Baby Mine by Tressie Lockwood

pilot.”
    “ Should have known!”
She scraped back her chair. “How am I going to handle this? I
don’t know. I can’t—”
    Renzo swept her into his arms and
held her as close as he could without hurting her stomach. He seized
her chin and made her focus on him. His dark gaze mesmerized, and she
lost herself in its depths. “There’s only you and me, cara mia ,
a man and a woman who love each other more than life itself.”
    She gasped when he reached inside
his pants pocket and pulled out the tiny box. “You carry that
around?”
    “ Always, in hope.”
    Tears filled Jada’s eyes
and spilled down her cheeks. She allowed him to slide the diamond
ring up her finger and wasn’t surprised when it fit to
perfection.
    “ I love you,” he told
her in earnest. “With all of my being. If having you at my side
meant giving up everything, I would have in a heartbeat.”
    She knew they weren’t just
words. Renzo living simply with her over the last few months was a
testament to how he felt. In some ways his devotion scared her, but
she would never let him get away because of that. He had moved past
his comfort zone to win her, and she would do the same to stay with
him.
    “ I’m ready,”
she murmured, and Renzo kissed her until she let all else go but him.

    * * * *

    Jada sat on the side of the bed
she shared with Renzo. Footsteps sounded outside the bedroom door,
and she knew Marie would be in soon with a pre-breakfast treat. While
she no longer suffered morning sickness, Renzo hadn’t allowed
her spoiling to go by the wayside. She didn’t mind it so much
as all the rest of the crazy in this household. Zita still wanted to
use her to get Renzo to lighten up. Ettore still kept his distance
but smiled as if they were old friends. Renzo’s mother spoke to
her in nothing but Italian, and Uncle Gianni…well she expected
a check any day now to bribe her to get lost. Then again, he did seem
to fear Renzo’s anger even if he was the elder.
    She smiled, thinking of her
soon-to-be husband, but then winced as the pain that had awakened her
earlier than usual rolled across her belly. Unless she missed her
guess, she was going into labor. Fear tightened the muscles in her
throat, and she swallowed compulsively.
    “ Good morning, Miss Jada.
Did you sleep well?” Marie asked.
    “ Fine, thanks.” Since
the contractions were so far apart, she decided not to mention them
just yet. “Renzo left already?”
    “ He has, ma’am. He
told me to tell you he will be back at lunchtime to eat with you.”
    Warmth spread over Jada’s
being. He’d kept his word on that subject as well, making sure
not to work so much that he didn’t have time for her. She
ignored the plate Marie left and drank the fruit juice. After
showering and dressing, she checked that the bag for the hospital was
ready and walked downstairs. Meeting Mrs. Mariani, she greeted the
older woman.
    “ Buon giorno, Mamma .”
    The woman narrowed intelligent
eyes on Jada and looked her up and down. Jada felt her back getting
up at the scrutiny. If she was going to act like that, they were
going to have a problem. To her surprise, the old woman smiled and
laid a hand on Jada’s belly. “ Bambino. ”
    She uttered some other words Jada
couldn’t interpret and then called for Marie. The maid appeared
in seconds as if she’d been lurking just around the corner.
After Renzo’s mother spoke to her in rapid Italian, Marie’s
eyes widened in alarm. Annoyed that she didn’t get what they
were saying but knowing it was about her, Jada put a protective hand
over her belly and opened her mouth to give them both a piece of her
mind. Later, she and Renzo would need to have a conversation about
his family.
    Before she could say two words,
Marie cut her off. “Ms. Jada, I’ll call Mr. Renzo right
away.”
    Jada stared at her. “Why?”
    The maid’s expression told
her she thought Jada had already taken leave of her senses. “Because,
Mrs. Mariani says you’re having