Page 134 of Love Him Like Water

“Yeah,” I said, smile spreading wide.

“Fuck, Lore,” he said, grabbing the back of my neck, and pulling me in for a long, hard kiss.

“You’re happy?” I asked. “I know we weren’t planning on this yet…”

“Can’t think of anything I want more,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine. “Think maybe I need to get someone in here to start building a library now.”

“That might be for the best,” I agreed, making him let out a little laugh.

“When?” he asked.

“Around Christmas. Before.”

It seemed like a present to us both from the universe.

“You’re gonna be a fucking amazing mom, mouse.”

“You’re going to be a great dad,” I told him, knowing he sometimes doubted that, given his own horrible upbringing.

But he’d shown time and time again his ability to be fatherly.

Especially with guys like Cage and Coal, who he’d taken from unruly kids to mature men.

And if he ever doubted his ability to do sweet and soft, he needn’t look any further than how he treated me.

“Fucking love you, Lore,” he said.

It didn’t matter that he’d been saying it since just a week or two after the whole kidnapping thing years back. Each time, it still made my heart feel too big for my chest.

“I love you more.”

“Not possible.”

Maybe that was true.

I might have loved first.

But Renzo loved hard.

It was everything I had ever dreamed of.

And more.

And now we got to take all that overflowing love of ours and pour it into a baby.

Then another.

And another.

I wanted about half a dozen little Renzo Lombardis.

This was just the beginning…

Renzo - 15 years

“What’s going on?” I asked, walking into the apartment to find Lore standing there, jiggling our youngest, at three, on her hip. As our oldest, eleven, sat on the couch, shoulders hunched, eyes defiant, face busted the fuck up.

That apple, yeah, it didn’t fall far from the tree, I had to admit.

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