Shifting the dog into one arm, Sasha extended a hand to me. “Come on.”
Nervously, my eyes scanned the residence as he helped me from the car. “Where are we?”
“You’ll see.” He pressed a kiss to my temple before wrapping an arm around my waist and guiding me toward the front door of the beautiful home before us.
I had a feeling he was tiptoeing around giving me a straight answer because he knew I wouldn’t like it.
A terrifying thought struck me, and I dug my heels into the brick walkway. “This isn’t—“ My palms grew sweaty, and my heart raced. “This isn’t Maddox’s house, is it?”
Sasha’s booming laughter had me levitating a few inches off the ground with how tightly I was wound at the idea of coming face-to-face again with that imposing man who saw fit to judge me without knowing a damn thing about me.
“I swear to God, Sasha—“
“Don’t worry. It’s not Maddox’s house,” he assured me.
Relief coursed through my veins, and my heart rate settled, but the nerves didn’t fully dissipate.
I was walking into an unknown situation, something I’d been instructed never to do growing up, and it had my anxiety shooting through the roof. Bellini children were taught rules of survival, and even then, they weren’t always enough to ward off death.
I could tell myself I wasn’t in Chicago anymore until I was blue in the face, but I wasn’t sure that the deeply ingrained conditioning would ever leave me.
Lost in thoughts of my past, I didn’t realize Sasha had rung the doorbell until the door flung open to reveal a slightly familiar plus-sized blonde, a redheaded baby boy on her hip.
“You made it!” she chirped brightly.
“Oh, no,” Sasha cooed, removing his arm from around my waist to brush the downy soft strands of copper hair away from the baby’s forehead to reveal a large purple bump. “What happened to my little buddy?”
The blonde rolled her eyes, her smile never slipping. “You know how it is. His brother took a flying leap into the ball pit, and they cracked skulls.” She huffed, the force sending a tendril of her blonde hair flying. “Should’ve known they’d be wild, the way they used to wrestle around on the inside before they were born.”
The little boy’s brown eyes lit up when he saw Cannoli, and he yelled, “Woof!”
Cannoli let out a playful bark in reply, and the baby screeched in delight, clapping his hands.
“Well, come on in! Can’t let Hendrix have all the puppy fun.” The blonde stepped aside to allow us entry, closing the door behind us as we removed our shoes.
Sasha set Cannoli down, and he took off like a shot, and the sounds of squeals echoed off the high ceilings of the home.
“I’m Evie, by the way,” the blonde introduced herself. Bending at the waist, she set the boy—Hendrix—on his feet, and he immediately ran in the direction the dog had disappeared. “We didn’t get a chance to meet at the Christmas party. But you spoke to my husband, Jenner, I believe.”
Oh, right. That’s why she looked so familiar.
“I did.” I nodded. “I’m Gemma.”
Evie’s smile grew. “I’m so glad we could set this up. The minute Goose let slip he’d bought a puppy, Jenner’s been begging him to bring it over.” The sounds of high-pitched laughter and barking were only growing louder. She gazed fondly toward the ruckus. “If you can’t tell, the kids are fit to burst.”
Sasha gave my hip a squeeze. “I’ve gotta get in on that action.”
The sight of that six-six man bouncing on his toes, vibrating with excitement, was almost too much.
“Go ahead,” I gave him permission to leave me with Evie so he could play.
He pressed a kiss to my cheek before running off. “Ready or not, here I come!” His words of warning had the volume level increasing in whatever room the chaos ensued.
“He’s great, isn’t he?” Evie said from my side as we watched him disappear around the corner.
“He’s something,” I mused. “Still trying to figure out exactly what.”
She looped her arm around mine like we’d known each other for years and tugged me down the hall. “Let’s get something to eat while we watch the show. I’ve got a spread set up in the kitchen.”
