I want to let you know I read every comment... I love it thank you. I don't often reply because I'm writing or looking after kids. I would like to thank everyone for following this story. I hope to one day send to an editor and publish into a paperback. I would never have thought my love of writing would ever do so well. I'm hoping that I can write fulltime going forward. So please follow me so you can be updated. Also, I'm trying to work on Her Sister's Surrogate as well. But this book has just taken over everything. lol. I have another awesome story in the works. I do cookie cutter stories, and I try to make it different.
Nick stood just outside the NICU, staring through the glass. Luca was beside him, one hand lightly resting on his father’s back.Sutton watched from inside the room, already scrubbed, her gown tied behind her back. She’d been sitting beside Miles for nearly an hour, skin-to-skin, his impossibly small head tucked beneath her chin, listening to the slow, steady rhythm of his breath. Her son. Her sweet miracle.A nurse gave the signal and waved them in.Luca pushed the door open, and Nick followed him in slowly, cautious courtesy in every footstep. His cane tapped lightly on the vinyl floor.The room was kept warm and dim for the babies. Monitors beeped softly, a mechanical heartbeat winding through wires and plastic tubing. Miles stirred gently in Sutton’s arms but didn’t wake.Nick stopped a few feet away, clearly unsure of the space.Sutton looked up and smiled. “He’s fragile,” she said quietly. “And he is small… But Luca will tell you he is a fighter.”That made Nick smile faintly, ey
“Papa.”She turned to face Luca when she heard his voice.She had expected to see Luca with his father, sort of bracing herself to meet the man who hadn’t wanted her in his son’s life. What she hadn’t expected…was that he’d be alone and staring directly at the man beside her.The man with the cane.The man she’d just spent the last few minutes chatting with.Her breath caught as realization finally settled in.“Oh, you’re Luca’s father.”Nick arched one amused brow at her. “You didn’t know? Does my son not take after his old man?”Sutton’s face flushed.“No. I didn’t know.”She turned fully toward him now, awkwardly rising from the bench. “I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”Nick waved a hand easily, still seated. “Don’t be silly. You were kind, and you should never be embarrassed about being kind.”He reached for his cane and used it to leverage himself upright. Luca stepped forward quickly, automatically steadying him with a light touch, one hand on his father’s elbow.Nick shook hi
One week later, Sutton was losing her damn mind.“How are you doing today, Miss Warner?” the nurse chirped as she passed by.“Still trapped in this hospital, no offense,” Sutton muttered with a smile that was at least 20% sincere. “But thank you for asking. Do we know when the doctor is likely to release me?”The nurse chuckled. “Bedrest’s been lifted. That counts as parole. The doctor should be around at 11am or so.”“No,” Sutton called after her softly. “Parole at least means you get to go home.” 11am or so could mean more like 1 or 2pm. One thing Sutton had found out since being here, doctors had their own timetable.In truth, things were improving.Her pain had eased, the bruising was fading, and though her energy wasn’t all there yet… she could stand. Walk without help. Use the bathroom without help, praising whatever gods saw fit to deliver small mercies. They hadn’t needed to take her stitches out because the doctor had used dissolvable ones that take from three to six weeks to
Luca didn’t move for a full hour after Sutton drifted back to sleep. She had gone to sleep soon after coming back from meeting the press. He really should go and see his father. He had been getting regular updates from his brother and had gone to see his father last night, but he had been asleep.Her hand was still curled loosely in his, her breathing soft and even, and it was the only sound he wanted to hear for the rest of his life.He sat on the side of her bed and just watched her.Her lashes fluttered once, but she didn’t wake. Her mouth was slightly parted, and her hand would occasionally shift on the blanket, twitching. In sleep, she looked like herself again, only she was no longer pregnant.And for the hundredth time, Luca felt it like a punch to the ribs: He could’ve lost her and their son Miles.He hated to think what could have happened if the messenger had pushed her into traffic instead of just onto the footpath. He was still pissed that the police were unable to charge t
Her sisters and Roman had left before the fireworks. Sutton was glad Keira had been fuming mad. It was late morning by the time the hospital chief of staff left the room.Or rather, backed out with a pale face and a panicked promise to “get to the bottom of this.” Luca hadn’t raised his voice; he hadn’t needed to. His tone had been low and cold and lethal, making sure every word landed.“If I find out that even one person… nurse, administrator, janitor sold Sutton’s information to the press, not only will we sue for every fucking dollar of damages, I will make sure they never speak to anyone ever again,” he told them.Then, when the man fumbled some excuse about patient access and systems vulnerabilities, Luca simply said “You'd better find out who leaked her story before I do. Because it’s your hospital, the cost won’t just be financial. I’ll make sure you can’t even get a job washing toilets. Do I make myself clear?”And that was it. The door clicked shut. The chief shuffled away.S
It was barely 7 a.m. when Sutton’s phone buzzed on the tray beside her hospital bed.She hadn’t slept the whole night. Even though she was on pain meds, every time she shifted in her sleep, the pain woke her.Luca was asleep in the chair beside her, long legs stretched out, head tilted toward her but not quite resting. He’d refused to leave, and sometime after midnight, one of the overnight nurses had pulled in a cot, only for him to ignore it in favor of staying closer.The phone buzzed again. Then again. Wishing now they hadn’t charged it last night, but it could be one of her sisters. Though she didn’t think they would call at this time in the morning.Sutton rubbed her face with one hand and grabbed it with the other, careful not to wake him. Her fingers were stiff, but she managed to swipe the screen open.UNKNOWN CALLERShe hesitated for a moment but answered.“Hello?”There was a pause. Then a voice, ever so eager.“Sutton Warner, or should I say Audrey? This is Lilly Day from