Strong (Book 2 in the No Control series)

One Month Later - At The Villa - Italy:

“Thanks for bringing lunch over, Rosa.”
“You’re welcome. Antonio and I enjoy catching up with you and Liam.”
“I love it out here on the veranda.” I say, then touch my stomach.
“Liz, Antonio wants to show me something. I’ll be right back, Love.”
I smile. “Ok, Liam.”
“Are you alright, Liz?” Rosa asks.
“I’m fine. I’ve just been having some stomach issues.”
“What kind?”
“I’ve been feeling yucky, kind of nauseous.”
“What do you think it is?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. Hopefully I’m not getting sick.”

The next morning, Liam is already up and ready when I’m finally getting out of bed. “You alright, Love?”
I smile. “Yes, I’m just tired.”
He smirks before giving me a kiss. “I guess I wore you out last night.”
I grin. “Yes, you did, Handsome.”
“Antonio wants to show me some things on the property that need attention. You’ll be alright?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. Rosa is coming over for coffee this morning.”
“I’ll see you later, Beautiful. I love you.”
“I love you more.”

“Buongiorno, Rosa.”
“Buongiorno, Liz.”
“I still need to make the coffee. I’m afraid I’m moving a little slow this morning.”
“That’s good, because you may want to have tea instead of coffee.”
“What?”
Rosa holds up a white paper bag.
I take it, looking inside. “Pregnancy tests?” Oh crap. “Rosa, how did I not even think of that?”
“I thought your symptoms sounded like you should take a test.”
We head into the bedroom. I read the instructions, then do what I need to do in the bathroom. Setting the timer on my phone, then joining Rosa back in the bedroom.
“I can’t believe the thought never even crossed my mind.”
Rosa laughs. “Well you’ve had a busy couple months. I take it you two haven’t been trying to get pregnant?”
“No. We keep going back and forth on whether we want a baby now, or if we should wait.”
“Your decision may have been made for you.”
The timer goes off.
I retrieve the test, waiting to look at the result till I’m back in the bedroom.
I read it, a flutter in my heart. Looking up at Rosa, I smile, shaking my head yes.
She jumps up to hug me. “Oh Liz, I’m so happy for you both.”
“Liam will be happy, won’t he?”
She smiles. “Yes, he will be a happy, doting dad to be.”
“I guess I’ll be having herbal tea instead of coffee.”
“Let’s go have some tea, then you can take the second test, just to be sure.”

Rosa and I sit out by the pool with our tea.
“So, how will you tell Liam?”
I grin. “I was just going to ask you for some help with that. I think the gazebo would be the appropriate place to tell him. Maybe we could run into town for a few things?”
“Anything you need, Liz.”
“You relax, Rosa. I’m going to go take the other test now.”

The second test is positive also. I take a moment in the bedroom by myself. Looking down at my stomach, I tell our baby. “Your daddy will love you so much. He will sing to you, dance with you, teach you all about Batman, play sports with you, and have a tea party with you if that applies. I love you, sweet baby.”

Notes