Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Tillie hadn’t even considered that she might be pregnant. She’d taken the test that morning. Not just one test, four of them, just to be sure, in case one of them was a bit dodgy, and yes, all four of the tests indicated she was very much pregnant.
She and Luca were going to have a baby.
Chapter Eleven
Luca knew he should be in bed, cuddling up to his wife, and he promised her he’d be right up. They had already chosen the room, and at Tillie’s insistence about the color scheme, they were going for neutrals. Luca had been tempted by painting the room part blue and part pink until the baby arrived.
As Tillie said, the room would only be needed while their baby was an infant, and then they could keep the room neutral for all other children they were going to have. Luca couldn’t believe how excited he was at the prospect of making more children, of having a large family.
He didn’t know how he’d gotten so fucking lucky in his life. A year ago, he’d done nothing but work. Waking up, he worked, and other than a drink once in a while, his life was dominated by building his wealth. Constantly conquering one company after another.
Now, Tillie had given him so much in the short time she’d been in his life. She’d given him a family of her own. Andrew and Bella treated him like a son. David treated him like a brother. Tillie treated him like a husband, and now he knew she was in love with him, just as he’d known he’d fallen in love with her.
They were going to have a child together, and had already booked a doctor’s appointment. He wanted to know everything he was going to need to prepare for a baby. He’d never thought he would be a father. Luca didn’t know the first thing about being a dad, but he was going to fucking try. Not only had Tillie given him everything he now had in a family, she’d also gone out of her way to learn the truth, and he was never going to forget it.
Even though his story didn’t have a happy ending, at least not yet, who his parents were and what they did seemed so important to him now. At Tillie’s insistence, they had gotten the pictures of his parents, along with his grandparents and aunt, and she’d placed them around the house. His parents needed to be remembered.
Luca shook his head at how drastic his life had changed, as he sat at his computer desk, flicking through a baby website he’d stumbled upon. He’d already purchased a stroller, which was set to arrive within a few days. There were, of course, little clothes as well—the cutest little rompers—and of course baby bottles, monitors, and a crib. The clothes, though, were what he was looking through now.
The excitement building within him was strong, and as he finished making the final payment for clothes he knew Tillie would be annoyed about, he shut down the computer. He was making his way upstairs when he heard it—the sound of a doorknob turning.
Even though Luca now knew about his past, it didn’t change his early years, and the sound of doorknobs turning, especially in homes that were locked up tight, was not a good sound.
He heard the creak of a door opening, and then the subtle sound of footsteps. They were moving slow. Luca moved swiftly, going back to his office and walking to the fire, where he picked up the poker. He rarely used the open fire in his office, but he had everything for the rare occasion he wanted to.
Gripping the poker in his hand, holding it tightly, he thought about Tillie upstairs. Ever since she had gotten pregnant, from time to time she’d come downstairs for a drink. He didn’t want today to be one of those days.
He went toward the desk, grabbing his phone and moving away from the line of sight to dial the police. Luca was angry that someone would break into his home.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
The angry growl didn’t come from a voice he recognized, but one look at the face of the man staring at him, Luca did recognize him.
A gun was pointed straight at him. The arm holding the gun was straight, but the anger resonating from Uncle Ed was palpable. One wrong move, and he was as good as dead.
He didn’t know if Uncle Ed was a good shot or not. A few weeks ago, he and Andrew had taken a small business meeting to discuss investment, and as their meeting came to a close, he had actually thanked him for firing Uncle Ed. Andrew had wanted to do so many times, but had always figured it was down to sibling rivalry, or just his paranoid thoughts that made him think Uncle Ed was ruining the company.