Gabe walked in freshly showered. “Morning. How’d everyone sleep?”
“Wonderful. I think we were glad to be out of the hospital and able to sleep in the same bed,” Francesca said before she took a bite.
Raising his voice in a cheer, Carson added, “Here. Here. And getting crepes for breakfast. I think we may give up our beach house and live here.”
“Not a chance, buddy. In two days I have the all clear,” I quipped.
Everyone’s forks froze halfway to their mouths.
“Oh shit. I can’t stop thinking about sex.” I dropped my fork. “I mean, yes, sex is good, but I’m not counting down. No sex for me.”
Gabe’s shoulders silently shook with laughter.
I threw my napkin at him. “You’re not helping. It’s your fault I’m addicted to you. And all your teasing hasn’t helped.”
Carson dropped his fork and he looked like he was going to be sick.
“I’m stopping now.” I put my fingers to my mouth, locked it with an imaginary key, and threw it away. The heat rose to my cheeks. Never in my life had I been this bad.
Carson shook his head. “Pregnancy has lessened your filter.”
“I know. Trust me, I know.”
I chanced a glance at Gabe, who winked at me. “Stop it. I blame you because of my current state.”
Fingers snapped to my side. I looked at Carson. “What?”
“Let’s change the subject before we get more details on a part of your life I don’t need to know about.”
Mashing my lips together, I nodded. I had almost slipped, again. I checked the time. The plan was to leave for Gabe’s mother’s in about thirty minutes.
“What are you guys doing today?” There, that was a safe subject.
“We’re going to take Carson to the doctor for a checkup and maybe get some baby furniture from that store we looked at last night.”
With Rosie being locked away, the threat to Francesca had been eliminated. “That’ll be nice. I need to start laying out the murals in the room to paint next week. I picked out my color scheme finally.”
Francesca nervously pushed a piece of crepe around her plate. “I was wondering… well, we were wondering if you would be willing to paint a mural in our baby’s room. I loved the idea of what you’re doing and it would be so special to have a piece of Aunt Willow with the baby.”
I loved the thought. Ideas swirled around almost immediately. “Are you serious? I would be so honored. Once we have your colors and theme picked out, I’ll start drafting.”
Francesca and Garson grinned, and Francesca got up and gave me a hug. “Thank you. It’s going to be perfect.”
“Anything for my little niece or nephew.”
Francesca gave Carson an imploring look and his smile grew. Something else was up. “Francesca and I have something else to ask.”
They looked back and forth between Gabe and me.
“What’s that?” I asked.
Carson set down his fork, nearly done. “Would the two of you be the godparents to our child?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes! I would be honored. So honored.” I stood, my chair scrapping back in protest. Being asked to be a godparent was one of the highest honors to bestow on someone.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m… this…” Gabe seemed a little taken aback. For the first time, he was at a loss for words.
I squeezed his hand as I said, “I’m not the only one who sees how wonderful you are.”
Francesca leaned forward and laid her hand on Gabe’s. “I’ve watched how you’ve taken care of Willow and watched over me while Carson wasn’t able to. The love and dedication you’ve showed and still do is incredible. To have someone like you pledge to watch over our child with Willow would be a blessing.”
Though Francesca seemed to be out of the loop most of the time, she was actually more perceptive than I gave her credit for. “I would be honored to be your child’s godfather.”
Hugs were given. I grabbed Gabe’s hand and he chuckled when I nodded.
I looked at Carson and pointed my finger. “Just so you know… you stole my thunder.”
Gabe cleared his throat before Carson could fire back. “Willow and I talked some time ago after we first found out we were having twins.”
Francesca’s eyes widened. She held out her hand. “Wait… you’re having twins?”
The shock registered on Gabe’s face and he muttered a curse only I could hear. We were terrible about slipping.
I answered for him. “We are. We haven’t told anyone yet. You guys are the first to know.” Well, Carson already knew because of our earlier slips. I elbowed Gabe. “I’m not the only one with word vomit.”
