Page 68 of Maximum Bet

With round cheeks and a button nose, Sadie’s son is the spitting image of the Gerber baby.

Lucas holds him in his arms, smiling down upon his son as if nothing in the world can compare to the miracle he is.

And I suppose nothing can.

Although I’m a little traumatized after witnessing how he came into this world.

Lucas showed up twenty minutes after Sadie arrived at the hospital. Once he took his place by her side, Cecilia, Natalie, and I went to leave and bide our time in the waiting room.

To my utter shock, Sadie stopped us and asked me to stay with her. While the request filled me with joy, I wasn’t prepared for the following eight hours.

But despite the pain of contractions, the shivers from the epidural, and the thirty minutes of pushing out her seven-pound, twelve-ounce baby, Sadie is on cloud nine.

Santino has been cleaned and swaddled, and Sadie has already breastfed once. The delivery team left, and Sadie’s nurseis preparing to move her from the delivery room to the recovery room.

“You’ve got quite the crowd waiting to meet this little guy,” her nurse says as she places Sadie’s belongings on a cart. “I can tell them to come back tomorrow so you can get your rest.”

“No!” Sadie shifts, waving an arm with an IV still attached. “I want them to meet Santino tonight. Especially Cecilia and Natalie, after everything they went through to get me here.”

The nurse shrugs. “Up to you. Once we get you settled in your new room, I’ll bring them in two at a time.” She leaves to finish preparations as Lucas returns to Sadie’s side and hands her their son.

“He looks like you,” Lucas says.

Sadie shakes her head. “No, he looks like you.”

“Cassie?” Lucas turns to me for a tiebreaker.

“He looks like both of you.” I grin. “A perfect combination.”

“He really is perfect, isn’t he?” Sadie sighs as one of Santino’s tiny hands breaks free and grasps her finger. “What do you think, Cassie?” She looks up. “Are you next?”

I cough and stutter, a hand reaching up to smooth my tangled hair. “I think we’ve got some time before that happens.”

“Mm-hmm.” Sadie raises her brows but focuses on her son.

“All right, mama.” The nurse returns. “Let’s get you moving.” She takes the baby and places him gently in his bassinet, instructing Lucas on how to push it. Unlocking Sadie’s bed, she begins the process of moving her to the recovery room.

“I’ll come back in a bit,” I say. “I can go update everyone waiting.”

“Thanks, Cassie,” Lucas says. “Let them know they’ll be able to meet Santino tonight.”

I give a thumbs-up as I turn left out of the room.

Through a set of double doors, which the unit secretary buzzes me through, I find the waiting room.

Other than one small family waiting in a far corner, the room is full of Sadie’s sister, aunt, and the Tariellos.

Vincent and Cecilia talk animatedly with Marco and Amanda. Leo sits against the wall on his ever-present laptop, Natalie dozing on his shoulder. Even Nico is here, standing with Whitney, Marisa, Lorenzo, and Dante.

But it’s the man in the center of the room, overseeing everyone, who catches my attention first.

Dominic’s hair is mussed from hours of travel and whatever devious activities he’s executed over the past twenty-four hours. The top two buttons on his shirt are undone, and the sleeves are rolled past his forearms.

His brows dip as he concentrates on his phone, typing a message before sighing.

As I enter the room, energy fills my veins, an electric spark that has Dominic’s eyes shooting up. The gold in them flashes as his chest rises and he pockets the phone.

He doesn’t wait for me to speak, just crosses the room and takes me by the nape of the neck, crashing his mouth against mine.