Page 65 of Secret Baby for the Mafia Don

The woman that I met in Mexico right before I was kidnapped was so eager to keep me from ruining her wedding that she saw me mostly as a nuisance.

Now, however, it appears that she has realized that her brothers were wrong and she has set about fixing the mess that they have made.

“Also,” Grazia says to Elio, “we need to talk about this deal that they want. Marco and I have come up with a solution that I think will take care of their wounded pride and help make money for all of us. I want you to be able to focus on your recovery and put all of this nonsense behind you.” She glances at Elio and he nods, clearly willing to trust her completely. I relax slightly.

“I have some other really exciting news to share with you,” Doctor Gregory tells me, still flipping through my chart. “I’ve already told everyone else, but now it’s your turn to find out the news.”

I blink at her, trying to figure out what she might be so excited about. I feel like it’s more than enough excitement that I have just woken up and that I seem likely to make a full recovery.

What other exciting news could she have to share with me?

“When you had your surgery, it was too early to show up in your bloodwork,” she says. “However, when we pulled blood work after your arrival here, we got confirmation.”

I am still staring at the doctor, not sure what she’s getting at.

She grins at me, showing me her beautiful, Hollywood-white teeth. “You’re pregnant. And somehow the pregnancy has survived all the turmoil that your body has been through.”

I open my mouth to say something, but then snap it shut. I don’t know what the right words are in a situation like this.

I glance over at Elio, and he’s grinning just like the doctor. I tighten my hand around Mateo’s form pressing against my side.

Pregnant. I suppose it is possible, but it feels like some kind of strange miracle.

I press my fingers into my abdomen. I can feel my ribs sticking through my skin. I’ve lost weight, but then again, that makes sense.

Poor baby, I think. We will take better care of you from now on.

“That’s probably more than enough exciting news for one day and I’m sure that you’re exhausted. I’m going to start bringing in specialists to help you with physical therapy and rehab. We will need to do some tests to see if there is any damage related to the stroke as well. But for now, you can just rest.” She reaches down to squeeze my calf, then leaves the room.

Pregnant. The word chases around in my brain over and over. I glance up at Elio, trying to gauge how he is feeling. He is still smiling and he reaches out to stroke a hand over my hair.

“Rest, amore,” he says to me. “That’s the most important thing right now.”

I nod, my eyes already drifting closed.

Elio leans close to me and presses a kiss to my forehead, then he whispers in my ear, “I love you.”

My heart leaps with joy and my lips tilt into a smile.

I knew that he did, but it feels incredible to hear him say so.

As I slip down into the comfort of sleep, my fingers pressed to my stomach, I think that I could not be luckier.

This time, Elio will be by my side during the pregnancy and we will face all of the challenges of my recovery together.

Even better, it sounds like the Baldinis are going to finally leave us alone, which is in itself a huge feat.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Elio

The elevator feels like it’s taking forever to get to Kate’s floor.

I give a tense nod to a nurse who got on the elevator with me in the lobby because I can tell that she is eyeing me.

By now, everyone at the hospital probably knows who I am and there has been a lot of speculative staring as Kate has worked her way through the recovery process.

I believed the doctor when she told us that Kate would have a long road ahead of her after everything that her body had been through. However, it has taken even longer than I expected for Kate to be well enough to move around, to take a shower, and to hug Mateo.

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