Throttled
Page 9
“Open my present first, Ma,” Izzy said, reaching under the tree, and pulling out a small box wrapped in red glitter paper and a silver bow and handed it to Ma.
Ma shook it, putting it next to her ear. “Hmm, I wonder what it is.”
“Just open it,” Izzy said, bouncing on her knees.
“Patience, Isabella. It’s a virtue,” Ma said, pulling the ribbon and removing the bow.
“Virtues and me don’t get along,” Izzy said, her laughter growing loud.
“You’re a Gallo, none of us do,” Pop said as he smiled at Izzy and chuckled.
Ma opened the box, a giant smile spreading across her face. “Oh, Isabella, it’s beautiful.” She pulled a bracelet from the box lined in rubies and diamonds.
“It’s our birthstones together, Ma” Izzy said, crawling closer to her. “Can I put it on you?”
“Yes, I’d love that.” Ma handed the bracelet to Izzy. “It’s beautiful. I love you, baby girl.” Ma leaned forward, kissing Izzy on the head as she snapped the bracelet around Ma’s wrist.
“Love you too, Mama.” Izzy moved the bracelet so the stones sat on top and were visible before crawling back to her spot next to Anthony.
“City, why don’t you go next,” Michael said, winking at me.
“Did you tell him?” Suzy mouthed at me with wide eyes.
I shook my head, because I hadn’t said a word to anyone. “No, brother you go ahead,” I said, trying not to spoil their gifts by going before them.
“I can’t follow up Izzy’s gift. You always give strange things to Ma, so I rather go after you,” Michael said as he slapped his knee.
Everyone laughed and Mia elbowed him. I always bought Ma something special and meaningful. The woman didn’t care about price; she only wanted something that was heartfelt and meaningful.
“I hadn’t planned on giving Ma our gift so soon, but we’ll go now just to make you happy,” I said with a smirk. He’d shit a brick in a moment… it served his ass right for his shitty comment.
“I want to give it to her,” Suzy said, placing her hand on mine before pushing off the couch.
We spent hours talking about the best way to break the news. Suzy decided to have a shirt made that said ‘World’s Greatest Nana’ along with the first ultra sound photo tucked underneath. Damn kid looked liked a jellybean, but I knew it was enough to make my ma squeal.
“Izzy, can you give me the big box with the snowman paper, please,” Suzy said as she approached the tree.
Izzy grabbed the box, shaking it as she handed it to Suzy. “Is it an ugly Christmas sweater? You know a girl can never have too many of those.” Izzy smiled as Suzy ripped it from her hands.
“Shush it, you. I’m still mad at you,” Suzy said, sticking out her tongue at Izzy. She turned toward my parents, sitting in their favorite chairs next to the tree, side by side. “We had something made for you this year, Mom.” Suzy handed her the box and came back to sit at my side.
“That’s so sweet of you, dear,” Ma said, tearing the paper slowly.
“It’s for both of you,” I said, grabbing Suzy’s hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Thanks, son,” Pop said, watching Ma opened the box.
As she pulled the shirt from the box, Izzy said, “I knew it. Ugly Christmas clothes, nice brother.”
“Izzy,” I warned.
My ma’s eyes grew wide; her lip trembling as my pop grabbed her arm. Her mouth dropped open as she read the shirt. “Really?” she whispered.
Pop reached in the box, pulling out the ultrasound photo and bringing it close to his eyes.
“What the hell is it?” Michael asked.
Ma turned the shirt around, a giant smile on her face. “Promise me you two aren’t joking?” she asked, holding the shirt in the air.
“We would never joke about that, Ma,” Suzy said, squeezing my hand and leaning into my side.
The shrill scream from my ma had me covering my ears. She hopped from her seat, coming at us quickly.
“Fuck,” Anthony said, clearly understanding the error of his previous statement.
My ma was so lost in her baby haze that she didn’t even flinch at his statement. She stopped in front of us, tears just starting to stream down her cheeks. “When?” she asked, clutching the shirt in her hand.
