7+Us Makes Nine: A Nanny Single Dad Romance (Baby Makes Three)

by Nicole Elliot

  “That dress is lovely, Angela. Thanks for helping get the bridesmaids together.”

  “No problem, darling. The rest of the girls should be here any minute.”

  “All our guests are here too. So, it’ll be time for things to get started shortly,” Daddy said, checking his watch.

  Even though I was looking forward to it, butterflies began to float through my stomach.

  Just as Angela had predicted, the rest of the bridesmaids—which included Jessica, Maria, and three of my cousins, began to make their way over. Within moments of their arrival, the room filled with excited chatter and Daddy drifted off to take a seat in the corner. Clearly, there was too much estrogen in the room for him.

  When it was time to line up and get ready to enter for the ceremony, Mama showed up.

  She looked stunning, having found the perfect mother-of-the-bride dress. It was a royal purple tea-length number with spaghetti straps and an elegant shawl that hung over her shoulders. She stopped before me, clearly trying not to cry. Wordlessly, she gently grabbed my face and kissed each side of my cheeks. And then she turned to my father, giving him a quick smooch on the lips before exiting to be escorted into the ceremony alongside with Giovanni’s parents.

  I had expected to take in each detail of the ceremony, but as the bridesmaids and groomsmen began to march in, everything began to go by in a blur.

  “You’re shaking, sweetie. Are you all right?” Daddy said.

  I smiled and nodded and held on to his arm a little more firmly.

  Before I knew it, all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen had made their way inside, and the music designated specifically for my entrance began to play. Daddy and I slowly moved forward, making it to the entrance.

  All of our guests stood, and all eyes were on us. On me…

  I swallowed, and Daddy and I began to march inside.

  People oohed and ahhed. Cameras flashed left and right. And in my periphery, I could see the hired professional photographer trailing our every step, documenting it with the camera.

  It was astounding that such a beautiful setup had been created in such a short amount of time.

  Feeling the butterflies in my stomach growing, I decided to let everything fade into the background. That’s when my eyes finally landed on Giovanni.

  He had been handsome from the moment I first laid eyes on him, but nothing could compare to how breathtaking he looked standing at the altar in his tuxedo, waiting for me to step by his side. His hair was sleek and shiny, and hung in a low-slung ponytail. His facial hair was trimmed to perfection. And his amber eyes sparkled as those deep dimples of his slowly came forward with the smile that came over his face when our eyes locked.

  As a child, I had never quite seen the face of my future husband when I imagined my wedding. Yet, one look at Giovanni Romano let me know that he was the man of my dreams all along.

  When we reached the end of the aisle, the priest smiled. “Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?” he asked.

  “I do,” my father said. He then leaned down, kissing each of my cheeks just as my mother had. Then he parted ways, to stand at my mother’s side in the front row.

  I took my rightful place beside Giovanni, who gripped my hand and interlaced his fingers through mine.

  The priest spoke some more, but I could hardly pay attention to his words, for I was too focused on the feeling of Giovanni’s hand in mine.

  I thought back to when we first met, and he saved me from that guy at the nightclub. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be marrying him not long afterward. Fate was certainly funny sometimes.

  My thoughts were interrupted when finally, it was time for Gio and me to take our vows.

  The priest cleared his throat dramatically and then spoke loud and clear. “Do you, Giovanni Romano, take Arianna Marino, for your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?”

  Giovanni smiled and gazed into my eyes. “I do.”

  “And do you, Arianna Marino, take Giovanni Romano, for your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?”

  “I do,” I said. With the utterance of those two words, it suddenly felt like the biggest weight had been lifted off my shoulders. All the turbulence Giovanni and I had experienced leading up to this day no longer mattered. All of the doubts and mistrust I’d felt disappeared. We were married, and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

  We exchanged rings, which were a beautiful set that had once belonged to Giovanni’s grandparents.

  “By the power vested in me,” the priest said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Giovanni, you may kiss your bride.”

  Giovanni and I turned to face one another. He leaned down, kissing me delicately, but drawing it out as the church erupted into cheers and applause. When we finally separated, both of us were smiling, laughing, and shedding tears of joy.

  EPILOGUE

  Giovanni

  1 year later

  Be careful what you wish for, and even more careful what you ask for.

  Speeding down the highway, I had officially learned that lesson. After the wedding, my father and I had managed to make up with one another. He had apologized for the way he’d been treating me and the hateful words he’d said to me, claiming that he had just been angry and in the heat of the moment, had said a lot of things he hadn’t meant. It took a while, but I eventually forgave him, although my forgiveness had been aided by the fact that he had finally given me a higher position in the family business.

  I’d been flattered by getting a higher ‘job title’ that involved more than being just the capo, which was a duty my younger brothers now shared. However, I quickly learned that having a higher role in the business also meant having more responsibility than I’d expected. I had adapted fairly quickly though and had no desire to complain.

  Or at least I hadn’t intended on complaining until now.

