He came up immediately. “What do you need me to do?”

Another contraction and I rocked forward, clutching Matteo’s arms. He steadied me. “Call Luca.”

“You need to let go of me,” he said in a tense voice. No way. I needed something to hold on to, and Matteo could take my grip better than Gianna. I clutched his arms harder and he seemed to realize that I wasn’t going to release him.

Gianna pulled her own cell out. “Yes, it’s Aria,” was the first thing she said. Of course Luca knew it was because of me when Gianna called him. My text had probably sent him into a panic attack.

“We’ll take her to the hospital.” She nodded, then ended the call and looked at me. “He’s already on his way.”

“Can you walk?” Matteo asked.

I gave a small nod, feeling a tiny bit stronger. I took a step down, Matteo’s grip tight on my arm. It took what felt like forever to descend the remaining steps with Gianna, Demetrio and Matteo watching me like I was a bomb about to detonate.

Gianna’s phone rang. “No, we’re still at home. Aria is too slow.”

I scowled at her. Slow? I was surprised I could walk at all the way my insides seemed to be torn to pieces. I paused to catch my breath. Matteo surprised me by wrapping his arm around my shoulder and slipping his other under my legs before lifting me in his arms. I knew it couldn’t have been easy for him. I’d gained almost thirty pounds during the pregnancy. I was still not big, but definitely not a lightweight anymore.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

His dark eyes softened. Matteo and I had had our conflicts, but I knew he’d get me safely to the hospital.

“Everything will be all right,” Gianna assured me. It would have been more convincing if she didn’t look like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“I’ll get the car,” Demetrio said then disappeared in the elevator. He looked as if the devil was after him.

“Hey!” Matteo called, but the doors had already closed and it was heading down, leaving us stranded in the penthouse until the elevator returned. “What the fuck is he doing?”

Gianna jabbed the button of the elevator repeatedly, but it was still on its way down to the underground garage. “What the fuck is he getting the car for? It’s parked right beside the elevator doors anyway. Idiot.”

“He’s nervous,” I said quietly, enjoying a moment of almost no pain but then another contraction stiffened my spine and I cried out, arching in Matteo’s hold. He staggered and tensed.

“Fuck,” he snarled, and Gianna hit the button again, as if violence ever made a technical device work faster.

“Will you be able to keep the baby in until we’re in the hospital?” Matteo asked worriedly.

I rolled my eyes. He made it sound as if I could shut the door down there. “I don’t know.”

“Finally!” Gianna exclaimed as the elevator arrived on our floor and the doors slid open, and my heart skipped a beat in relief. Luca towered inside and his worried gray eyes zoomed in on me. Without a word, he strode toward Matteo and took me from his brother. Luca held me against his chest as if I weighed nothing. He lowered his face and kissed me gently before he headed for the elevator. I could feel his heartbeat racing, but his face was calm and it soothed my own worries. With him at my side, everything would be okay.

“Where’s Demetrio?” Matteo asked.

“Sent him to the hospital to make sure it’s safe,” Luca said, his eyes never leaving my face, and I held his gaze because the pain seemed more bearable like that. Matteo opened the door of his Porsche Cayenne for us but when Luca was about to set me down on the backseat, the strongest contraction rocked through my body. I convulsed, my eyes closing, and I released a small cry.

“You are strong, Aria,” Luca murmured against my forehead. “And I’m here for you. I wish I could take the pain from you.”

I peered up at him through half-lowered lids. I breathed in and out, seeking solace in his gentle eyes. Upon feeling me relax, Luca put me down on the backseat, then climbed in behind me, so I was resting against his chest. Matteo and Gianna sat in the front, and Matteo drove his car like a madman.

We arrived at the hospital with the baby still inside, but I was rushed into the delivery room at once. “Give her something for the pain,” Luca barked the moment the first doctor crossed our path. I only heard something like too late before another wave of pain blacked out everything else.

Luca brushed my hand with his lips as I clung to him through every contraction. I didn’t find time to catch my breath between them anymore, and I was at the maximum of what I could endure.

Luca’s brows were drawn together, his expression almost desperate. He scowled at the nurses. “Do something,” he snarled.

“One last push,” the midwife encouraged.

I didn’t think I had the energy for another push but then through the fog of agony, a cry sounded. My baby. My daughter.

Luca’s eyes shot down to my face then lower.

I sagged with relief as the midwife held up a small human being covered in blood. For a moment, Luca didn’t move, then he kissed my cheek and temple, wonder on his face, and I let out a disbelieving laugh. The midwife did a quick checkup before she put our daughter in my arms.

Luca released my hand so I could hold her. I stroked her sticky black hair. She had a lot of it, as coal black as her father’s. I smiled up at Luca, who watched our child with a frozen look on his face. “She’s got your hair,” I whispered as I breathed in her scent, trying to memorize it. Her eyes were still bluish-gray. It was hard to say which color really.

“She’s so small,” Luca said quietly. He made no move to touch her. He seemed almost afraid to do so. Perhaps the doctor and midwife who were still in a room with us held him back from showing his affection, but it hadn’t stopped him from being affectionate to me.

“Marcella,” he murmured, and tears stung in my eyes at the tenderness in his voice as he called our baby girl by her name for the first time.

“Do you want to hold her?”

Luca’s eyes darted from Marcella to me, then he swallowed. “No.”

I frowned, heart clenching at his refusal. “Why not?”

He held up his strong hands with their scars as if that would answer my question. “She’s pure and breakable. I—”

“You won’t break her if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said softly, but he shook his head and cupped my cheek. “You hold her. It’s beautiful.”

I gave a small nod, stifling my disappointment. Leaning forward, I brushed my lips over his. “I love you.”

Luca glanced at the doctor, who was writing something down in the corner of the room. I touched his hand to show him I understood that he couldn’t say it back with someone else in the room. I knew he loved me, loved Marcella and me both, no words needed.

Luca didn’t leave our side as we were taken to a private room after I’d been stitched up. Shortly after we’d settled in, Gianna and Matteo came in. I was tired and wanted to rest after the exhausting birth, but they’d waited a long time and I wanted to give them the chance to see Marcella.

Gianna came toward the bed to hug me gently while Matteo wrapped his brother in a hug. “I can’t believe you’re a father now,” Matteo said with a grin.