Page 24 of There Are No Words

The way he spoke with such concern, such compassion for me, made me squirm in my seat. I rolled my lips as I thought about the best way to answer. Then I decided he deserved honesty. “Yes,” I confessed. “I’m not delusional, though, so I know it’ll be fine. Besides the fact that it kind of has to be, I’mnot the baby or his favorite, so it shouldn’t crush him too much. It’s not like it’s Perla or Bianca announcing they’re knocked up.”

“Were you close with your mom?”

Smiling, I nodded. I missed her terribly and wished she could be here for this. But I believed she was watching over me, her spirit with me in everything I did. “Sometimes I can still hear her laugh, smell her perfume. It’s like she’s right there. Then I remember.”

Brady pulled up to the driveway of Dad’s house and shut the car off. “Allegra,” he breathed my name, understanding laced in his voice.

I really wasn’t like my sisters. I tried not to let myself get weighed down by the sadness. I tried to connect with Mom in all the ways I still could, like through my medium. But for some reason, being here with Brady, locked in the car, talking about this, it brought it all to the surface for me.

My eyes welled with tears and in the lightest of motions, his thumb brushed over my cheek before he ripped it away. Was it wrong that I wanted it back?

“You can talk to me about her anytime you want,” he said and locked eyes with me.

Not wanting to confuse my emotions, I shook my head. “We should go in. Get this over with so we can eat. Maria cooked, and I’m starving.”

* * *

Brady

Angelo Morelli’s house was intimidating, there was no other way to put it. I tried to not think about how intimidating the manhimself could be and instead focused on why we were here. To deliver the news to Angelo that Allegra and I were having a baby.

And apparently lunch. Couldn’t forget lunch.

Everything this family did revolved around food, a fact I was quickly coming to learn.

But I couldn’t seem to forget my observations of the house. If I thought their house in the Hamptons was something else, his main home was goddamn palatial.

Currently we were in the backyard. To be more precise, the entire Morelli lot, plus myself and Knox, were sitting on the outdoor sofas around the fireplace and flat-screen unit under a trellis. To one side was a koi pond and to the other was a rose garden. Behind us was an outdoor kitchen and just beyond was the pool with a rock waterfall and six lounge chairs.

Angelo was telling a story as he sipped his spiced rum, but I couldn’t seem to shake the thoughts circling my own mind.

I looked at Allegra next to me. She was clutching her glass of water like it was her energy source. I could feel the nerves radiating off her body. I reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it in mine to reassure her. I only wondered when she’d make the announcement, but it seemed she was letting her father enjoy himself for a bit.

“Excuse us a minute, would you?” Allegra finally asked and stood up, eyeing me, silently insisting I follow.

I did, and we walked away from everyone and into the house. Just inside, she turned around and closed the door behind me. “I’m nervous.” Her chest moved with each breath she took—up and down, up and down—her tits brushing against my shirt with how close she stood to me.

Tits I longed to touch, hold, and lavish with attention, something I didn’t get to do the one and only time we’d been together.

I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her close, to tell her it would all be okay. And I believed that it would be. In the long run. But that didn’t change the fact that telling her dad might not be okay in the short run. “I know,” I acknowledged, looking down at her full lips.

Not saying a word, she continued to breathe against me until the door opened behind us, and Maria slipped in. “Um, you two may want to come back out and tell Dad.”

“Now?” Allegra shrieked, and I slipped my hand around her, coming to rest it on the small of her back.

I nodded and smiled. “Let’s go. It’ll be okay,” I said, promising her something I had no business promising her.

Maria winked at me. “You’re a good man, Brady Moore.” Then she went out the way she came in.

This time, I didn’t fight it, I pulled Allegra against my body and held her there, looking into her eyes. “We can do this. You can do this. I’ll be right there. Besides, if he’s going to be pissed at anyone, it’ll be me.”

Allegra made a face, her brows coming together like she was unconvinced. “He doesn’t need to know the details.”

“Agreed.” I patted her and let her step out of my grasp. Not that I wanted her to. If I had it my way, she’d be in my arms forever, but I knew that wasn’t what she wanted. She’d made herself clear.

One night.

Now, one baby.

---