Page 94 of Primal God

We say our goodbyes and make our way outside.

In the SUV, Dimitri asks, “Do you really want to go to Vegas?”

“It sounds fun.”

He nods his head. “Then I’ll make sure it happens.”

“What? You don’t have to do that.”

His hand covers mine. “I want to.”

He leaves his hand over mine for the entire ride.

At the house, the kids rush to their room to grab their swimsuits. I carry Isadora to her room and change her into a waterproof diaper and swimsuit. I know Dimitri is standing behind me before he speaks.

“My friends liked you.”

I turn, smiling. “I liked them.”

He moves closer until our bodies touch. “Good.”

“Good.”

“Nanny W! We’re ready!” Clara says from the doorway.

Dimitri’s eyes are full of laughter. “We’ll finish this later.”

“It’s a date.”

I scoop Isadora into my arms and carry her down the stairs, with Clara leading the way. Outside, I let Isadora walk to our favorite chair while the twins jump right into the water.

“Momma, look at me!” Clara yells as she jumps into the pool. When she resurfaces, her eyes are wide. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you momma.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. It happens.”

Her green eyes fill with tears. “It’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair?”

“That we don’t have a momma. Even those stupid babies today all had mommas.”

A fat tear runs down her cheek and has me moving.

I sit on the edge of the pool, dipping my feet in the water.

“Honey, you have a momma. She’s just in heaven.”

“It’s hard to remember her.” Her lip trembles. “Diego says she was mean, but I don’t think she was. Do you?”

I glance at Diego to find him silently watching. Is there a chance that Serafina was mean to him? João mentioned her temper a few times when we were dating.

I choose my words carefully. “I think your momma loved you, Diego, and Isadora very much.”

“Then why did she leave us? She didn’t even know Isadora…”

Ouch. Why is this kid asking all the hard questions tonight?

Dimitri says from behind me, “Nanny W is right. Your momma loved all three of you, but she was also sick.”

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