Baby by Design: Designing Love Book One (Crimson Romance) by Elley Arden

just leaving.” Tony walked to her and placed a kiss on her cheek. “We’ll finish this tonight.” And then he strolled past the man with a nod of his head and disappeared onto the crowded street.
    • • •
    Tony made it two blocks to where his bike was parked before a phone call stole his smile.
    “What do you mean she’s filling with fluid? Fluid from where?”
    “It’s called ascites, and it’s from the tumors,” Angie explained.
    “More than one tumor?”
    “I guess. I don’t know. It’s hard to get a straight answer. Everybody seems to be hearing something different. Makes me want to go to the next appointment.”
    “You should.”
    “Tell that to our aunts.”
    Tony roughed his face in his hands and released a growly breath. “So what’s this mean?”
    “Ma says Nonna’s abdomen is being drained to make her more comfortable and her treatment plan might change. And…no trip. She can’t go to Italy.”
    “Shit.”
    “Exactly. Tone, I looked on the internet, and this could mean the tumors are growing and spreading.”
    The sickness in Tony’s gut grew and spread to his heart. “Double damn.”
    “I know. Do you think you can have the car seats finished this week? I want to show her, take her for a ride, take her mind off this crap for however long I can.”
    “Yeah. You bet. Consider it done.”
    “And Vin moved the concert up.”
    Everybody was kicking into gear, readying for the worst. Tony’s eyes burned. “Ange, do you really think she’s running out of time?”
    “I hope not, Tone.”
    He hoped not too. But just in case, ready or not, he and Trish needed to speed things up.
    After hearing pretty much the same thing about Nonna’s condition from Ma, Tony swung by Angie’s and worked until his fingers ached. When he left, the car was ready to roll.
    Riding away from the garage with wind in his face, he questioned the extreme he was willing to go to in order to give his grandmother something special. A baby. But when he stopped by her apartment, and witnessed the weak smile she offered for a loaf of Mancini’s bread, he was convinced he’d go to any extreme to give her bigger joy. Besides, Tony was used to gambling and living at the extremes. How was this plan of Trish’s any different?
    Trish
. Thinking about the way she responded to his attempts to make her relax made him smile. At least their kid would have one conscientious parent who towed the line. And that was better than he always feared he’d do.
You’ve got Vegas wedding written all over you
, Vin used to say. Considering the women Tony usually dated, that was a scary thought. Waking up tied to the likes of Brandy the Bartender was bad enough. Having a kid with her was a million times worse.
    He thought about it as he parked his bike and jogged the steps to his flat. Ultimately, he wasn’t worried he’d end up married in Vegas, because after seeing the pain of his mother becoming a widow and Vin’s ugly divorce, marriage lost its luster—not that it had much before. If you could get the goods without the gold, then why bother. And if you could get the kid, too?
Bing-to-the-O.
    Tony showered, shaved and thought some more. Nonna was dying. There was no question about that. Ma said ovarian cancer was tricky, sneaky, and symptom-free—until it was too late. There wasn’t much they could do, but wait. For her to die. And that wasn’t okay with Tony. Weddings and funerals, baptisms too. He had power here, power to give his family something to wait for besides Nonna’s funeral.
    He buttoned his shirt, zipped his jeans, and shoved into his boots. Stopping in the kitchen, he grabbed a six-pack of Heineken, 100 percent certain Trish DeVign didn’t stock a fridge of beer. He wasn’t nervous but after the pressurizing news about Nonna he wasn’t feeling his usual carefree self either. Under the circumstances, he tried not to stress over it. He’d get to Trish’s, have a drink, settle her down, and then they’d have