Page 179 of Sebastian's Baby

“Oh, bella,” her mom says softly. “She’ll be okay.”

“She will be, princess,” I whisper to Lita, even though I’m terrified that I’m lying to her. Then I tell her mom, “We’re going to be staying in Chicago for the rest of the pregnancy.”

“Oh no, why?”

“Lita needs frequent appointments, so we were going to have to relocate somewhere. I have a place in Chicago, and the surgery can be performed there if it’s needed.”

There’s silence for a moment, then her mom replies, “That makes sense. I’m so sorry; I wish I could make this better for you, bella.”

“I know,” Lita says quietly.

Our call finishes shortly after that, and her mom promises to let the rest of her family know so we don’t have to do it. We sit in silence, and I leave my hand on Lita’s belly, amazed when I feel the same soft kicks under my hand as from this morning. I can’t believe our little girl is in there and I can finally feel her. I feel like it’s Mirabella’s birthday gift to me, and I love her so much.

A tear drops onto my hand, warm and wet, and I realize that Lita is crying. I turn her face up to mine and kiss her softly as she cries.

29

LEVEL 23.4 – A Balloon Says A Thousand Words

We takea private plane to Chicago and land early in the evening, and I’m so relieved to be home. As I’m sliding into the SUV next to Lita, she’s looking down at her phone with a smile on her face.

“What’s that smile for?” I ask her.

“Oh, I was just letting Heather know that we’re in Chicago.”

The disappointment that I’m only seeing Hayden today hits me, and I joke, “I hope you let her know I’m pissed that she’s not hanging out with us tonight.”

“Yes, I let your lover know exactly that,” Lita grins at me.

It reminds me that I should let Hayden know that we’ve arrived so he and Blake can head to my place.

We’re on our way to my place. See you there.

I settle against Lita in the car as we drive, resting my hand on her bump, but I don’t feel anything and I assume Mirabella is sleeping. I’m determined to have a good evening with Hayden and Lita. I’ll just pretend Blake isn’t there or something. When we pull into the garage under my apartment, I check my phone and see a reply from Hayden.

Cool. We’ll see you soon.

I quickly write back.

Great. We just got to my apartment, so come over any time.

I smile at Lita and tell her, “Awesome, Hayden says he’ll see us soon.”

We wheel our suitcases to the elevator and take it upstairs with our bodyguards. When the doors open at my apartment, I’m stunned when my friends are all standing in front of the elevator, and they yell ‘surprise’ at me.

“Oh my god, what?” I stare at them, barely able to get it together enough to leave the elevator before the doors close on us.

“I never thought we’d pull it off!” Heather declares as she comes over to give me a hug. “Happy birthday, darling.”

I manage to hug her back, still shocked that she and Harrison are here. “Uh, thanks. I thought you had a dinner to go to with your parents?”

“Did I say it was with my parents? My bad, I meant with you and Lita,” she laughs.

I get a sneaking suspicion about how this was organized and narrow my eyes at Lita. “Did you know about this?”

“Maybe…” She cringes and shifts from foot to foot.

I grin at her, entertained by the idea of her planning a surprise party for me. “Sneaky, princess.”

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