Page 82 of The Veiling

Vacation

The time had finally come for our vacation to his parents’ house in the Hamptons. I had just finished packing for the weekend but still worried how close I was pushing it to my due date. I was due in two weeks, and we had several hours in the car ahead of us.

Gazing at my reflection in the mirror, I twisted back and forth, rubbing my hand in a circle on my stomach. I felt enormous and not that attractive for the first time in my pregnancy. I had heard of this feeling happening to women, but I never quite understood it until now.

“Are you almost ready?” Valentino strode into the closet, taking a black jacket off a hanger and slipping it on.

“This dress looks horrible on me,” I sighed. “I look like I’m smuggling a watermelon.”

“You are.” Stepping over, he kissed my forehead. “Though our son might take offense to the name calling.”

I smiled. “Well, he’ll be a handsome little watermelon then.”

“Much better.” He winked, then slipped one of his gold watches on and fastened it. “What’s wrong exactly?” He glanced back over his shoulder as he took his wallet, keys, and phone, shoving them all into his pockets.

“What if I go into labor while we’re there?”

“The doctor said you’d be fine and worst case, my family can prepare the formal dining room table for you, and we can have a home birth.” He pursed his lips, waiting for my response.

“I’m having a child, not a Christmas dinner.”

“I’m joking, amore.”

“I knew that.” I squinted. “Is Marco waiting downstairs?”

He sighed, picking up our bags. “He texted me to say he’s not coming.”

“What?!”

“I know.” He shrugged a shoulder, carrying our luggage into the bedroom, with me following close behind. “But I can’t force him.”

“What about—”

“They don’t even know he was coming…or alive.”

I plopped down on the bed, disappointed by Marco’s decision. I had high hopes for him making his comeback and fixing things with the family. Frustration seeped through Valentino’s otherwise unbothered façade. I knew I had to lighten the mood. There was nothing we could do about it, and he was right. We could never force him to do anything. I was thankful he and his siblings had finally been able to repair all the damage done, at least.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

“Come in,” Valentino called out.

Noah pushed the door open. “Ready?”

Valentino nodded. “Can you just be my sister’s boyfriend this weekend and not our bodyguard?”

“Joseph might not like that.”

“If anything happens, you can step into security mode, but I think it’s important for you to just blend in with the family this weekend.”

“Uhhh, so I should probably tell you both something important, but a secret, before we g—”

“Miss Isabelle.” Helen entered the room with a small, black bubble mailer in her hand.

“Yes?” I smiled, always happy to see her welcoming grin.

“Something was dropped off at the guard-house for you.” She handed it to me. “Paxton brought it to the house a few minutes ago. He opened it to make sure it wasn’t a threat.”

“Thank you.”

---