Suzy laughed, hopping to her feet. “August,” she said, wrapping her arms around my ma.
“Oh my God, August is so far away, but there’s so much to do,” Ma said, grabbing Suzy and squeezing her tightly.
I stood, walking toward my pop, holding out my hand. “Congrats, Grandpa,” I said, waiting for his response.
He placed his hand in mine, pulling me toward him, embracing me. “I’m proud of you, son. Damn proud. There will finally be someone to carry on the family name... about damn time.” He laughed, patting me on the back.
“Only if it’s a boy, Pop,” I said, sighing and feeling completely content.
“Look around, boys are genetic. Girls are an anomaly in this family.”
Ma grabbed me, pulling me from his arms. “And you, how could you keep this from me?”
“We wanted to be sure, Ma. Don’t be mad,” I said, kissing her cheek.
“I’m not mad. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now,” she said, resting her head on my chest. “A baby, finally a baby,” she whispered, her tears soaking through my shirt.
Over my shoulder, I could see everyone surrounding Suzy. She beamed, a giant smile on her face and her cheeks slightly pink. She didn’t like attention, but she better get used to it. She’d be the center of attention until the baby arrived.
Anthony touched her stomach. “Wow, it’s going to be like the movie Alien. That’s some scary shit, Suzy.” He smiled, patting it before flailing his arms like the creature that busted out of Sigourney Weaver.
Mike batted his hands away from Suzy, “Stop it, you dumbass. You’re scaring her. Congrats, doll. I’m so excited to finally be an uncle.” He smiled at her, wrapping her into his arms, but holding her like she was breakable.
“Maybe someday Mia can be an aunt?” she asked as she pulled away to see his face.
Mike laughed, nervously looking at Mia. “We’ll see. I’m still trying to figure out if she’s ‘the one’.” He said and laughed.
Mia smacked his ass, causing a loud crack to fill the air. “You could only be so lucky,” Mia said. “Come here, Suzy, give me a hug, Mama. Are you ready for this?”
I watched my family as they showered her with love. We weren’t the main attraction anymore; the world would now revolve around the baby.
Suzy huffed out a breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She shrugged before hugging Mia.
“Congrats, Suzy,” Izzy said, pulling Mia off Suzy. “Remember, that baby better have a vagina.” Izzy poked her in the stomach and bent down next to her belly. “Hey little girl, Auntie Izzy will teach you everything you need to know about life,” Izzy said, rubbing her hand over Suzy’s stomach.
The color drained from Suzy’s face, as her eyes grew wide. “Izzy, we don’t know the sex yet, but boy or girl, they’ll be lucky to have you as an aunt.” Suzy looked at me with her eyes bulging like she was scared to death of Izzy getting her hands on our baby. There were worse things than having Izzy teaching a girl how to be strong. Izzy could be a pain in the ass, but she was a tough cookie. The man that could tame her would have to be a beast, if it was possible at all.
The End ~ For Now.
Throttled is part of the Men of Inked series. All books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.
Books Currently Available:
Throttle Me – Book 1 – City & Suzy
Hook Me – Book 2 – Michael & Mia
Throttled – Book 3 – City & Suzy Novella
Coming Soon:
Resist Me – Book 4 – Izzy & James (Fall 2014)
Uncover Me – Book 5 – Thomas’ Story (Late 2014)
Unnamed – Book 6 – Anthony
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Read Kayden and Sophia’s story:
Love at Last Series:
Untangle Me – Book 1
Kayden: the Past – Book .5
Stay up to date on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/chellebliss
Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read Throttled. I hope you've read the two previous books and are in love with the Gallo Family. They're fun loving and sweet and their love is deep and full.
I hope you enjoyed reading more of City and Suzy. Sometimes love can't be denied even when the person doesn't fit your idea of the perfect mate. Love is blind and we need to follow our heart.
Izzy's story is next and will be released in September. Please feel free to follow me on any of the social media sites below to stay up to date on the latest information and release dates
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Sincerely,
Chelle Bliss