Choices We Make: The Moretti Brothers Series

by Young, Sage

  She stood and stretched, feeling the stiffness in her body from lying in an awkward position. She grabbed the empty pie plate and glass and walked towards the kitchen when she felt a striking pain in her lower abdomen, which caused her to double over. She dropped the plate and glass, causing both to shatter in pieces. After a few seconds the pain subsided. She took a few deep breaths before she began to pick of the pieces of broken glass, another pain shot through her stomach and into her chest causing her legs to buckle. Her knees landed in the pool of glass as they hit the floor, she put her hands out to brace her fall when she felt a shards of glass pierce her skin. Fear engulfed Victoria as she watched streams of blood circle around her. The pain was so intense Victoria began to cry out. She got up slowly and grabbed her cell phone off the table dialing Dominic.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Dominic was pulling up to Anna’s home. “Are you coming in?” Anna said seductively.

  “Not tonight.”

  “What’s going on Nick, we have been together for months and you haven’t touched me intimately once. Don’t you want me? Don’t you still find me attractive?” Dominic noticed the tear in her eye and felt like a real ass. They had been together, so why hadn’t he touched her.

  “Of course I’m attracted to you Anna, you’re a beautiful, sexy woman, but I’ve had a lot on my plate lately and I’ve been a little distracted.”

  “Stay with me tonight, please” Anna pleaded.

  Dominic cupped her face with both of his hands and kissed her softly before deepening the kiss. “Let’s go in.” Dominic said in a soft sultry voice. Anna was so excited that she didn’t wait for Dominic to open her door. She was out of the car before him and headed towards her front door. Once inside she made both of them a drink before excusing herself. She walked back into the living room wearing a black sheer teddy that left nothing to the imagination. He gulped his drink and walked over to her. Dominic pulled her, by her waist, into an embrace, kissing her lips before trailing kisses down her neck. He pulled back “Give me a second, nature calls,” he said before heading to the bathroom.

  Anna looked at his retreating back and she sat on the sofa. She felt buzzing from Dominic’s jacket. She looked at the phone and it was Victoria. Really bitch, talk about timing, well you won’t interrupt us tonight! She thought as she put the phone on silent. Dominic walked back into the room.

  “So, where were we?” he said with a smirk.

  “Right here baby,” she said as walked towards him. He picked her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He walked towards the sofa placing her on it before sitting beside her, pulling her onto his lap as she straddled him. She could feel his manhood expanding against her heat. “You have way too many pieces of clothing.” She whispered in his ear. “Let’s take this to the bedroom,” he said as he stood managing to keep her straddled around him. He stopped and turned, “I need to get my phone.” She nervously watched as he retrieved his phone from his jacket pocket and stuck it in his pants pocket. Anna smiled. She began to kiss him as he carried her into the bedroom.

  He placed her on the bed and began to undress. He toed out of his shoes and he removed his shirt, then his pants, taking his phone out and laying it on the dresser, he then removed his briefs. Anna was salivating looking at Dominic as he undress, she didn’t remember him being that buff. She was ready to run her tongue along his six-pack, among other things. She was wet with anticipation. He started to walk towards the bed when he turned to look at his phone.

  “What’s wrong baby?” She asked trying to distract him from the phone.

  “Nothing’s wrong, I just remember that I didn’t call Victoria.”

  “It’s late, she’s probably sleeping and besides Marco made sure she got home safely.”

  Dominic looked at his watch and it was two o’clock in the morning. “You’re right. So where were we?”

  “Right here.” She knelt in front of him and began to massage his dick before taking it into her mouth. Dominic growled loudly as she tried to take all of him. She used one hand to massage his ball and the other hand slid up and down his shaft in one fluid motion with her mouth. It had been a long time and he instantly though of Victoria. He tried to shake her image as he lifted Anna onto the bed. He reached for his pants to retrieve a condom from when his saw his phone illuminate. That’s strange why isn’t it vibrating? He thought as he forgot about the condom to retrieve his phone from the dresser.

  “What are you doing baby?”

