Page 89 of Baby Surprise for my Brother's Best Friend

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ALESSIO

I wake before Sophie, her body curled into mine like she was meant to be here.

My arm's numb, but I don't move. Not yet.

She’s soft and warm and so goddamn peaceful, like nothing outside this bed exists.

And maybe for a second, I let myself believe that. Let myself pretend this could be permanent.

Her breath tickles my chest.

I brush a strand of hair off her cheek, and something tightens in my chest.

If this is what love feels like, then yeah, it’s beautiful. But it’s also fucking terrifying.

I’ve never had this, not with anyone. Not the peace, not the stillness, not the quiet magic of waking up beside someone and wanting to stay. Every morning before this felt like a blur, a race. But this? It slows everything down, makes me want to breathe deeper, stay longer, hold on tighter.

More than ever, I see now that the women before Sophie were distractions, something to numb the pain, to numb me.

But this? This is steady. This is constant. This feels like coming home to something I didn’t even know I needed. This is everything to me.

I slide out of bed quietly, careful not to wake her. I head into the kitchen and start on breakfast, pancakes, bacon, fresh fruit cut with more care than I knew I had in me.

I’ve never cooked for anyone before her. Hell, I barely cooked for myself. But she makes me want to learn. To try.

By the time she wanders in, hair a sleepy mess and wearing one of my shirts, I’m plating everything like I didn’t just Google how long bacon should sizzle.

She raises an eyebrow. “You trying to get laid again?”

I smirk. “Is it working?”

She laughs, and something inside me fucking soars.

We eat at the counter, skin brushing with every shift and stretch, like neither of us wants to pull away.

Her bare thigh grazes mine, and it takes everything in me not to slide my hand over and keep it there.

She steals a bite of my pancake and moans softly. “Okay, maybe this earns you some points.”

“Only some?” I brush my knee deliberately against hers. “Tough crowd.”

Her lips twitch. “You’re shameless.”

My voice lowers, edged with something that feels too close to need. “And you’re still here. Wearing my shirt. Eating my pancakes. Smiling like we haven’t shattered every rule you ever made.”

Her smile shifts into something softer. Warmer.

She doesn’t deny it.

Because somewhere between all the teasing and touches, we stopped pretending. And I don’t know how to go back.

But deep in the back of my mind, I can't fight the feeling that this won’t last. Nothing this good ever does. Not for someone like me.

After breakfast, Sophie’s phone buzzes with a calendar alert. She glances at the screen and sighs.

“I have back-to-back calls in twenty minutes.” She stands up to grab her laptop from the bedroom.

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