“I did it for you,” he said simply. That was probably as close to a declaration of what – love? Affection? I’d ever get from him.

“Thank you.” I pulled my hand away again and rested it in my lap but Dante took me by surprise when he reached for my hand, brought it up to his face and pressed a kiss against my knuckles. My breath caught in my throat and immediately tears gathered in my eyes. Such a small gesture shouldn’t have meant so much but it did, and pregnancy hormones didn’t help. Dante didn’t let go of my hand and sent me a questioning look. “Valentina? Are you alright?”

“It’s the hormones. I’m sorry. Just ignore me.”

Dante rested our linked hands on his thigh and drove with one hand. He didn’t comment as I wiped my eyes and pressed my free hand against the small bump of my stomach.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

In the weeks following after Tommaso’s death, Bibiana blossomed to new life. She seemed to thrive in the solitude of her home. I wished I could handle loneliness as well. Dante was busier than ever. He wanted to make sure that the rest of his men were behind him one-hundred percent. That didn’t leave much time for me, except for the nights he woke me with caresses and kisses. Since I’d asked him to make love to me after Antonio’s death, he’d allowed more closeness during sex, had often held me in his arms, but I had a feeling he still preferred to be behind me as it allowed him to keep his distance.

I spent my days either working in the casino, or with Bibiana or Ines, who’d become a stronger presence in my life as my pregnancy progressed. Today Bibiana, Ines and I had agreed to go shopping together. Of course baby clothing was the number one item on our agenda for the day.

When we walked into our first baby store, Ines asked the question I knew she’d been dying to ask for hours. “So how’s Dante dealing with the pregnancy?”

“He’s not dealing at all,” I said casually. I didn’t want Ines to know how much it bothered me that he hadn’t asked me about our baby directly once. He always inquired how I was and was increasingly more careful when we slept together, but he never put the word baby in his mouth. He hadn’t even asked if it was a boy or girl yet. “Most of the time he pretends there is no pregnancy.”

Ines eyed my protruding stomach. It still wasn’t too obvious when I wore a loose-fitting blouse as I was only twenty-six weeks along but of course Dante saw it all the time. “He’s being impossible. Do you want me to talk to him?”

“God, no,” I said quickly, then sent Ines an apologetic smile. “But thank you. Dante would be furious if you interfered.”

“You’re probably right. I still don’t like it. Sometimes I don’t understand men. Why can’t they admit when they messed up?”

I shrugged. It was something I’d wondered so often, but it never got me far. Bibiana held up a cute onesie with ‘Lock up your boys, my Dad owns a gun’ written across the front. “Not that anyone needs the reminder, but why not? You should get something like this.” She grinned, then sobered. “Is something wrong?”

I wasn’t sure. There was a strange twinge in my lower abdomen. Maybe my little baby was lying in an awkward position and pressing down on my kidneys. “I’m fine,” I said. I picked up the same onesie. “I don’t even know if it’s a girl.”

“I really hope it is, then our girls can play together.” Bibiana was only eighteen weeks along but she had already asked the doc about the gender. She’d been relieved when she found out it was a girl because she worried a boy might remind her too much of Tommaso.

“I want to be surprised.” That wasn’t true. I was curious. I’d been from the moment I’d found out I was pregnant, but I wanted Dante at my side when the doctor told me the sex of our baby. I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen though.

“I don’t know how you do it. I’m way too curious,” Bibiana said.

Ines nodded. “That, and Pietro desperately wanted to know if he was getting a heir. I guess with twins we really had the perfect result for both of us.” She laughed, then quieted when she saw my face. “Did my parents bother you? I know my father is eager for Dante to have a son that can become Capo in the future. Don’t let them pressure you.”

“I don’t see them very often,” I said. “But of course they asked me about the gender. Your father didn’t seem very happy when I told him I didn’t want to know.”

“Men. I’m really surprised Dante isn’t more interested in finding out if he’ll have an heir soon. But he’s always been laid back about these things. Many men would have found a way to produce an heir elsewhere if their wife was infertile, but Dante never blamed Carla. He stood by her even when our father urged him to find a mistress to impregnate.”

“That’s horrible,” I said. There was still an odd pressure in my lower abdomen, but it seemed to get better now that we weren’t walking so much anymore.

“It is. Father suggested Dante and Carla could bring up the child as their own, but Dante refused to do it.”

“Maybe because he worried it was him who didn’t deliver,” Bibiana said quietly. I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about this in public. Dante wouldn’t be happy if he found out. Of course, now we knew that it must have been Carla who was infertile, even if Dante and I hadn’t talked about it again since our major fight.

“So what do you say?” Bibi asked with a bright smile, still holding up that onesie with the cute quote.

I nodded with a resigned smile. “Okay. I’ll get it. Even if I’m having a boy, maybe next time it’ll be a girl, so it’s not like I’m wasting money.”

Ines touched my belly lightly. “I can’t wait. Nothing’s better than the scent of a newborn and those tiny toes and fingers.”

“True,” I said as I peered into the stroller where Ines’ little girl was sleeping deeply.

Bibi and I both bought the onesies. Then we said goodbye to Ines who headed back to her car with her own bodyguard, while Taft trailed after me and Bibi as we walked back to the Mercedes. He pretended he wasn’t there. For which I was grateful. When I was married to Antonio, I often went out of the house on my own, but that was a thing of the past now.

Taft drove us back to my house. Bibi and I wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon together, browsing books with baby names and eating the delicious Italian almond cake Zita had baked this morning.

The slight discomfort in my belly I’d felt all day increased as we walked up the few steps to the front door and entered my home. Taft excused himself quietly and would probably return to the guardhouse now that he was no longer needed. It was quiet in the house, except for the distant rumble of male voices. Dante was probably still in a meeting.

“Come on. Let’s take our purchases upstairs. I want to show you the lamp I bought for the nursery,” I told Bibiana.

I put my foot on the first step and froze. A sharp pain shot through my belly. I dropped the bags I’d been carrying and clutched my stomach immediately as my other hand shot out to hold onto the banister. Something warm trickled down my legs. I looked down my body in horror. My beige pants were quickly turning darker. Did my water just break? It was too soon. Way too soon. It didn’t seem like enough water, but what did I know?