  “My phone just lit up but it didn’t vibrate.” He looked at his phone.

  “Shit!” he yelled.

  “What’s wrong?” she said startled.

  “I have several missed calls, one from Victoria, her friend Jacqueline and several from my family. Something’s wrong.” He said as he began to dress and dial Victoria’s number. There was no answer and he called Marco, his phone rang once and Marco answered.

  “Where the fuck are you Nick?”

  “I’m at Anna’s, what’s wrong?” Dominic dressed quickly; his heart was beating so loudly he could hear it in his ears.

  “It’s Victoria, she’s in Lincoln Memorial hospital. You need to get here now.”

  Dominic felt light headed; he sat back on the bed. “Please tell me she’s okay?”

  “They are still examining her, just get here.”

  Dominic disconnected the call and began to walk out the door.

  “What’s wrong Nick?” she said to his retreating back. “Where are you going?”

  “Victoria’s in the hospital, I have to go.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No, I can’t wait for you to get dressed,” he said as he headed towards the living room then out the door. Dominic jumped into his car and sped off. God please let Victoria and the babies are okay. He prayed at he raced to the hospital.

  Dominic barely parked as he threw his keys at the valet and ran into the emergency room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his mother and sisters crying. He walked over to Marco and Francesco.

  “What’s going on, what happened?”

  “We don’t know yet, they are still examining her, luckily Victoria had given her business partner Jacqueline, all of our numbers. She’s out of the country but she was able to give us access to her condo. Francesca and I arrived just as the ambulance was taking her. Jacqueline must have notified the management office. Man there was so much blood, I followed the ambulance and when we got here, Mom and Maria were already here with Francesco.” Dominic was angry with himself for not taking her home himself and not calling to check on her. Dominic approached to desk. “Is there any word on Victoria Hart?”

  “Are you family?” The nurse asked.

  “Yes.” he said without hesitation.

  “The doctor will be out in a few minutes.” He turned to walk towards his mother when the doctor came out.

  “Are you Ms. Hart’s family?” They all said, “yes” in unison. The doctor hesitated. “So who is Dominic?”

  “I’m Dominic.”

  “She is asking for you. “She went into preterm labor…”

  “But she’s only 21 weeks, it’s too early.” Dominic interrupted.

  “We were able to use medication to stabilize her after we ascertained that the blood was coming from cuts due to broken glass and not as a result of the pregnancy. We need to run a few more test, then you can come back and see her; she will be with us for a couple of days, as a precaution, then she will go home to Strict Bed rest.”

  “Doctor, is there anything we could have done to prevent this?” Dominic asked.

  “Multiple births come with their own set of complications and there is nothing special you could have done, but now that there is a problem, we will monitor it so that she carries those beautiful babies as long as she can.” Dominic nodded in response to the doctor. He walked over to his mother and sisters to comfort them.

  Dominic was finally able to see Victoria, when he walked into the room Victo
ria looked at him with tears in her eyes. He quickly moved to her side and kissed her on her forehead. “Shh, it’s okay, the babies are fine.”

  “I was so scare Nick; I thought I was losing them.” He used his thumb to wipe a tear away from her face. “I tried to call you and when I didn’t get an answer, I called Jacqueline right before I passed out, I was in so much pain that I forgot she was out of the country. Luckily I had given her your family’s numbers, I hope I haven’t worried them too much. Please call them and tell them I’m okay.”

  “That won’t be necessary because they are all here.” He stared into her tear soaked eyes. “Vic, you are a part of my family, where else would they be.”

  “I’m sorry I worried all of you.” She said as she began to cry.

  “Stop Vic, I’m angry with myself because I didn’t call you, like I always do.”

  “The doctor said it wasn’t anything I could have done to prevented it, but I have to be extra careful from now on.”

  “From now until the babies are born you will be staying with me.”

  “What are you talking about Nick? I can’t stay with you.”

  “You can and you will, end of discussion.”

  “Nick you can’t…”

  “Are we interrupting?” Annette asked as she, Francesca and Maria entered the room.

