“Not possible. We’ve talked about this, Em. We Knights are family-oriented people. If any of my brothers had a baby, they’d be all in. His woman and kid would mean the world to him. You said Danny wasn’t like the other guys in Storm’s club.”
“He’s not. Or he wasn’t. Maybe after a year apart, he’s changed.” Heck, even I’d changed. Not only had I matured more, but my body was different after the baby. What if Danny didn’t find me attractive anymore?
I would be devastated.
Piper touched Dante’s little foot. “He hasn’t, girlie. You just wait and see.”
“We’ll be on the ground in ten minutes,” Hustler said.
Ten minutes? I assessed my clothes and groaned.
“What’s the matter?” Piper asked.
“I look like roadkill smeared into the grooves of a motorcycle wheel.”
Piper burst out laughing. “Girl, you do not.”
“This wasn’t at all how I imagined seeing Danny again. I’ve got a hole in my leggings from when I fell. My face is probably blotchy from crying. I’m not ready to see him.”
Dante started to fuss.
Piper jiggled his foot. “His ears are probably bothering him as we descend like they did when we took off.”
“Oh, right.” I quickly put him to my breast to help with the pressure in his ears. He latched on and vigorously sucked.
“Listen to me.” Piper took my hand. “Your guy is going to be happy to see you. It’s all going to be okay.”
I gave her a weak smile. I didn’t really want to talk about this anymore. Piper’s never had a boyfriend. What did she know about relationships? She was trying to make me feel better, but it wasn’t helping. My emotions were all over the place. When I thought about that witch Tami planning to take my son, I literally wanted to crawl into a ball with Dante and cry.
“Prepare to land, ladies,” Hustler said as the plane got closer to the ground.
My vision blurred as tears pooled in my eyes. I sent up a quick prayer for a safe landing.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay. When we’re on the ground, I can hold Little D so you can get yourself sorted out.” Piper flicked her eyes toward my boob.
“Good idea.” I snorted, a tear rolling down my face. Piper was great at bringing levity to a situation. It was like she knew when the tension was too thick.
“I’m chock-full of them.” She winked, then glanced out the small window. “Now in one, two, three.” The plane bounced a bit, then all was smooth. “We’re on the ground. See? Not so bad.”
I blew out a breath of relief. “Easy for you to say. You’ve been flying since you were in diapers.” Piper’s dad and brothers all had their pilot’s licenses. They were a unique MC family, riding Harleys and flying planes.
“True. Gimme Little D. I’ll burp him.” She made grabby hands.
“You and your dad are the only people other than the nurses at the hospital who’ve held Dante.” I kissed my boy before giving him to her.
“That makes me feel uber special.” Piper smooched his cheek once she had him comfortably on her shoulder. “I sure wish my brothers would reconsider having babies,” she said over her shoulder, scrunching up her face.
“Keep dreaming, sis. We don’t need another woman nagging us. Mom’s enough.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m gonna tell her you called her a nag.”
I smiled at their antics. Having five brothers was a lot, but I would’ve loved at least one sibling. Danny and I were both only children.
I gazed at Dante as I fixed my shirt. He should have a brother or sister or maybe one of each.
My crazy nerves flared up again. If Danny had moved on, I couldn’t fall apart in front of him. I was confident he’d want to be in Dante’s life after having such a shitty one himself. We’d both do what was best for Dante, putting him first.
If everything was different between us, we could co-parent. We’d just have to make it work for our little boy.