44. Lucia

My heart is beating in my chest as Giovanni holds my hand. This is our first appointment together, the first one where he could actually join me. Of course, we’re flanked by different men, and Giovanni insisted I stay at his side, but I’ve gotten used to it.

“Are you okay, Amoruccio?” Giovanni asks as we walk inside the private clinic. I turn my head to look up at him and smile. “Your palms are all sweaty.”

“I’m just nervous,” I admit. “We’re finding out the sex of the baby today and I don’t know what to expect. What if they find something? What if Lucky suddenly developed an abnormality and what if it—”

He silences my worry by placing a finger on my lips. “Everything is fine, amore, your worries are valid, but we both know he isn’t called Lucky for nothing.”

“Or she,” I say with a smile, and he chuckles.

“Or she. Now, let’s go and see our little miracle.”

As we walked hand in hand down the hallway of the obstetrician's office, a mix of excitement and nervousness coursed through my v