Page 51 of Secret Babies For My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 20

Scarlett

“Didyouknowsomany people can fit on a plane, Scarlett?” Leo kneeled on his middle seat, facing the back.

I gave a soft laugh and nodded. “Pretty cool, huh?”

We were in first class, so the people he was talking about had nothing on what was going on behind the golden curtain. I was sure that if Leo got a peek at the rest of the plane, he’d lose his mind.

He looked over at Luca on the aisle. “We don’t fly with these people all the time, Papa.”

Luca’s irritation showed in the deep frown creasing his brow. “Sit down. You’re being a nuisance to the other passengers.”

Leo dropped into his seat, his cheeks puffed out in a sulk. “He always calls me that,” he said to me.

I leaned in close and whispered in Leo’s ear, “I think he’s just being a grumpy pants.”

The kid sniggered, covering his mouth with his hands as we shared our little secret. When I straightened, Luca was glaring at me. I gave him an innocent smile and shrugged before going back to my book.

If he thought he could trick me into attending his sister’s engagement party without some sort of payback, he had another thing coming. He wasn’t too happy about it, but I made it clear I’d only fly commercial. Besides, Christopher had already booked tickets for Luca and Leo. It didn’t make sense to have that go to waste.

“I want a juice box,” Leo said to Luca, who sighed loudly.

“We have to wait for the flight attendant to come around,” he snapped. “Do you see anyone else getting impatient for their drinks?”

“Let’s see who hears the trolley first,” I chimed in gently, hoping that Luca would ease up taking his annoyance out on Leo if he saw me handling the kid differently. “Winner gets this sucker.”

I brandished a watermelon sucker I’d pulled from my carry on moments ago and watched Leo’s face light up. Luca didn’t seem to get it, though and grumbled to himself as he pulled his sleep mask over his eyes.

After a few minutes of strained silence, Leo burst out with, “Can I just have the sucker now?”

I laughed, pulling the wrapper off for him as he happily settled back into his seat.

“You spoil him,” Luca mumbled, folding his arms even tighter across his chest. Everything about his body language screamed that he’d rather be anywhere else but there.

I wanted to say that a sucker didn’t compare to the kid-sized Ferrari he’d gotten for his last birthday but thought better of it. It wasn’t a great idea to get into an argument with Leo right there. Besides, I found a certain amount of satisfaction in Luca’s blatant irritation. There was just something about holding the trump card for once that made his moodiness more than bearable.

“Here come the drinks,” I announced brightly, steering the focus away from Luca.

Leo scampered into the aisle, stepping over Luca to get there. His father bit back a pained groan, rubbing his ankle furiously. The sleep mask was still over his eyes, which added a comical spin to the whole scene, and I chuckled softly behind my hand.

“Can I have two?” Leo asked the flight attendant.

I saw her melt under the weight of his puppy-dog eyes and couldn’t blame her one bit. The kid had his moments. Just like his dad. I’d been a victim to both at one point or another over the past few weeks. With Luca in particular, I’d lost count.

I chanced a glance in his direction. The sleep mask had been pulled back, and he was frowning down at his iPad, likely reading the latest issue of some business magazine. My hand went to my belly instinctively, and I tried to imagine Luca’s face if he found out he had another child on the way.

There was no arguing that he was a good dad, but I wasn’t sure about whether he’d be interested in expanding his family. He’d had eight years and seemed to be happy with just Leo.

I shook my head and tried to concentrate on my book. There was no way he could find out about the baby. The truth wouldn’t just turn his world upside down, but it would mean coming clean with Christopher about everything.

And that could never happen.

Leo bounded back to us with his juice and a huge grin on his face. “I got one Snapple berry and one just apple,” he said, clambering onto his seat. “She didn’t have strawberry, and that’s my favorite. Can I watch a movie? Do I get headphones like Papa?”

I laughed and pulled his iPad from my carry-on. He was like a steam train going a thousand miles a minute. I’d learned a sure-fire way to slow him down, though, and it came in the form ofAvatar: The Last Airbender.

Leo reclined with his juice, headphones on, iPad in hand, finally quiet. I let out a slow exhale and relaxed into my seat as well, avoiding Luca’s gaze which I’d felt on me the whole time I was busy with his son. I was expecting another snide remark about how I was doing something wrong, but none came.

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