“You are strong, Aria,” Luca murmured against my forehead. “And I’m here for you. I wish I could take the pain from you.”
I peered up at him through half-lowered lids. I breathed in and out, seeking solace in his gentle eyes. Upon feeling me relax, Luca put me down on the backseat, then climbed in behind me, so I was resting against his chest. Matteo and Gianna sat in the front, and Matteo drove his car like a madman.
We arrived at the hospital with the baby still inside, but I was rushed into the delivery room at once. “Give her something for the pain,” Luca barked the moment the first doctor crossed our path. I only heard something like too late before another wave of pain blacked out everything else.
Luca brushed my hand with his lips as I clung to him through every contraction. I didn’t find time to catch my breath between them anymore, and I was at the maximum of what I could endure.
Luca’s brows were drawn together, his expression almost desperate. He scowled at the nurses. “Do something,” he snarled.
“One last push,” the midwife encouraged.
I didn’t think I had the energy for another push but then through the fog of agony, a cry sounded. My baby. My daughter.
Luca’s eyes shot down to my face then lower.
I sagged with relief as the midwife held up a small human being covered in blood. For a moment, Luca didn’t move, then he kissed my cheek and temple, wonder on his face, and I let out a disbelieving laugh. The midwife did a quick checkup before she put our daughter in my arms.
Luca released my hand so I could hold her. I stroked her sticky black hair. She had a lot of it, as coal black as her father’s. I smiled up at Luca, who watched our child with a frozen look on his face. “She’s got your hair,” I whispered as I breathed in her scent, trying to memorize it. Her eyes were still bluish-gray. It was hard to say which color really.
“She’s so small,” Luca said quietly. He made no move to touch her. He seemed almost afraid to do so. Perhaps the doctor and midwife who were still in a room with us held him back from showing his affection, but it hadn’t stopped him from being affectionate to me.
“Marcella,” he murmured, and tears stung in my eyes at the tenderness in his voice as he called our baby girl by her name for the first time.
“Do you want to hold her?”
Luca’s eyes darted from Marcella to me, then he swallowed. “No.”
I frowned, heart clenching at his refusal. “Why not?”
He held up his strong hands with their scars as if that would answer my question. “She’s pure and breakable. I—”
“You won’t break her if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said softly, but he shook his head and cupped my cheek. “You hold her. It’s beautiful.”
I gave a small nod, stifling my disappointment. Leaning forward, I brushed my lips over his. “I love you.”
Luca glanced at the doctor, who was writing something down in the corner of the room. I touched his hand to show him I understood that he couldn’t say it back with someone else in the room. I knew he loved me, loved Marcella and me both, no words needed.Luca didn’t leave our side as we were taken to a private room after I’d been stitched up. Shortly after we’d settled in, Gianna and Matteo came in. I was tired and wanted to rest after the exhausting birth, but they’d waited a long time and I wanted to give them the chance to see Marcella.
Gianna came toward the bed to hug me gently while Matteo wrapped his brother in a hug. “I can’t believe you’re a father now,” Matteo said with a grin.
Luca nodded as if he couldn’t believe it either, his eyes returning to Marcella, who was sleeping in the crib beside my bed. He looked almost lost. I wasn’t sure what to do to help him.
I gestured toward the crib. “Why don’t you hold her, Gianna?”
Gianna straightened but she didn’t reach for Marcella. “You know I’m not good with kids,” she said hesitantly.
I couldn’t believe them. Luca didn’t want to hold our daughter, and now Gianna didn’t want to hold her niece either.
Matteo let out a sigh and stepped up to the crib. Luca rocked forward as if he was about to stop his brother, but then he froze. Matteo must have seen it too, but he ignored it. He slipped his hand under Marcella as I sat up in the bed. “Make sure to support her neck. She can’t hold her head up yet.”
Matteo raised his eyes. Perhaps he’d thought I’d stop him, but Matteo and I had been getting along very well in the last few months. I didn’t trust him like I trusted Luca. Not even close, but I knew he’d protect Marcella. And then he lifted her out of her crib and her eyes peeled open, some spittle dripping down her lips and on his shirt sleeve. He didn’t seem to mind.