  I knew it was partially my fault though. I shouldn’t have agreed to work overtime while it was so close to Arianna’s due date. Everyone in the family knew that she could go into labor at any second. But like an idiot, I’d been convinced that I had time to take care of a little business before returning home, where I had anticipated finding Arianna sleeping peacefully.

  Instead, what I’d received while out on the job was a frantic phone call with the first several seconds consisting of nothing but Arianna’s screaming. When she finally spoke, my heart was already pounding a mile-a-minute in my chest.

  “Gio—I think it’s time. She’s coming! I gotta get to the hospital!” And then she descended into more screams as another contraction hit her. “Oh, my God! I think my water just broke!”

  I swore. “Okay, I’m on my way.” But at that precise moment, I realized how far away from home I was and knew that if someone didn’t get to her soon, our child was likely to be born on the dining room carpet.

  Fortunately, Arianna had called her parents too, and they had called her oldest brother, who was much closer and had managed to get her to the hospital that I was currently speeding down the highway trying to get to.

  When I reached the hospital, I had barely managed to park the car before jumping out and racing inside.

  “My wife—she’s in labor! Where is she? Where is she?!” I yelled to the first desk.

  “Okay, sir. Calm down,” the receptionist said. “Tell me your wife’s name.”

  “Arianna Romano.”

  Within minutes, I was running through the hospital to the maternity ward.

  Immediately, I saw Dante Marino pacing the waiting room and halfway dressed in hospital scrubs. “Oh, thank God!” he said, looking close to fainting. He hurried toward me and clasped my hand. “Lord knows I didn’t want to go in there, bro.” He quickly began pulling off the scrubs
and handed them over to me. “My folks are on the way.”

  I nodded, struggling to put on the gear.

  A door to one of the hospital rooms swung open, and screams I recognized as Arianna’s drifted out.

  “Excuse me, are you the father?” a nurse asked, poking her head out through the door.

  “Yes!”

  “Come on in, Mr. Romano!” she said, hastily waving me forward.

  I almost tripped over my own feet trying to rush into the room.

  Arianna was on the hospital bed, prepped for delivery. Her face was scrunched in pain, and sweat dripped down her forehead. Yet, somehow, she managed to smile upon seeing me.

  I hurried to her side, almost tripping again, and grabbed her hand. She proceeded to squeeze it. “Thank goodness you made it,” she said breathlessly. “Dante was about to faint.”

  I clenched my teeth and refrained from telling her that I was about to faint too. I took a deep breath and pressed my forehead to hers. “It’s okay now, baby. I’m here.”

  She proceeded to scream as another contraction hit, squeezing my hand for dear life.

  The doctor walked in just in time. “Nice to see you, Mr. Romano. Let’s make you a father.”

  * * *

  Less than an hour later, a pink wiggly infant was in my arms. Arianna had made me believe in love at first sight, and now—my baby girl just solidified my belief.

  I looked up at Arianna, who was in the hospital bed, tired but looking even more beautiful to me right then and there than she had at our wedding.

  “She’s a beauty, just like her mama,” I said.

  Arianna smiled. “I think she has your eyes though,” she said. “She opened them briefly for a moment while I was feeding her.”

  I placed a gentle kiss on the top her head, which was adorned with silky black hair. I may have imagined it, but for an instant, I thought a saw a smile flicker across her tiny face.

  It was at that moment that I realized no matter what kind of work I did for the family, I had now just gotten the hardest job I would ever have to do. Fatherhood. Yet, I was more than ready and couldn’t wait to experience every moment of it for the rest of my life. After all, I had to someday prepare this little beauty to inherit the Romano empire. The little girl in my arms was going to be the most powerful woman the Romano family had ever seen; I was going to see to that.

  I returned my daughter to her mother’s arms, and then kissed Arianna, right as a knock on the door indicated that the new grandparents had made their way over, ready to see the newest family treasure.

  Say Yes, Senator

  A Political Best Friend’s Little Sister Romance

  By

  Nicole Elliot

  and

  Sophie Madison

  Hi Kittens,

  So this book is well… you have to read it to believe it. But it’s hot. REALLY hot. Expect a lot of sexy times in these pages.

  xxx

  Nicole

  1

  Camilla

  “Congratulations! You are a lucky winner of $1000! Click here to claim your prize!”

  I rolled my eyes at the flashy pop-up window and closed it with a rough click, wondering if anyone fell for this shitty scam and actually clicked on it. If I had a dollar for every time I received a “prize”, I wouldn’t need the job I was desperately searching for now.

  “Maybe I should give up on my dreams and work as a scammer,” I muttered.

  With a sigh, I closed another website with job openings and rubbed my forehead tiredly.

  I was sitting on my bed in my apartment looking online for jobs, but I had no luck so far. I was at my wit’s end, living off savings I had almost used up. If this situation continued, I would have to apply for welfare.

