“What about you?”
He pulls a face. “My time will come. I still have work to do.”
“You’re not getting any younger.”
“Neither is Nonno.”
“But that’s Dario’s problem, not yours.”
He snorts and reaches to pat my cheek. “There’s always a bigger picture, Dante.”
With that, he skates off. I watch him scoop up a laughing Bella and stand wondering what hand Gio is playing this time. I turn my attention to Liz, and she locks gazes with me and rolls over to me. I stand up straight as she rolls right into my arms.
I wrap her in my embrace and peck her lips. My hands land on her ass.
“Did you really have to wear this costume?” I groan.
She reaches to move my hands up to her lower back. “It was what Bella wanted. Besides, I’ll be hanging up my skates and the costumes for a while.”
I knit my brows. “Why?”
“Come on, Mr. Di Lorenzo. Why else would I need to stay off skates for eight to nine months?”
I take in a sharp breath and plant my hands back on her ass to tug her into my body. I take her lips in a passionate kiss. When I break the kiss, I run my nose up the bridge of hers and place my forehead to hers.
“Are you saying you’re pregnant, baby?”
She nods with that adorable smile. “Yes, I confirmed it this morning. We’re having a baby.”
I cup the back of her neck and kiss her again, hard.
“I don’t deserve you,” I breathe against her lips.
“Yes, you do. And I, you. We deserve all of this happiness, babe and we’re going to take it.”
“Wait until Bella finds out.”
I go to kiss her again, but Dario catches my attention as he looks around the rink frantically.
“Hold that thought, baby,” I murmur.
I release her and skate over to my twin. I reach him at the same time as Gio and Jace.
“What’s going on?”
“Have you guys seen Carleen?”
“She was sitting with Denise and Elijah just a little while ago,” Jace replies.
“They both said she told them she was headed to the bathroom, but no one has seen her since,” Dario says, looking pale.
I wave Liz over. She skates toward us with a wary look in her eyes.
“Can you ask Ming to check the cameras to see if she spots Carleen?”
“Sure, is everything okay?”
“No, she’s not answering my texts. I don’t know where she is,” Dario says. It’s clear he’s losing his shit.
“Where’s Matteo?” Liz asks.
“He’s with Dad.”
“Okay, give me a sec.”
Liz rolls away and I place a hand on my brother’s shoulder. I can feel the rage rolling off him. I’m not ready to admit it, but I feel like something is very wrong.
I turn to lay eyes on Liz and she’s waving us over. I tap Dario’s shoulder and gesture for him to follow me. We move over to the counter where Lizzy and Ming are and the first thing I note is the grim look on Liz’s face.
She narrows her eyes and leans into the monitors. “What the fuck? You guys are going to want to see this. Who is that guy?”
Dario rounds the desk. His face clouds over. My blood runs cold as my brother releases a bloodcurdling roar.
Fuck, I should have known it was too quiet.