  “Oh Victoria,” Annette moved closer to the bed and hugged her with tears in her eyes. “You gave up an awful scare, please don’t do it again,” she admonished as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

  “She won’t get that opportunity, because as soon as she is discharged, she’s coming to stay with me,” Dominic said sternly.

  “Nick?” Victoria said

  “We’ll talk later, I’m going to give you a few minutes to talk to them, but only a few minutes, she needs to rest.” He said to his mother and sisters before walking out.

  “Who died and made him the boss?” Francesca said as she looked at Victoria with a smile.

  “How are you feeling?” Maria asked as she sat on the bed.

  “Better, I really appreciate you guys coming to see me.”

  “Where else would we be, but with family in a time of need. Now how did you get these cuts?” Maria gently picked up Victoria’s bandaged hands.

  “I was carrying a glass and plate to the kitchen when I felt the pain, I dropped the dishes and grabbed my stomach when the pain subsided I tried to pick up the broken glass with another pain hit and I fell onto the glass cutting my arms and legs; unbelievable huh?”

  “We’re just glad you and my nieces and nephews are okay.” Francesca gave Victoria a hug. “You really scared us.”

  They talked for a few more minutes before Dominic, Marco and Francesco came in. “We wanted to come see you before we left; you need to get some rest,” Marco said as he and Francesco gave her a kiss before exiting. “I better get Mom home, but we will be back to see you tomorrow,” Maria said looking at her watch “I mean later today.” they gave her a hug before exiting, leaving only Dominic in the room.

  “I’m fine Nick, you should go home and get some sleep and we can talk tomorrow.” He pulled the chair close to the bed.

  “You’re right, we will talk tomorrow, but I’m not leaving. I’m going to be right here, so I suggest you get some sleep.” He kissed her on her forehead and sat in the seat. Victoria laid back in the bed and tried to rest. She felt Dominic’s hand on her belly. “Is it okay if I rub it for a while?” Victoria nodded as she watched him close his eyes as he slowly and gently rubbed her belly. The slow soft motion was relaxing when the babies started moving. He stopped the movement of his hand. “It that the babies moving?” “Yes.” He continued to rub as Victoria drifted off to sleep. Once she was asleep, he placed his elbows on his opened legs and dropped his head in his palms, rubbing his eyes. Thank you God, for watching over Vic and my babies. He stood and walked over to the window, looking at the night sky, it would be light soon. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to them. I’m not going to have to wonder anymore because she will come to live with me and I will be able to watch over them. He sat back in the seat and drifted off to sleep.

  Victoria woke up startled; it took her a few seconds to realize that she was in the hospital. She looked over at the beautiful sight sleeping in the chair and her heart started to pound hard in her chest. She could hear a low snore indicating that he still asleep. She stared at him and knew she was truly in love with this man. Get a gripe Victoria, he’s in love with another woman and as soon as you can accept that the better off you will be. She turned her head and looked out the window at the sunrise. The movement of the babies caused her to smile, then the realization of what Dominic was asking of her, set in. He wants me to move in with him. I can’t do that, I would rather hire staff to watch over me 24/7 than to live under the same roof with a man that I love and can’t have. With her resolve set, she would talk to Dominic and explain that it would not be appropriate for her to stay with him when he was practically engaged to another woman. She tried to relax, but she knew it was going to be a battle.

  Victoria was able to go back to sleep. She awoke to a conversation between Monica and Dominic. “I’m Victoria’s best friend, Monica. Jacqueline called me and told me what happened. She is out of the country and she wanted to make sure she wasn’t alone. You must be Dominic. How is she doing?”

  “Better but she is going to be put on bed rest and I’m moving her in with me until the babies are born.”

  “Does Victoria know that, because she is a very private person?”

  “I …”

  “Good morning, you two.” Victoria said groggy. “I would appreciate it, if you included me in major discussions concerning me.” Dominic walked over to Victoria and kissed her on her forehead, Monica was surprised by the gesture, considering Victoria told her there was nothing between them. She walked over to the bed and stood by Dominic.

