Gio pretty much guides me through my orgasm, and I can’t fight it, god, I can’t. My body shudders in his embrace, my mind blows up into a myriad of sparkles, and I cling to him as he keeps thrusting into me through his own shivering groans. It’s so good, oh, it’s so good to share the eruption of pleasure and the glow of post-orgasmic euphoria.
We slump into each other’s embrace, giggling through our heavy breathing, and Gio pushes himself up just enough to press a kiss to my hair. “God, Alina, you’re better than any woman I’ve ever dreamt of.”
I chuckle, snuggling closer to him, and demonstratively raise my left hand with Beatrice’s ring on it. “Then you’re lucky, because guess what?
We’re gonna get married.”
Gio laughs, gathering me into his arms, and I swear it feels like heaven.
I almost doze off again under the gentle breeze from outside when the alarm on my phone goes off. We both groan at the same time, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s time to get ready for the appointment.
While Gio lingers on the edge of the bed, scratching his head and looking around with a sleepy frown, I grab my robe and go to the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine. Isabella is already there, munching on a bowl of cereal and watching something on her phone.
“Good morning,” I say, entering the kitchen. For a moment, it looks like she’s ignoring me-before I walk past her, and she startles with a loud gasp.
“God, you scared me.” Isabella huffs, taking out her earphones, and glances at the doorway as if expecting Gio to show up. “Are you done in there?”
Oh. Damn it. I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks, so I hurry to turn away to the coffee machine. How much did she hear?
“Yeah,” I murmur a second later, and Isabella sighs with relief and puts her earphones on the table.
“Finally.” Isabella chuckles, and I can hear her go back to her cereal. “You guys need some privacy, huh?”
I freeze for a moment, caught off guard by her words. I mean, some privacy would be nice, but…she doesn’t think I want to kick her out of here, does she? Because it’s not like that, I swear!
“No, no, don’t worry about it.” I hurry to turn around, waving my hands and shaking my head. “I’m sure we can deal with it.”
“Deal with what?” Gio finally enters the kitchen, scratching his side, and looks between me and Isabella with a yawn. He can probably read
something on my face because, after a quick glance, he frowns. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking,” Isabella starts first, pushing her bowl a few inches away as if to focus on us properly. “With all your plans to get married, have kids, be happy together and all that…”
She waves her hand in the air, and Gio purses his lips, quirking an eyebrow with suspicion.
“I feel like…it’s not a good idea for me to hang out here. You’re gonna build a family, and I-well, I can be the cool aunt that visits on the weekend.”
Isabella shrugs with a chuckle as if she hasn’t just dropped news that leaves both Gio and me speechless for a moment. I-I don’t even know
what to say, so I look at Gio, hoping that he’d be able to explain that it’s a bad idea. They’ve been living together for almost a decade. How can she just leave like that?
But when I look at Gio, I see a confused frown and a thoughtful look in his eyes. “Where did you get this idea from?”
“I told you, I’ve been thinking about it.” Isabella chuckles and taps herself on the temple. “I know how to do it, you know?”
“But… you don’t have to.”
She sighs dramatically and leans back in her chair. “I know, dummy.
But I want to. You’re a big boy now, and I know you can take care of yourself and your family.”
Isabella glances at me, and for some reason, I feel shy from her
words and look away. Ah, I wonder if I will ever get used to the thought of being married to him.
“You have to focus on them, and I…well, maybe it’s time for me to find out what’s waiting for me out there.” She chuckles, and when Gio says nothing for a long moment, Isabella gets up and looks between us with a smile. “Just think about it, okay? In the meantime, I’ll find a good place for myself. Maybe even better than this one. Do you know how old this fridge is?”
She shakes her head with joking disgust and takes her bowl to the dishwasher while Gio and I exchange a look behind her back. I mean…
she’s not wrong. It may be fun to have her around, but when the baby is born I’m sure it will be difficult for all of us to share one apartment. I don’t know if Gio shares my thoughts, but he holds my gaze and smiles with a shrug.
“Oh, do you remember about Riccardo?” Isabella pauses all of a sudden on her way out of the kitchen and gives Gio a pointed look.
“Tonight, don’t forget. I don’t want to be there on my own, understand?”
“Are you sure you are a big girl?” Gio quirks an eyebrow, going back to their usual banter, and Isabella huffs and smacks his shoulder, passing him on the way to her room.
“Riccardo?” I frown, giving Gio a confused look, and he waves a hand and walks closer to me.
“We’re gonna meet with him and his men.” He wraps his arms
around my middle and pulls me into a hug without warning. Of course I hug him back, and for a moment we just stand like this, enjoying each other’s warmth.
“Why?”
“We wanna figure out what to do next, and Isabella and I have some information about Gerardo that may be useful.”
I chuckle quietly, rubbing his back. “Are you best buddies now?” “Ew.”
Gio grimaces-but he doesn’t say no, and I don’t push it further.
He’s been through too much lately. If he finds understanding in the Messinas’ company, then so be it. They are a family, after all.
An hour later, after sharing a shower, breakfast, and at least a dozen kisses, Gio and I leave the apartment to drive to the clinic. The day is bright, and I can’t help but smile, looking outside with my hand resting on my belly. The nervousness of the first appointment starts to kick in, but I enjoy it in its own way.
It’s one of many steps on the way to motherhood, after all.
We arrive at the clinic twenty minutes before the appointment, and while Gio and I fill out the documents, I can’t help but glance at him from time to time with a smile. My heart is full of love and excitement, and maybe it’s the hormones playing with me, but I feel my throat tighten when I think about Gio.
Our life together, our children, and all the good and bad days we are going to share. There’s so much waiting for us in the future, and I can’t wait to live and experience everything with him.
“Mrs. Alina and Mr. Giovanni?” A nurse comes out to greet us with a big smile and gestures for us to follow her. “How are you feeling today? Are you ready to become the best parents?”
Gio and I chuckle, sharing a glance, and as my hand reaches toward him, I catch his fingers halfway. Our gazes linger on each other, and I can’t help but smile-he smiles in return, squeezing my hand.
“We are.”