He shook his head and deadpanned, “You’re contagious.”
“Twins! We’re going to have so much fun with three babies! Twins! Oh, how wonderful!” Francesca’s burst of excitement stopped our playful banter.
It felt good having her know until we told the world, and it would be nice having a female to talk to. I touched my stomach.
“You saw the trouble Willow and I got into from the scrapbooks you made. And there were only two of us. Payback’s going to be a bitch,” Carson added.
More laughter. Gabe and Francesca had no idea what they were in for.
Gabe squeezed my hand and got me back on track. “While Carson was in a coma, Gabe took me to the tree we’d carved our initials into. We talked and decided to ask you two to be the godparents to our children.”
In a fluid movement, Carson picked me up and hugged me. “Thank you, angel.”
Happiness flowed as I called, “I’m getting the ice cream to celebrate!”
In the car, we were about thirty to forty-five minutes from Gabe’s mother’s house. Two SUV’s followed us with our security team. The air conditioner was on high to combat the mugginess that had settled over the area. The weather felt like Gabe’s mood. For most of the ride, he had been relatively quiet.
I laid my head against his shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m worried about you meeting my mom.” The tension in his voice was tight and his muscles contracted at the thought.
I rubbed my hand over his chest to connect. “What is her name?” All this time, I hadn’t asked.
“Chasity.” The word was filled with hate.
The name was less intimidating than I imagined. I put my hand on his knee. “It’s going to be okay, Gabe. We’ll get through this. Don’t let her cloud that beautiful heart of yours. She can’t touch you now. And you have me.”
A few minutes passed. “Are you nervous?”
Was I nervous? The thought of meeting Chasity unnerved me more than anything. “I’m worried about you.”
He took a deep breath and looked out the window. All life left his eyes and I hated the power this woman seemed to have over him.
“Sweetheart, I’ll be fine.”
Andre slowed the car as we turned on a dirt road. Clouds of dust surrounded us. “Gabe, you’re about to come face-to-face with your mother who mind fucked you through your childhood.”
“Yes, I am.” His voice was steel, but I sensed the trepidation. After all I had heard about this woman, she had to be the definition of a nightmare.
“We’ll get through this.” I hoped facing her allowed Gabe to deal with it so he could truly move on.
He smirked, some of the sparkle returning to his depths. “I think that’s my line.”
“We’re a team. And when one needs support the other one is there.”
Leaning farther back in the seat, he raised the partition for privacy. Trent and Andre had been discreet, appearing to pay no attention to our conversation. We had been talking low, but I should have been more aware. “We haven’t discussed much about Alex Junior since we found out about your dad.”
“No, we haven’t.” I wasn’t sure where this was going.
This morning Gabe seemed all over the place mentally.
He closed his eyes before he reo
pened them, burning with an intensity. “Willow, I saw my nephew and he seems like a good kid. And now that De Luca is somewhat sorted, Harley will be sorted, and Candy is not plugged in. There is a chance we can get to know him someday once Alex is taken care of.”
I hadn’t thought about it, but it made sense that his nephew was on his mind. If I had a nephew or niece, I would want a relationship with them. Alex wasn’t officially my nephew, and my heart ached at the thought of never being part of his life.
“If there comes a time we think it’s safe, I want to know Alex Junior, too.”
“I want that more than I realized.” He blew out a ragged breath. “When Carson asked us to be godparents, my thoughts went to Alex Junior. I want to give him a family.”
Not having a family gave Gabe a need to have one. I got it. And he never wanted someone he loved to go through that. “We’re on the same page, Gabe. I understand the need you have. I have it, too. Has Candy had any contact with him?”
“No. I don’t understand how a mother can do that to a child.” Gabe let out a frustrated breath. Seems like Alex had found an uncaring mother like his own. “Willow, I… fuck… I don’t want to see my mother.” And we came full circle to the crux of Gabe’s problems.