  “How are you feeling Vic? Jackie called me and I flew in early this morning. Is everything okay with the babies? What are the doctors saying?”

  “I’m fine, but the doctor is putting me on bed rest.”

  “Oh Vic, I should have stayed here with you.”

  “Monica it was just one of those things, I’ll be fine once I get home in my own bed.”

  “I thought I made myself clear, you are going to stay with me.” Dominic said in a low but stern voice.

  “Nick, I can’t move in with you. You have a girlfriend and how would that look? No thank you, I’m going home, I can hire a staff to help me.”

  “Obviously I’m not making myself clear Victoria, you are carrying my babies and the only way I can insure that you and the babies are safe is if I watch over you, and that means you are staying with me.” Victoria wanted to protest but her heart would not allow her to. She laid back in the bed and turned her head. “Do you want something to eat Vic?” he said in a softer voice.

  “Yes.” she responded without looking at him.

  “Good, I’ll get a menu from the nurse,” he said as he walked out of the room.

  Monica looked at the exchange between Victoria and Dominic and could not believe her ears or eyes. “All I want to know is, who are you and what have you done with my best friend? I have never known you to back down from a fight or give in so easy. What’s up?”

  “Nothing’s up, I’m just tired and I don’t have the energy to fight.”

  “Uh huh…” Monica mumbled under her breath. Victoria looked at her and rolled her eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, you’re the one about to move in with the Adonis; girl I ain’t mad at you, his is beautiful. You never told me he looked like that, if I went away for two weeks with something like that, I would be pregnant too, he is fine.”

  “Don’t start Monica, he has a girlfriend.”

  “So why is he so adamant about you moving in with him, and what does the girlfriend think about all of that?” She looked at Victoria and could see she was not telling her everything. “You’re
in love with him aren’t you?” “Don’t be ridicule, I’m not in love with him, he’s the father of my babies, that’s all.” She lied not wanting anyone to know how she felt about him.

  Dominic was about to reenter the room when he heard the entire conversation. He walked in and their conversation cease. “Here’s the menu, the nurse said she would call in your order.” He paused trying to look into Victoria’s eyes but she looked downward at the menu. “I going to go home and change, I will be back in a few hours. Make sure she doesn’t get out of this bed.” He said to Monica. She gave him a nod. He walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead and whispered “If you need anything, call me and I will bring it when I come back, okay?” She nodded and said thank you. Dominic walked out without looking back.

  Monica looked at Dominic’s back as he exited the room. “Okay if you both can’t admit that you guys are in love with each other then at least admit it to me because from where I’m stand there is so much love sparking off of you two, I was afraid I would get burned.”

  “Whatever, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Yeah, I bet you don’t.” Monica said sarcastically. Victoria gave her an evil look. “Okay, okay we can change the subject.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Dominic sat in his car, replaying what he’d heard, what he already knew, that Victoria didn’t love him, but why would he expect her to, they didn’t have that kind of relationship, hell they wouldn’t have a relationship at all if she hadn’t gotten pregnant. Dominic put the conversation out of his head and went home, he needed to make the necessary arrangements so that the house would be ready when Victoria was released.

  *****

  Three days later, Victoria was released from the hospital and on her way to Dominic’s house. Victoria had given Monica instructions on what to bring from her condo as well as making sure the maid service cleaned out the perishables in the kitchen and turn down her condo until she returned. She was anxious about moving in with Dominic but in the end agreed that it was the right thing to do. Victoria hadn’t seen his mother or sisters in the last two days and was wondering what happened. The doctor had given explicit instructions for her to remain on strict bed rest only getting up to go to the bathroom and limiting her trips up and down the stairs. Dominic had spent most of his time in the hospital with her, now he was driving her to his home where she would be for a while. They pulled into the driveway and Dominic helped her out of the car and into the house. When she walked into the house everyone shouted “Welcome Home”. Dominic’s entire family was there, including Jacqueline, Monica and even Anna. “Wow, thanks everyone,” she said as Dominic walked her over to the sofa.