Page 104 of There Are No Words

I hope.

I followed suit, allowing myself to relax for the first time all night and leaned against the wall, my collared shirt suddenly choking me. I unbuttoned the top button and rolled my sleeves up. “Not far enough, if you ask me,” I answered, thinking about how many centimeters she was dilated again. Five. It might as well have been one for how pissed she was about the number.

Dom chuckled. “It’s the stress and the hormones.”

“I get that. I mean, if I were her. . . I can only imagine how nervous she is, but I’m trying to be there for her. Why can’t she see that?” Or at least stop looking at me like I was a villain. I’d been with her the entire time, and I wanted to be by her side now, too. She wasn’t necessarily making it easy, though.

“She sees it. Or she will,” Dom said, sounding sure.

I pulled on the back of my neck. “It sounds like you’re speaking from experience. Knock any women up that I haven’t heard about?”

Dom chuckled. “Do you forget I’ve been friends with Maria for a long time? I was there when she gave birth to Isabella, and she wasn’t exactly calm, cool, and collected.”

“I can’t imagine her being anything but her usual organized and put-together self. Now Bianca, on the other hand, I could see going ape shit.” I’d pray for Knox when the time came.

Dom combed a hand through his hair and shuddered. “Yeah, well, I made runs for ice chips when Maria didn’t need them. We both knew she didn’t need them. But I had to get the hell out of there.”

“I’m supposed to be finding Allegra a new doctor.”

He snickered. “Wouldn’t want to be you when you break the news to her.”

“Thanks, man.” I cracked my neck, trying to relieve the tension. “So where’s Isabella? Weren’t you staying with her tonight while we were at the party?”

Nodding, he explained, “She’s with Maria now.” He shook his head and smiled. “You should’ve seen Peanut’s face when I told her that her cousin was coming. It was so much better for her than getting to see Maria all dressed up when she left for the party.”

Just then Maria strolled up to us, and she must have caught the tail end of our conversation, because she told us, “Isabella is so excited. Dad took her to the gift shop so she could pick out a few things for her new cousin.” She smiled. “How are you doing, Brady?”

“Eh.”

Dom pushed off the wall and stood next to Maria, placing a hand on the small of her back and whispering something in her ear.

Maria nodded, and then Dom was telling me he’d see me in a bit and wished me luck.

Yeah, thanks, Dom, I’ll need all the luck I can get.

It being the two of us now, I confessed, “Maybe I’m not what she needs. Maybe Allegra needs you in there instead of me.” I shook my head. “I don’t know. It’s like I can’t do anything right.”

Maria gave me a sympathetic look. “May I give you some advice?”

I nodded.

“Don’t listen to her.”

My eyes widened and I did a double take. “What?” That didn’t sound like something she’d ever say.

But she laughed. “You heard me. Don’t listen to my sister right now. She’s tired, in pain, and just wants this to end. Trust me. It’s not you, it’s just. . . there’s a lot going on, obviously, and she doesn’t know how to handle it.”

“Yeah, Dom was telling me you had a tough time, too.”

Her eyebrows shot up.

Fuck.

“Did he, now?” Then she laughed as I realized it was probably best to remove my foot from my mouth. The corners of her lips tugged upward, and she looked down, shaking her head before looking back up at me. “I like to think I was receptive to everyone’s help and the beautiful things they were doing and saying around me. It’s a lot, but I tried to really be present.”

At least she’d said shelikedto think that.

“Still, maybe you can go in and check on her for a minute? I should call Jack and Quinn and see what the hold up is, if he was able to leave the pub and get to Tipsy yet. She needs a walk and to be settled in for the night.” Or maybe I could do just about anything else but go back in there with Allegra.

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