  I refused to ask for money from my parents since they had already helped me more than enough when they funded my choice to go to school out of the state. College had been expensive, even with my student loans, but they had never complained, always willing to support the baby of the family even though their pensions had been their only meal ticket.

  I had always been an ambitious person, having big dreams about becoming someone in the world of politics despite coming from a family that had no money or connections in politics. My parents had always believed in me, telling me I would become a high-ranking politician one day, and up until recently, I believed them. I had believed I was able to fulfill my dreams and do what I loved through my dedication and continuous work.

  I was a straight-A student and had enough extracurricular activities to compete for any internship I wanted, and I even got my master’s degree in political science a few months ago. I was fired up and ready to start working, however, even with internships, diligence, and good grades, I couldn’t kick off my career. Dedication could only get me so far.

  Getting the job I wanted was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, so here I was, spending hours on the internet looking for anything remotely good. I wanted to be an aide in Washington, but the employers either wanted someone with many years of experience or they offered too low salaries. I was in dire need of money, but I had rent and bills to pay and accepting something super low didn’t cut it.

  The Skype ringtone ripped through the air, pulling me out of my thoughts.

  It was my mom. I bit into my lip, having no clue what to tell her when she asked me about my job search. I didn’t want to disappoint her. She knew about my recent internship at one of the local political parties, but I didn’t tell her that it had ended a month ago.

  Setting a smile on my face, I accepted her call, and an image of an attractive brunette in her fifties filled my screen.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  Her smile was huge, her blue eyes crinkling with joy. “Hi, sweetie! It’s been a while!”

  I was her replica because I had the same sea-blue eyes, heart-shaped face, tall body with curves, and chestnut brown hair. The only difference was that her hair was short, while mine reached my mid-back.

  “Actually, it’s been three days.”

  She tsked. “Feels like much longer to me! You know how much we miss you. Your dad keeps asking when you’ll come to visit us. You and your brother.”

  “Soon, Mom. You know how busy it can be—”

  “You always say soon! When is that? This year? Next year?”

  I let out a small sigh. She could be a tad dramatic sometimes. “I know, and believe me, I miss you too, but I can’t travel right now.”

  Her smile never wavered, but I could see the worry in her eyes. “I understand, honey. A life of politics is very busy and stressful, so it’s no wonder you can’t take a breather. Just don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

  I wanted to snort. Overwork? I wished I had any work to begin with.

  “I know. Thanks.”

  “About that internship. Did they hire you as a regular employee?”

  Me and my big mouth. Why did I tell her there was a chance they would hire me after I completed my internship?

  “Actually…” I couldn’t lie about that. I couldn’t look her in the eyes and spurt out yet another lie. “They didn’t hire me. And I’m not their intern anymore.”

  A frown replaced her smile. “Oh? Why?”

  “I wasn’t the right person for them. Or so they say.”

  “Nonsense! You’re the best! You’re smart, hard-working, responsible, and knowledgeable! How dare they?”

  I melted at her words, grateful for having her constant support. She was always there to bring me up when I was down, and I couldn’t thank her enough for everything she had done for me.

  “Well, I’m not the only one with those qualities, Mom. The competition is tough, and there aren’t many open positions. You remember what is was like for Carter. But that’s okay, because they weren’t the right campaign for me anyway. I worked for them in hopes of expanding my horizons and getting experience, but I knew I wouldn’t want to continue working for them long term.”

  She didn’t respond immediat
ely, her soft gaze moving across my face.

  “Don’t worry,” I hurried to reassure her. “I’m not without options. I applied for an internship at one local firm, and I have big chances of getting accepted.”

  “Another internship? How about a job? You’ve already graduated and got your master’s degree, so why are you wasting your time on internships? You could ask your brother for help.”

  Because anything was better than being jobless at this point. “As I said, I’m expanding my horizons. Leaning on Carter doesn’t help me do that.”

  I could clearly see she wanted to say something but was holding out on me. In the end, she said, “You look tired, dear. You said you were okay the last time we spoke, but are you sure you’re okay? You can tell me anything, you know.”

  I had no intention of telling her just how uneasy I was. She was already concerned about me more than enough. “I’m fine. I just stayed up late last night with my friends.”

  Her lips quirked up into a beam. She had bought it. Hook, line, and sinker. “I see. You’re just like me. I went to bowling last night with Kelly”—Kelly was our next-door neighbor— “And we had such a great time that I came back home around midnight. Your father was so worried.” She chuckled, and an image of my dad pacing around our living room waiting for her flashed in my mind.

  “I guess Dad didn’t like you out so late, having more fun than him.”

  “Actually, he was sound asleep by the time I came back home. He was fishing the whole day yesterday, so he was too tired to wait for me.”

  We spent another half an hour chatting, until she said she had to go and make dinner for Dad, she also wanted to call Carter, my older very successful brother. I waved at her and ended the call, glad that she hadn’t pushed me to talk in detail about my job or rather the lack of it.