Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
When Dani asks if I have any plans tonight, I realize I haven’t heard from Vanessa all day, which is unlike her. She generally sends me at least one picture of Leo during the day.
Lorenzo
You good?
Vanessa
Yes. Are you having a good birthday?
Lorenzo
I got birthday head and birthday sex before seven a.m. How could it not be good?
She laughs at my text, but doesn’t respond, and then a call comes in from an important client. So, I get lost in work the rest of the day, until Kathleen lets me know she’s taking off.
It’s five o’clock, and Vanessa hasn’t texted me any more today, so I shoot her a text, asking if she wants anything in particular for dinner.
Vanessa: Nope! It’s your birthday. I’ll handle it. See you soon.
Twenty minutes later, I step off the elevator and find my front door propped open, a cloud of smoke wafting in the air, and the fire alarm blaring.
I run inside, and Leo’s in Vanessa’s arms as she uses a broomstick to hit the smoke alarm while Sal shakes a towel over the burned dish.
“Dada!” Leo shrieks, making Vanessa stop and look my way.
The defeat in her gaze has my heart clenching in my chest.
I grab the stick from her and hit the smoke alarm, and it goes quiet.
“Thank you,” she mutters. “I’m so sorry. Dani sent me the dish that your mom used to make for your birthday … an Italian casserole … and I …” She chokes out a sob. “I messed it up. I was getting Leo dressed, and I lost track of time and …”
“Hey,” I say, pulling her into my arms with Leo squished between us. “Thank you.”
“For what?” She sniffles.
“For caring enough to make me dinner for my birthday.” I kiss her soft lips, and she sighs into my touch. “This is all I need for my birthday,” I murmur against her mouth. “You and my son.”
“I let the doorman know everything’s okay,” Sal says. “Have a good birthday.”
“Thanks, man.”
He closes the front door behind him, and I turn my attention back to Vanessa.
“Pizza?”
She nods. “The food was a bust, but look how cute he is.”
I glance at the outfit Leo’s wearing and bark out a laugh at his onesie—Happy birthday, Daddy. I got you the best gift … me!
“I’m wearing one too,” Vanessa says, shifting Leo so I can read her shirt.
My husband is thirty-seven and still hot.
“Cute,” I say with a laugh, giving her another kiss. “I expect you to wear that tonight to bed … with nothing else on.”
I waggle my brows, and her face lights up.
“Happy birthday, Lorenzo,” she murmurs. “I hope this year is your best year yet.”
I nod in agreement while wondering how that’ll be possible when the one woman who makes my days brighter won’t be here to spend the year with me.
“Merry Christmas.”
I pry my eyes open and glance down at the beautiful woman lying in my bed with her head resting on my chest.
It’s Christmas morning, and while I should be excited to spend the holiday with my family and friends, since Peyton and Dominick are hosting brunch, I can’t help but wish I could turn back time because, tomorrow, Vanessa will leave to go back to Seattle. I refuse to call it her home because if it were up to me, her home would be with Leo and me in North Harbor Point. But that’s selfish and unfair.
She packed up her stuff, and the movers came and picked it up two days ago since it’ll take several days for them to take it to Seattle. Since her college apartment isn’t big enough to hold everything that I bought for her sewing room, she asked if I could hold on to it all until she graduated and figured out where she’d be moving to next.
“Merry Christmas.”
I glance at the baby monitor, and Leo’s still asleep. So, I roll on top of Vanessa and kiss her slowly, gently, trying to make it last while memorizing every detail. The soft noises she makes when she’s turned on. The way her body fits perfectly under mine. She wraps her legs around my waist, and since we fell asleep naked, her pussy grinds against my groin, eliciting soft moans between us.
As I slide inside her warmth, I kiss her like it’s the last time, trying to convey how much I love her. Needing her to know how much she means to me.
And when we both find our release, I stay inside her for several minutes, not wanting to let her go. Knowing this time tomorrow, she’ll be on a plane, heading thousands of miles away from me. Away from Leo.
“I don’t think I can do this,” she whispers, making me remove my face from where it was nuzzled in her neck.
When my gaze meets hers, her violet eyes are filled with unshed tears, which damn near breaks my heart. But I have to be strong for the both of us because if she were to stay, she’d regret it. Maybe not right away, but eventually, she would resent me. Resent Leo. She has too many hopes and dreams to walk away from them.