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“Daddy! Mommy!” she cried, making my heart swell with love. “Heidi brought pictures to school today where she was all dressed up in a really pretty white dress with flowers in her hair and in a basket. Do you know why?”
“No, why, sweetie?” I asked, brushing her hair from her face as she chattered on.
“Because she got to be a flower girl!” she squealed. “In a real wedding for her aunt.”
“A flower girl, huh?” Nic replied, flashing me a grin as he quirked an eyebrow up.
“Yes!” she answered. “It’s no fair. I want to be a flower girl and dress up like a princess, too!”
“You’ll get your chance as soon as your mommy picks a day to marry me.”
Sophia’s eyes grew round with surprised happiness. “I will?” she gasped.
“You will.”
“Can it be tomorrow?” She wanted to know. “And then I can bring pictures of me all dressed up to school to show to Heidi.”
“Tomorrow works for me,” Nic said, throwing me under the bus with Sophia.
She wrapped her arms around my legs and looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Please, Mommy.”
I knelt down and pulled her into my arms, gazing down at her adorable face. “Tomorrow’s too soon.” Her expression fell, and I rushed to make it all better. “Because we need a little bit of time to find those pretty dresses for you and me.”
“How much time?” she asked suspiciously.
She was so much like her father at that moment, I couldn’t help but smile hugely as she melted my heart. “I think we can manage it by this weekend.”
She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. “How many days is that?”
“Five,” Nic answered for me.
“Or six,” I interjected, in case I needed until Sunday to pull everything together.
“Five is perfect!” Sophia exclaimed happily, giving each of us a hug before running towards the door. “I’m going to go tell Nonna we’re getting married this weekend.”
“Saturday it is.” Nic had a look of utter satisfaction on his face.
“You sound a little too pleased with yourself,” I muttered, crossing my arms and tapping my foot in irritation.
“Can you blame me?” he asked cockily. “I’m getting everything I want.”
“Good, that means I don’t need to get you a wedding gift.” He started to open his mouth, and I held up my hand to stop him before continuing. “And you won’t be getting me one either.”
He narrowed his eyes and stalked towards me. “I’ll buy you any damn gift I want to give you.”
“No fair!” I objected. “I can’t possibly match what you’d spend on me.”
“You don’t need to give me a wedding present, bellissima,” he murmured. “I meant it when I said I’m already getting everything I want. You as my wife and another beautiful baby.”
“You’re already giving me exactly what I want, too.” I rubbed my palm against his bearded cheek. “You as my husband, Sophia as my daughter, and a baby. The only thing which would make it even better is if I could be Sophia’s mom in the eyes of the law, too.”
“Consider it done,” he promised, crashing his mouth on mine to seal it with a kiss.
“And a kitten,” I whispered against his lips when he lifted his head.
“You want a kitten?”
“Not for me,” I giggled. “For Sophia. She told me she wanted one the very first day I met her.”
“Yet another reason why she’s lucky to have you for her mom,” he murmured, eyes lit with appreciation.
“Is that a yes for the kitten?” He answered with a bark of laughter and a nod. “Good, it needs to be white or grey and super fluffy.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
And it was... the very next day. Sophia named her Snowball. It was the perfect name for the tiny, white, fluffy kitten.
TWENTY-FOUR
Nic
“Don, you’re the DeLuca family fucking lawyer. It’s not like you aren’t used to doing shady shit.” I gripped my cell phone so hard, I’m surprised it didn’t break. After dinner the night before, I’d made a call to the family lawyer about getting the adoption process rolling. I wanted to be able to present them to my girls as a wedding present.
We’d discussed what was needed, and I e-mailed all of the documents over. He promised to be at the courthouse first thing the next day and have all of the paperwork expedited. Having a notorious reputation and government officials in your pocket definitely paid off in times like those.
The next call was to Gianna’s parents. I worried that Livy would insist on a longer amount of time so she could put together a proper wedding. I was prepared to put my foot down and steeled myself against Gianna’s disappointment and, I shuddered, tears. I hated it when she cried. However, Livy had shrieked with glee and began babbling about all of the things they needed to get done before the big day.
