Jacey was thrilled with the long-awaited launch of her music career and the new income stream it afforded. After five long years of stressing about money, singing for small crowds on the club circuit, and all but giving up hope of ever receiving her big break, she’d finally done it — finally become her own person, no longer beholden to anyone.

It was amazing how coming home and facing her past, including her personal mistakes as well as her family’s deep-seated issues had ultimately propelled her to success.

Her morning sickness disappeared, and her second and third trimesters flew past. She even started gaining weight, not enough to make the doctor stop harping at her, but at least she was moving in the right direction. The only thing dimming her happiness was the wall of tension that had risen between her and Luca following the launch of her musical career.

“So,” Jacey instinctively knew her latest announcement wasn’t going to make him any happier. “Chance Biggers just landed me an opening gig on the Lady Rock World Tour.”

“World tour?” Luca’s features tightened with disapproval. “Exactly how long are we talking about?”

She laughed. “Two years for the entire Lady Rock Tour, but I’m only booked for the Central U.S. leg of it. August through September. Chance says I’ll need to spend most of July practicing with her band to prepare for it.”

“That’s right after your due date,” he protested, looking shocked. “It’s too soon. You’ll need time to rest and recover.”

They were sitting on a swing in the backyard gazebo in the early morning hours. A space heater was blasting until the warmer mid-day June temperatures could catch up with them.

“It’s cutting it close,” she agreed, no more thrilled than he was about the timing. Her delivery date was only two weeks away, and Chance was banking on her being in Nashville in six weeks.

Jacey’s hand rested on her blooming belly. The ultrasounds had finally verified it was a boy. “But I have to do it, Luca. It’s my big break. An opportunity like this might never happen again.” The last Lady Rock World Tour had drawn record crowds at every stop, and her upcoming tour was already sold out.

He picked up her hand, studying it seriously. “You know I can’t take two months away from Genesis & Sons to go on tour with you.”

“I’m not asking you to.” He looked so yummy in his pistachio pullover and khaki slacks, it made her fantasize about licking an ice cream cone; but she was too tired to go check on their ice cream supply in the kitchen. Unable to find a comfortable position the night before, she hadn’t slept well.

“What are your plans for Race?” he asked. It was the shortened version of the name she’d picked out for her son — Easton Race Calcagni. “The road is hardly a place for a newborn.”

“I’m torn,” she admitted. “It’s probably going to kill me to leave him behind, but I agree with you two hundred percent. The road is no place for a baby. I know this is a lot to ask, but I was hoping to leave Race with you. And his nanny, of course.”

They’d been interviewing prospective nannies for days and had finally made a job offer to a young woman from the Netherlands. She’d informally accepted their offer, but they were still waiting for the agency to process all the necessary paperwork to make it official.

He looked moderately relieved although the lines around his mouth didn’t disappear entirely. “You know I will.”

She strained to hear more, longing for him to confess he would miss her for the two months she would be away, but he fell silent.

Her breath left her, leaving her chest deflated. His biggest concerns had always been and ever would be reserved for his new nephew. Race. The baby who would usher in the next generation of Calcagnis. He was the main reason Luca had proposed to her in the first place. She savagely bit her lower lip. She was a fool to keep hoping for more.

Having her as his wife was nothing more than a side perk, a convenience for a busy, wealthy man who worked long hours and had little time to date and socialize after hours.

“Your lip is bleeding!” He stood and yanked off his t-shirt to press against her mouth. “Here. Hold this, while I run inside for some ointment and an ice pack.”

Good heavens! She hadn’t intended to bite down that hard. She licked the salty taste from her lips, enjoying the sight of her husband in his sleeveless white tank. Wow, but his upper body was buff!

An acute burning spasm gripped her with no warning. It ricocheted through her abdomen and settled in her lower back with a throbbing intensity. The muscles in her belly went rock hard for several seconds. She cried out in fear, clutching her middle and trying to breathe through the pain.

Lord help her, it seemed that Race Calcagni had a mind of his own already. If her suspicions were correct, he’d decided to make an early appearance.

“Jacey!” Luca dashed across the yard in a fresh shirt and took the gazebo stairs two at a time to bend over her. “What’s going on?”

She tried to speak, coughed, and had to clear her throat. “It’s time.” Her voice shook.

“Are you sure? Your due date is still two weeks away.”

“I know, but I think someone forgot to inform Race.” Her laugh held a tinge of hysteria.

Luca yanked his phone from his pocket, dropped it, and retrieved it while running a hand through his hair. She’d never seen him so distressed. “Don! Bring the car around back. Looks like the baby’s coming. We need to get Jacey to the hospital ASAP!”

The next twenty minutes passed in a blur of black leather seats, excruciating pain, and anxious voices as they sped for the medical center emergency room.

On a blinding flash of cramps, a gush of warmth flooded her thighs. Despite the fact she was sitting on a blanket, she was mortified at the thought of making such a mess in Luca’s car.

“I think my water just broke.” Her voice shook.

He nodded and continued to hold her, crooning encouragement and assurances in her ear.

She held his hand as if her life depended on it, squeezing it mercilessly through the worst of the pain.

Don brought the limousine to a halt, threw open the door, and she was transferred to a stretcher. Luca walked beside her, never letting go of her hand, and they were joined at the entrance by Waverly, Rhys, and Knox. No sooner had the paramedics pushed her stretcher through the double doors did Race make his screaming arrival.

It was a chaotic and messy but joyous ride up the elevator to the mother-baby wing of the hospital. They were escorted by an emergency room doctor and a nurse who monitored her vitals every step of the way. They allowed her to hold her him until they turned her over to the OB-GYN staff. There Race was whisked away for his first bath. The nurse returned with him in minutes to lay him in her arms.

Jacey couldn’t take her eyes from his cherubim features and plump cheeks. She was drunk with love for him. He was an absolute angel, and he was hers to keep. Hers and Luca’s, that is.

Luca bent over her bed to kiss her tenderly in front of everyone present. “Thank you, Jacey. He’s an incredible addition to our family.”

Bitterness flooded her chest at his words. Of course. Today wasn’t about her. Or Luca and her. Or Luca, her, and Race. It was only about extending the Calcagni dynasty. She forced a smile to her lips, suddenly feeling like a third wheel in her own hospital room.

Waverly took her tearful turn at holding Race, and Rhys and Knox hovered over her shoulders, beaming and awaiting their turns to hold him.

Yep. I’m invisible. No more than a surrogate who’d lent her womb to their precious blood line. The outsider again now that Race had arrived.