Page 75 of Forever We Embrace: The Later Years
Rosalie nods, pleased with the decision, and turns to begin another pass across the bed.
Luca lies against Blake’s side with one hand moving slowly over the curve of his belly. When Rosalie steps too close to his legs, Maceo catches her around the waist and redirects her toward the open stretch near the foot of the bed.
“Watch Luca, little dragon,” Maceo tells her as he sets her down. “You’ve already stepped on me once.”
“You were in the path.”
“I was lying still.”
“That’s why I didn’t see you.”
Blake covers his mouth, but his shoulders move with another laugh. Maceo looks at me without releasing Rosalie, and the flat resignation on his face nearly pulls one from me too.
I reach for her before she can start again. “That’s enough practice for tonight, sweetheart. Bring your crown here and lie down.”
Rosalie folds her arms. “I’m not tired.”
“You’ve practiced enough, sweetheart.” I lift the blanket beside me. “Come lie down before your feet find somebody else’s hair. You’ll need your energy tomorrow. You have a crown, flowers, and visual continuity to manage.”
She considers arguing again, then climbs beneath the blanket with a deep sigh and curls against my chest. The plastic crown remains crooked until one of the points presses beneath my chin.
Samuel carefully lowers the ring cushion between himself and James before climbing over his brother and settling beside him. Grayson catches his ankle before it lands on James’s stomach and guides it beneath the blanket.
James pushes Samuel’s heel away from his stomach. “Everyone keeps putting their feet on people.”
Samuel starts to remind him that he did the same thing last night, but Grayson tucks both sets of feet beneath the blanket before the argument can grow. “You’re both awake now. Keep them down.”
For several minutes, the room doesn’t become any quieter. Rosalie whispers questions about who will carry her flowers after the ceremony. Samuel wants to know whether his official duty ends once he gives Blake the cushion. James corrects him and explains that the cushion goes to Luca first, unless the order changes, which sends both of them into another debate about where everyone will stand.
Blake settles deeper against the pillows while Grayson reaches across Samuel to adjust the blanket near his hip. Their fingers brush, and Blake catches Grayson’s hand before he can pull away.
“Leave it,” Blake murmurs. “You’re comfortable.”
Grayson shifts until his shoulder rests against Blake’s leg, then keeps their hands linked across the blankets. He doesn’t get back up to straighten the pillows, check the door, or collect the ones Rosalie knocked onto the floor.
Luca turns his face toward Maceo. “The rings are in the safe?”
Maceo’s hand settles on Luca’s ankle beneath the blanket. “All of them.”
Luca nods and relaxes into Blake’s side again, his hand returning to the curve of his belly. The baby shifts beneath Luca’s hand. He adjusts himself against the pillows, supporting the underside of his stomach while Maceo’s palm follows the movement beneath his shirt. Blake covers the back of Maceo’s hand.
“Elio,” Luca says quietly.
Maceo lifts his head, his hand going still over Luca’s stomach. “Elio?”
Luca watches his face as he nods. “I’ve been carrying the name around for weeks. I wanted to say it when all of us were together.”
Maceo’s fingers spread more fully over Luca’s stomach. His eyes shine as he bends and presses a lingering kiss to the place where their son moved. “Hello, Elio,” he whispers against Luca’s shirt.
Blake’s expression softens before he leans in to kiss Luca’s temple. “Elio Keller.”
Luca turns toward him, searching his face. “You like it?”
Blake cups Luca’s cheek and kisses him slowly. When he draws back, he keeps their foreheads together. “I love him, and I love his name.”
Grayson reaches across the blankets and rests his hand over Luca’s ankle. “It sounds like he already belongs with Samuel, James, and Rosalie.”
My palm settles against the back of Maceo’s neck while his other arm remains around Rosalie. “Elio,” I repeat, letting the name settle among us. “Our son.”
