by Bethany-Kris
What else was there?
“I mean, we’ve already won,” Corrado added. “There’s no way you will get those two runs, and this is your last bat.”
“Stop gloating,” Alessio returned. “That’s your one warning.”
“That’s what makes it fun.”
“Throw the goddamn ball.”
“Language,” Cara called out.
“Sorry.”
Corrado threw the pitch when he thought he distracted Alessio with his apology, but he should have known better. He got his two runs when the metal bat connected with the ball and sent it flying past the tree line on the back property—their designated space for a home run. Because no one wanted to go searching for balls in the small patch of forest.
Alessio only stepped off the home plate as Chris came jogging across it, tossing his bat so it flipped around in the air before landing back in his waiting palm. He pointed the bat at Corrado, smirking wickedly.
“I think I’m gonna walk it,” he said. “Remind you who you’re trying to better, yeah?”
Corrado shook his head, grinning. “Who’s gloating now?”
“And who likes it, huh?”
Chris would have enjoyed the banter between his twin, and Alessio, but he was already heading toward Valeria who was smiling his way.
“Where did Maria go?” he asked his wife.
Valeria peered up at him. “In the house. And congrats on winning.”
“Why?”
“Because you won the game.”
“No, why did she go in the house?”
“For a surprise.”
“For me?”
“Since when are you nosy?”
“Just because it’s your birthday, son,” his father called as he crossed the backyard with Maria skipping at his side, “doesn’t mean you get everything you want ... or does it?”
He might have questioned his father on that statement, but he was more interested in his girl, and the gift in her hands. A white box, maybe twelve inches long, and wrapped with a big, golden bow. She held onto it like it was a lifeline.
“What’s this?”
Maria smiled. “It’s for you. And me.”
Chris shot Valeria a look.
She only shrugged.
“Open it?” Maria asked.
Chris took the chair his father pulled out so he could sit beside his wife, with his mother on the other side of him. Gian came to stand behind his chair while Maria placed the box in his lap. Sweet as could be, she bounced on the spot while she waited for him to reach for the gift.
“Any hints?” he asked Valeria.
She shook her head. “It’s better if you ... understand all at once, I think.”
“Definitely,” Gian added.
His brow dipped. “They know what it is?”
“We needed help with—”
“Details,” Cara was quick to interject. “Don’t give him too much to go on.”
Valeria laughed. “Yeah, that. Open your gift.”
Well, okay.
Maria’s excitement only grew like her huge smile when Chris pulled the satin ribbon from the top of the box. He gave her a laugh before opening the top, and then he looked down.
His whole world stopped.
Application for Adoption.
The papers were ready. All filled out, and it appeared a lawyer could file them anytime. It only needed one thing. A little arrow pointed to a space where his signature needed to go.
Chris grabbed a little tighter to the box, unable to speak.
Maria did it for him. “Because you’re already my daddy, right?”
His father’s hands found his shoulders and squeezed. Valeria reached over to stroke his cheek with her warm palm.
Yeah.
This was most definitely the best birthday of his life.
“Right?” Maria asked again, quieter the second time.
He looked up to meet her gaze.
Her smile never faltered.
“That’s right,” he said, keeping his tone level, although he didn’t know how. “I promise.”
Maria darted forward when he opened his arms to bring her in for a hug. Someone pulled the box from his lap just in time, so the papers inside didn’t get crushed.
He didn’t know who.
It didn’t matter.
Everything he wanted was right in his arms and sitting beside him.
All around him.
His father had been right.
This was the good life.
• • •
Love the Guzzi brothers? Don’t forget to pick up The Firsts to catch up with every brother and their wife! Or, grab The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 2 and fall in love with three more Guzzi brothers!
XO.
BK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four sons, three cats, and four dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, a snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a spouse calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something ... when she can find the time.
Find Bethany-Kris at her:
WEBSITE
OTHER BOOKS
The After Another Trilogy
One Step After Another
One Breath After Another
One Second After Another
Boykov Bratva
Fractured Ties
Essence of Fear
The Guzzi Legacy
Corrado
Alessio
Chris
Beni
Bene
Marcus
The Firsts
The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 1
The Guzzi Legacy: Vol 2
Renzo + Lucia
Privilege
Harbor
Contempt
Forever
Cusp
Renzo + Lucia: The Complete Trilogy
Andino + Haven
Duty
Vow
One Last Time
Andino + Haven: The Complete Duet
John + Siena
Loyalty
Disgrace
John + Siena: The Complete Duet
John + Siena: Extended
Cross + Catherine
Always
Revere
Unruly
The Companion
Naz & Roz
Guzzi Duet
Unraveled, Book One
Entangled, Book Two
Cara & Gian: The Complete Duet
DeLuca Duet
Waste of Worth: Part One
Worth of Waste: Part Two
Standalone Titles
Pink
Pretty Lies
Dirty Pool
Effortless
Inflict
Cozen
Captivated
Dishonored
Donati Bloodlines
Thin Lies
Thin Lines
Thin Lives
Behind the Bloodlines
The Complete Trilogy
Filthy Marcellos
Antony
Lucian
Giovanni
Dante
Legacy
A Very Marcello Christmas
The Complete Collection
Seasons of Betrayal
Where the Sun Hides
Where the Snow Falls
Where the Wind Whispers
Seasons: The Complete Seasons of Betrayal Series
Gun Moll Trilogy
Gun Moll
Gangster Moll
Madame Moll
The Chicago War
Deathless & Divided
Reckless & Ruined
Scarless & Sacred
Breathless & Bloodstained
The Complete Series
Maldives & Mistletoe
The Russian Guns
The Arrangement
The Life
The Score
Demya
n & Ana
Shattered
The Jersey Vignettes
FANTASY ROMANCE
The Hunted: A 9INE REALMS Novel
Find more on Bethany-Kris’s website at www.bethanykris.com.
Copyright © 2020 by Bethany-Kris. All Rights Reserved.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted material is illegal and punishable by law. No parts of this work may be reproduced, copied, used, or printed without expressed written consent from the publisher/author. Exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in reviews.
eISBN 13: 978-1-989658-35-2
Editor: Eli Peters
Cover Design © Lee Ching, Under Cover Designs
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, corporations, locales and so forth are a product of the author’s imagination, or if real, used fictitiously. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.