Mending the Rift by Chris T. Kat Read Free Book Online Page A

all right with the baby. It’s the day I officially claim our baby and you. This is making me the tiniest bit nervous. Especially considering Smith is about to land this evening and finalize your marriage with him.” Marcus threw him an outraged look.
    Luca’s insides turned to ice. His question came out in a squeak. “He’s coming today?”
    Nicholas slathered a huge amount of gel onto the ultrasound stick. “He was supposed to go on another mission for about two weeks, but he refused. I tried everything I could think of to delay him further, but he wasn’t having any of it. Maybe he got suspicious after all.”
    “You think so?” Marcus drawled. “After you somehow arranged for him to take care of one catastrophe after the other for the last nine weeks?”
    “I didn’t hear you come up with a different tactic to delay him,” Nicholas shot back. “Anyway, it worked for as long as we needed it to. We only need to confirm everything’s well with the baby, and then we’ll head straight to the Confederacy’s Breeding Office, you’ll put in your claim, and the rest should be history.”
    “I doubt it’s going to be that easy,” Marcus murmured.
    “Could you spread a little less negativity? Thank you so much,” Luca drawled. “You’re not… not regretting anything, are you?”
    Marcus’s gray eyes darkened. “Why the hell would you think that?”
    Luca shrugged. “You’re acting weird. You’re snapping and snarling at everyone. Or is it because we’re cooped up in my room?”
    “I’m not snapping, and I really don’t mind living with you in your room.”
    “That’s good to know, but I still beg to differ. You’re definitely snarling at people. You’re starting to hiss at people when they get too close to me. One of the cleaning ladies was crying this morning because she bumped into me, and you read her the riot act. I had to sweet-talk her into staying. I also promised her you wouldn’t be mean to her again.”
    “She barreled right into you!”
    “With a load of clean towels in her arms. How hurtful can that be, hmm?”
    Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose. “You cried out in pain.”
    Luca’s eyes widened, but no words tumbled over his lips. Nicholas slapped a hand over his mouth to keep the snicker at bay. After sending an irritated glare toward his dad, Luca said, “I cried out because I was surprised. I didn’t see her coming because I was concentrating on my sketchbook.”
    “She didn’t hurt you?”
    “No! Even if she had, I’m not made of sugar,” Luca shot back.
    “You’re pregnant,” Marcus replied.
    Luca squeezed his eyes shut and counted to ten. Nicholas burst out laughing and patted his hip. “Welcome to the club, sweetheart. All soon-to-be fathers go crazy and become overprotective. You’ll live through a lot of very embarrassing moments in the next few months.”
    Opening his eyes, Luca looked into his dad’s twinkling, dark blue eyes. “How bad was Father during your pregnancies?”
    “Terrible and scary. Really scary.”
    “I’m neither terrible nor scary. I was just… reasonably concerned about your well-being,” Marcus protested. Despite his best effort at holding a self-deprecating smile back, he failed. A grin spread out on his face, and he held up his hands in surrender. “All right, I might’ve overreacted. This is my first time becoming a father. I can’t help feeling very focused on your safety.”
    “Focused on my safety,” Luca repeated, chuckling. “You saved me from the terrible stack of towels.”
    Marcus smoothed a hand over his mouth but didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he concentrated on the screen of the ultrasound machine. Nicholas’s laughter ceased as he brought down the stick on Luca’s belly. Moments later, the picture on the screen morphed into a tiny human being doing somersaults.
    A lump formed in Luca’s throat. This was it—their baby, live in the flesh. The baby seemed unperturbed and flip-flopped in every