Shit. Shit. Shit.

Domenica stared down at the pregnancy test in her hand, filled with both denial and shock. How could this happen? And now, when things were still so messed up. She needed to get out of here, needed to talk to someone other than Giancarlo. She couldn’t think clearly around him. Both her hormones and her heart were instantly compromised by his presence. And she needed to think about this, really think. She grabbed her coat and purse, and headed out the door.

For twenty minutes, she drove without destination, mind reeling. How had she gotten pregnant so quickly? Well, sure, she’d had enough time. But if her calculations were right, Gian must have gotten her pregnant the first time they slept together. The night he turned into a dragon.

Unbelievable.

She had to talk to Anna.

Her best friend was a short drive away from where Domenica found herself, almost as if she’d been heading there all along. Which, subconsciously she may have been. Domenica parked in front of Anna’s building, then hopped out of her car, conscious of the men across the lot watching her. No threat there. Her men—her and Gian’s. It annoyed her to be followed, but she would have been disappointed had they not. They had their orders.

She trotted toward her friend’s apartment, thinking about what different lives they led. She’d always been jealous of Anna. Her friend was neither rich nor privileged, and yet Domenica envied her. She envied her freedom—her ability to go anywhere and do anything she wanted. Her ability to speak with any other person she chose to, without having to wonder who they worked for, or what their angle was. She envied her ability to sleep with whomever she wanted. Marry whomever she chose. Most of all, she envied her ability to be invisible.

Domenica hadn’t wanted to be invisible for a very long time. But she could remember being so painfully jealous of that in high school. She’d move beyond that. Found her own strength, forged her own home. Yet in some ways, she still envied her friend. Especially right now.

If Anna got pregnant unexpectedly, it would make life complicated for her. But the complexities of getting pregnant now, with her life so in flux, made Domenica’s mind boggle at the implications, the details.

She would have Gian’s baby.

Fear and excitement mixed together in her belly, making butterflies. She halted in front of Anna’s apartment, hesitating. So much had happened in the last two weeks. And she hadn’t talked to Anna, her best friend, about any of it yet.

The door opened, and Domenica started. But before she could react further, her friend flew at her. Pulling her into a bear hug so tight that Domenica struggled to breathe.

“Mena!” Anna said. But before Domenica could reply, she found herself dragged into Anna’s apartment. “It’s been forever!”

Her heart filled with warmth at the greeting, and she cleared her throat. “Long time.”

Anna studied her with a knowing look. “Too long. But it’s really good to see you. Tell me everything. Do we need ice cream?”

Domenica let out a nervous laugh. Why had she been worried her friend would be angry? She should have known Anna better than that. Her friend was loyal to a fault, a truly good person—which, Domenica could admit, that she wasn’t. At least, not always. Pragmatism was paramount to surviving her world.

But Anna’s ability to forgive was truly remarkable.

“I don’t even know if we have time for ice cream, with how long this story will take.”

Anna shot her a shocked expression—she looked aghast. “Don’t you swear like that in my house.”

Domenica laughed.

“I’m serious. I won’t accept such blasphemy,” Anna chided. “There is always time for ice cream.”

“Touché,” Domenica replied.

She sat down on one of Anna’s barstools at her breakfast bar. Her story poured out of her, and she left little out between the night of the nightclub and how she’d found her way to Anna’s doorstep. Anna nodded along, getting them both giant bowls of ice cream, as she listened.

When Domenica neared the end of her story, Anna just stared at her. “That’s… a lot to take in.”

“There’s more,” Domenica said.

Anna’s eyes widened. “How can there be more?” she squeaked.

She had no idea, and yet… “I started feeling a little funny—really tired the last week or so. And I just took a home pregnancy test.”

Anna rounded the bar and pulled Domenica in for a tight embrace. “I see what the kicker was now.”

Confusion washed over her. “Kicker?”

Anna stepped back, her eyes bright with unshed tears. And she offered Domenica a bright smile. “The thing that pushed you over the edge to come to me. Given the other dramatic things that have happened that have kept you too busy from even dropping me a call, I figured it had to be something big.”

Domenica snorted at the mixture of guilt trip and logical reasoning coming from her friend.

“So… You’re pregnant.” Anna’s voice was full of awe.

Nothing felt real. It was as if peeing on that stick had pushed her into an alternate reality—one where she wandered around dazed and somehow removed from it all. “Yes. I’m pregnant.”

