Page 88 of Secret Baby Next Door
Chapter 30
PIPER
Three weeks later…
Afirework popped in the distance, followed by a whistle, then a series of cracking noises.
“They’re already at it,” I said. “Hope the little man isn’t too shaken up when those things go for real later.”
Valentino, who was seated with me at the kitchen bar, a mug of coffee in front of each of us, glanced over at baby Gage in his pack-n-play, which we kept in the living room.
“Seems content so far.”
As I raised my coffee to take a sip, I spotted Maddie and Mick running toward the patio doors, a big smile on her face.
“Speaking of content,” I said.
Maddie yanked open the door, rushing inside.
“Mommy! When does my birthday party start?”
“I told you, sweetie, it starts at four. Britt and Noah will be coming over, along with Valentino’s sisters and their little girls. You’ll have all kinds of playmates. Isn't that cool?”
“Yeah! But I want them to come over now!”
“They have to get ready,” Valentino said. “Just think of how fun it’ll be when they’re finally here.”
“Oh, OK! But Gage is going to be here all day, right?”
“Right,” I said. “Just make sure to be quiet while he’s napping so he can get rested for the party, OK?”
“OK! Come on, Mick!” With her update request taken care of, she happily bounded back out the door and into the yard of Valentino’s, er,our,home. We hadn’t officially moved in yet, but we were all but living there. Maddie didn’t mind one bit—it meant more time to play with Mick and Gage, after all.
“So,” Valentino said, his eyes on the opened laptop in front of him. “Looks like if we keep your place as an Airbnb, we can make some decent money—more than enough to cover what you owe on it within a year or two.”
“That would be amazing. I mean, we could still sell it, right?”
“Why do that now? Maybe when Maddie grows up, she’ll want to live there right next to her mom and dad.”
The mention of Valentino as her father made me even more excited for the party ahead. Things had been crazy with Gage now in our lives, which meant that we had the additional news of letting Maddie know that not only did she have a dad, but she also had a baby brother.
Even without knowing they were blood-related, Maddie was already gaga over Gage. When she’d learned he was going to be living with us, she’d wasted no time becoming a little helper, doting on the little guy and always being at the ready with a fresh diaper whenever it was time to change.
I was thrilled that Gage was in the picture. Sure, it’d been unexpected, but how could I be upset at Maddie having a new brother?
All the same, I wasnothappy about what Ashley had done.
“Any news from mom of the year?”
He snorted, shaking his head. “Just the occasional text asking if he’s doing alright. Oh, and she let me know that the last text she sent is going to be, well, her last.”
“Don’t tell me she’s planning on totally dropping out of the picture.”
“She said that she didn’t want to risk me tracking her down with her phone, so she’s changing her number and going to be keeping in touch via email.”
“You tell her about CPS? About what your lawyer said?”
“Yep. Told her that we’re going to start moving forward with the abandonment charge if she doesn’t show her face soon.”
