Page 99 of Luca
But were we more? It felt like it.
Instead of answering her, I reached for a cute onesie with “Watch out boys, my mommy can use a gun” written across the front.
Áine grinned. “If only they knew,” she commented. A strange twinge in my lower abdomen had me twisting my face. “What? You don’t like it?”
“I do,” I said. “I’m going to get it.”
We continued through the store as Áine kept throwing more and more stuff into the cart. The odd pressure in my lower abdomen grew with each minute, but I ignored it. We just saw the doctor yesterday and she said everything looked good. We had another few weeks. I rubbed my lower belly. Maybe the baby was sitting on my kidney or something.
Sixty minutes later, I’d bought enough clothes to cover the first six months of Penelope’s life. I also picked out the furniture for her room. Luca said he didn’t have a preference about the color scheme, so I went with white.
Once I arranged for all of it to be delivered to Luca’s penthouse, we left the store. We headed to the car with the driver that Luca assigned to me. He drove us back to Luca’s penthouse, fighting the city traffic. My phone buzzed and I reached for it quickly, then smiled softly.
Nonno and Luca were home. At the penthouse. Waiting for me.
The moment the car pulled up in the garage, I exited. I had a few bags and Áine offered to help me carry them upstairs. Cassio would be here too. So we took the lift to the top floor. Áine carried three bags and I only had one.
The moment I stepped into the apartment, I froze. A sharp pain shot through my belly. The bag fell to the floor, its contents scattering across the hardwood as I clutched my stomach. My other hand shot out to hold on to the wall.
Something warm trickled down my legs and my eyes lowered down my body. I wore a wool maternity dress, which was soaked now and so were my shoes. Did my water just break?
Áine let out a shocked cry.
“Margaret? Is… Is the baby coming already?”
Blood trickled down my ankles. I didn’t think there’d be blood when my water broke. Nobody said anything about blood.
I was too stunned to utter a word.
“Maggie, talk to me.”
“Get Luca,” I said quietly.
It was that moment that I should have known I fell for Luca. I didn’t ask for my brothers. I asked for the man who’d put me into this predicament.
I began shaking as I clutched my belly.
“You’re bleeding,” Áine whispered, panic in her voice.
My vision swam. My legs started trembling, barely supporting me and Áine’s bags dropped with the thud as she wrapped her arm around my waist and with the other, pulling out her phone. Her hands shook, but I couldn’t focus on that. Only on this piercing, sharp pain in my abdomen.
The faint ringing from her cell phone reached my ears. It seemed to echo somewhere in the distance.
“Something is wrong with Maggie.” The panic in her voice was evident. “We’re in the penthouse.”
The call ended. The door to Luca’s office swung open and my husband’s eyes settled on me. He tried to keep his composure.
“What are you doing at home?” I gritted through pain. “You aren’t supposed to be home for another hour.”
“Never mind that.” Luca rushed toward me. “Is the baby coming already?”
“I think so.” My eyes darted to Nonno behind him and I attempted to smile. It probably came out looking out like a painful grimace. “Hello, Nonno. I’m so happy you’re here. We wanted to have her in Sicily but–”
He smiled. “Little Penelope is ready to meet the world,” he mused.
Another sharp pain shot through my spine and the smile fell off my face.
“We need an ambulance,” Áine screeched.