Reality flexed, seeming to right itself with her words.

“Wow,” Anna murmured. Then, more firmly, she added, “You will be a great mom.”

Domenica rubbed her eyes then scooped up a spoonful of ice cream. “You think?”

Anna nodded, then wiped away a tear that threatened to escape her eyelid. “I have no doubt.”

She would be a mother. This was really happening.

“Have you told Gian?” Anna asked.

She shook her head. “It didn’t seem real until I told you. Needed to process it first, I guess.”

Anna smile widened. “So you came to me first.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Good choice.”

Domenica silently agreed, and they refilled their ice cream bowls together.

***

Domenica left Anna’s feeling much better than when she’d arrived. After so much ice cream, her skirt felt tight, but she supposed she would probably have to get used to that. Most importantly, after more than a few tears shed between them, she’d purged some of her blind fear.

She sat in her car, and shut the door behind her. In the rearview mirror, she could see her bodyguards in their own vehicle, patiently awaiting her next action. Her phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID.

“Hi, Tony.”

“Some of the feelers we sent out are coming back in.”

Hope made her heart race. “Tell me.”

“Word on the street is that Biagio is or was pulling a double-cross of some kind. Something major enough to send people into a tizzy. Major enough no one wants to share details with us,” Tony said.

Confusion washed over her. Who could Biagio already have double-crossed while still securing his position? Someone with a prior deal with her father? That didn’t seem explosive enough for everyone to be so tightlipped about it. And it also didn’t seem likely, considering Biagio’s current goal to secure his position.

“Keep digging.”

Tony grunted on the other end of the line, and she hit the end button.

Mind whirling as she thought through all the possible angles, she drove back to Gian’s. Her small troop of guards in tow.

The second she stepped into the door of Gian’s home she knew something was wrong. Voices weren’t raised, but she could hear annoyance in Gian’s tone, and something akin to fear on the other man’s.

The man from Powyrkin affairs stood with Gian in the foyer. The man turned to face her and his expression immediately brightened. “Ah, Miss Spadaro. Perhaps you can talk some sense into your mate.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” she said dryly. “What is this?”

“As I was just explaining to your mate, his blood came up as having some unexpected relatives in Homeland. We need you—both of you—to come to Homeland as soon as possible.”

What relatives could he be talking about? No, it didn’t matter. Not while her father was still missing.

“And as I just told you, the answer is no,” Gian said, his eyes on her. “We have business to deal with here before we could even consider it.”

She nodded in agreement, grateful for Gian’s support.

The hope in the messenger’s expression faded with her agreement. “Please—it is of the utmost importance—”

“Our priority is finding my mate’s father, then securing our positions. Only after we accomplish those things will we consider visiting your Homeland. Period,” Gian said. “Besides, I’ve always known that I was adopted. I’m not sure I care to find whatever people put me up for adoption, anyway.”

The man paled, then opened his mouth to argue before snapping it shut. After a long moment, he said, “If you would agree, perhaps, to visit eventually…”

“Sure,” Domenica interjected before Gian could argue. “After things are settled—we’ll consider it.” She shot Gian a look, and after a long pause, he nodded, his expression closed off.

The messenger tensed, as though he wanted to say something else. Then he gave Gian a short bow. “Very well, sir.”

Before the man could dig deep for the courage to argue more, Domenica showed him out as forcefully as she could while maintaining a veneer of politeness. She didn’t see a purpose in pissing the man off needlessly.

When she returned to Gian, he was sipping scotch from a glass. While his feelings didn’t show in his expression, tension laced his frame.

“I hope I didn’t overstep, I—”

“Of course not.” He sipped his drink. “You did the only polite thing you could. I appreciate you looking out for me when I’m not thinking as coolly as I could be about things.” Another drink, this one longer.

She closed the distance between them, and gave him a hug. One of his strong arms wrapped around her, and she took a deep breath of his scent.

“The truth is, the idea of meeting the people who put me up for adoption isn’t appealing. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I was adopted—a long time ago. I’m happy with my life. With my family. With my mate.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Whoever waits for me in Homeland is a stranger. I’m not sure I want to meet them at all.”

“I understand.” And she did. As much as she could.

But when it came down to it, she wasn’t entirely sure that they would have a choice.