Preview of This Day by Blanka Lipińska
Preview of This Day by Blanka Lipińska
Chapter One
It grew quiet, and I closed my eyes, realizing what I’d just said. It was another one of those times my mind only wanted to think something, but mistakenly ordered my mouth to voice the thought.
“Say that again,” he said calmly, raising my chin.
I looked at him and felt my eyes welling with tears.
“I’m pregnant, Massimo. We’re going to have a baby.”
The Man in Black fixed me with a wide-eyed stare before collapsing to the ground and kneeling before me. He lifted my shirt and planted a soft kiss on my belly, muttering something in Italian. I had no idea what was happening, but as I took his face in my hands, I felt tears running down his cheeks. That strong, imperious, dangerous man was kneeling before me and crying. I couldn’t stop myself and felt tears streaking down my face, too. We froze for a long while, allowing ourselves to take in the new circumstances.
The Man in Black rose from his knees and kissed me passionately on the lips.
“I’ll buy you a tank,” he said. “And if that’s not enough, I’ll dig a bunker myself. I promise you I’ll protect the two of you, even if I’ll have to pay with my own life.”
He said “you two,” I thought, and broke down again.
“Hey, baby girl, it’s all right.” I wiped away the tears with the hem of my sleeve.
“Those are tears of joy,” I said, making my way to the bathroom. “I’ll just be a minute.”
When I returned, Massimo was sitting on the bed with nothing but his boxers on. Then he got up and crossed the distance between us to plant a kiss on my forehead.
“I’ll take a shower. Don’t go anywhere.”
I lay down, snuggling against the pillow and analyzing what had happened. I hadn’t been aware the Man in Black was even capable of crying, least of all out of joy. A few minutes later, the door to the bathroom opened and he appeared in the doorway, naked and dripping with water. Slowly, he made his way to the bed, allowing me to drink in the sight of him before lying down next to me.
“When did you find out?” he asked.
“On Monday, when I got my blood tested.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I didn’t want to tell you before your trip. Besides, I needed to come to terms with it myself.”
“Does Olga know?”
“Yes. And your brother, too.”
Massimo frowned and rolled to his back.
“Why didn’t you tell me Domenico and you were family?” I asked.
He took a moment to think, biting on his lip.
“I wanted you to have a friend. Someone close, who you’d trust. If you knew he was my brother, you would have acted differently. Domenico knows how valuable you are to me. I wouldn’t have anyone else taking care of you when I was gone.”
It made sense, I thought. I wasn’t mad and didn’t hold anything against him.
“So… are we calling off the wedding?” I asked, looking him in the eyes.
Massimo rolled to his side and stuck to me with the entire length of his body.
“You’re joking, right? The child needs to have a full family. And a family is three people. Remember?” He started to kiss me. Gently. “What did the doctor say? Did you ask him if we can…”
I laughed and slid my tongue into his mouth. He moaned and crushed my lips in a passionate kiss.
Preview of THIS DAY by Blanka Lipińska
