Page 60 of Blissful Devotion

“Oh, yes. I’m about six months along, with a little boy.” Despite everything happening, I can’t stop the smile tugging at my lips, making my cheeks ache at the thought of my baby.

If I thought this man was attractive before, he’s absolutely devastating when he smiles, so much so that I can’t make myself look away.

It’s as if he’s truly happy for me, and the feeling loosens something in my chest. Lorenzo has been supportive, but I wouldn’t say he’s excited.

“That’s amazing!” Tattooed nearly shouts, moving toward me; his volume and sudden movement make me flinch.

I wish I could take it back the second it happens.

He stops, frozen in his tracks, his face falling, making my heart squeeze, and I have to resist the urge to reach for him.

I hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings; my head hurts, and with so many people, men, in the room that I don’t know, I’m a little jumpy.

“What did he do to you?” The venom in his voice is unmistakable, and while he sounds dangerous, something tells me it’s not directed at me.

He can only mean Lorenzo; that’s the only person who makes sense, but even so, he didn’t do anything… did he?

I try to think back, but it’s fuzzy: dinners, the nursery, his hand wrapped around my neck…

I press a hand to my throat and swallow hard, but I’m not sure if that’s a memory or something I’ve imagined.

Lorenzo wouldn’t hurt me.

Would he?

My head throbs and my eyelids feel like they weigh a ton.

“Why don’t you get some rest? We can talk again once you’ve rested.” The gentle one with glasses suggests, and I breathe a sigh of relief both at the idea of sleeping and the confirmation that I won’t be alone.

Even if I don’t know them, something tells me being alone is worse, more dangerous.

I lay back, scooting down until my head is on the pillow again, and I’m out before I can second-guess myself.

Kat is asleep before she even settles all the way, and I take comfort in the way her pulse settles into the steady beeping that I’ve been listening to for hours now, the reminder that she’s here and alive.

Which is more than I can say for Lorenzo; our own family—my uncle—tried to take the most important thing in my life.

I’ve never wanted to kill someone more than I did him, which is a wild thought because I thought that honor belonged to Carter.

Family doesn’t mean shit when they try to hurt Kat, even less when I know what he did to Alex.

No, I’d never met him, but that’s probably for the best. My only regret is that I won’t get to be the one to end him. I’d been tempted, but I knew I needed to be here with Kat, the reason my heart beats and my blood pumps.

Her and our son.

A boy…

I’ve never felt so many emotions on such a wide spectrum.

I’d been ecstatic hearing her tell Father we’re to have a boy, so much so that I forgot about everything else. I’d wanted to touch her, hold her, give her all the affection she clearly missed while we were apart, not just for her but for myself.

Seeing her flinch was like a bucket of ice water, though, quickly reminding me that the woman we all love is here but still lost to us.

What a bitter pill, a sick twist of fate.

“We can make her love us again.”

“What?”