom. Even though it was apparent their absence had not gone unnoticed.
Their group of friends was standing at the edge of the dance floor, looking in their direction as they approached.
“Where did you two disappear to?” Liza asked.
“Just taking a breather,” Elio replied.
“You only danced one dance,” she pointed out.
“Excellent point. We haven’t even really started to work up a sweat. Come on, Gianna. Dance with me.” Elio reached for Gianna’s hand and gave her a quick spin before pulling her body close to his. “I’m in the mood for a little bumping and grinding.”
Liza watched them curiously for a moment before allowing Keeley to draw her into a small circle of dancers, the two women standing close, talking as they moved. Liza continued to glance in their direction, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“You’re a terrible tease. You know Liza’s not going to give up until we explain why the two of us are suddenly so close. She can tell something’s going on between us,” Gianna said, her hands gripping his shoulders.
“I know. We’ll put her out of her misery later. For now, I need you in my arms, and since dancing is the only acceptable way to do that at this wedding, that’s what we’re going to do.” He bent his head lower, his cheek pressed against hers. Every few seconds, he gave her a soft kiss that had her body shifting into overdrive. She groaned quietly when his hands drifted from her back to her ass.
