Page 4 of Stealing Home

“I can’t,” she said. She pressed one trembling hand to her mouth, looked at Lucia one last time, and backed out the door.

“Talia.”

He took a step after her, then stopped as Lucia shifted in his arms. Instinct overrode panic, and one hand immediately came up to support her head before he hurried after Talia as fast as he dared. By the time he reached the open door, she’d already disappeared down the staircase. Rain blew into the covered breezeway as he stepped onto the landing, Lucia tucked carefully against his chest.

“Talia!”

She paused for a second when she reached her car but didn’t turn around. A second later, she slid inside the car. The engine turned over, and Dom was left staring as red taillights cut through the rain. He stood frozen on the landing, a three-week-old baby cradled against his chest, watching until her car disappeared around the corner.

He looked down at the tiny stranger in his arms and tried not to let panic swallow him whole.

2

DOM

When the car had vanished from sight, he eased the apartment door shut, and suddenly, it was just him. And Lucia. The baby squirmed against his chest, and he looked down at her, taking in the side of her tiny face and her impossibly small nose.

“Oh my God.” Lucia startled slightly at his voice and made her displeasure known with a little cry. “Oh no, sorry. I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. Please, please don’t cry.”

He bounced awkwardly because that was a thing, right? People bounced babies, right? He kicked the front door shut behind him, then stood in the middle of his living room while his brain went completely offline. There was a baby in his house. A whole newborn baby. His daughter.

“Holy shit,” he breathed out. She blinked up at him with dark, unfocused eyes. “Okay. Cool. Great. I’m your father. Sorry about that, I guess.” Lucia made a small squeaking sound, and Dom laughed softly. “This is insane.”

He stood frozen for a moment, holding his breath to see what she would do next. In his arms, her tiny body relaxed and her eyes started fluttering as sleep claimed her. Dom exhaled slowly and felt his shoulders loosen. Maybe this wouldn’t be so impossibly hard. Maybe all she needed was to be held. He moved slowly and shifted his weight, intending to sit down before his legs gave out. The instant he moved, Lucia’s face scrunched up and Dom stared at her with wide eyes.

“No, no, no…” He froze halfway through bending his knees as her mouth opened and one indignant squeak turned into louder cries. “Okay, standing. We like standing. We can stand as long as you want, as long as you stop crying.”

Lucia ignored him completely, her cries growing louder. He bounced, he swayed, he patted her back, and somehow, her crying got even louder.

“Oh God. Okay. What do you need? Are you hungry? Are you dying? Why are you making that noise?” He could hear the hysteria in his voice, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t helping.

Dom spun in slow circles in the middle of the living room as if the answers might magically appear. Shit, he needed a crib. Where was he supposed to put a crib? His bedroom barely fit a queen-sized bed and two nightstands. And food. And, oh God, diapers. What if she exploded? Babies exploded sometimes, right? He’d heard stories. Somehow, this incredibly tiny baby found it in herself to cry even louder, and Dom felt his soul leave his body.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” he chanted as he bounced helplessly. “I don’t know what that means!”

The crying intensified into furious wails.

“Please stop crying,” he begged. “Please, principessa.” The Italian word for princess slipped out naturally.

Dom’s heart raced so fast he felt lightheaded. What if something was wrong? What if she was sick or he’d broken her somehow? He grabbed his phone off the couch cushions and nearly dropped it as he tried to unlock it. But who did he call? Not his mom. He wasn’t ready for that conversation right now, maybe ever. That left exactly two people he trusted enough to call at this hour.

He shifted her awkwardly against his shoulder and sank to the couch, grabbing his phone and opening the group chat he had with Evan and CJ.

Dom

SOS

Three dots appeared instantly.

CJ

What did you do?

Evan

Scale of 1-10, how serious is this?

Dominic stared at the screen.