His Tesoro: An Arranged Marriage Age Gap Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 1)
His Tesoro: Chapter 41

Gentle kisses on the side of my face pulled me from sleep, and I made a disgruntled noise.

“Sorry, tesoro. I have to go to the office, but Dr. Amato is here to see you first.”

I shook my head. “Want to sleep.”

Matteo chuckled, his lips brushing against my neck. “You don’t even have to get out of bed. She’s going to talk to us about pregnancy before I have to leave.”

That woke me up. I pushed to a seated position but must have moved too quickly because a sharp pain shot through my knee like lightning. “Shoot.”

“What’s wrong?” Matteo’s voice was panicked.

“Nothing.” I patted his hand. “My knee just wants to pop out of joint. I need to wrap it again today and put some ice on it.”

“I’ll get it now.” He practically ran out of the room, and my heart squeezed at his care.

A few minutes later, Matteo, Dr. Amato, and Noodle entered. I let out a squeak, pulling the sheet up to cover my naked body. Matteo swore and ran to the closet to get one of his t-shirts. He slipped it over my head and then moved the sheet aside to press an ice pack to my knee.

Noodle grabbed my medication bag off the nightstand and placed it in my hand before jumping up on the bed, placing his head on my lap.

“What a good boy.” I rubbed his head and swallowed my morning meds. I was getting so much better at actually taking them on time with Noodle’s help.

“Sorry for intruding,” Dr. Amato said, smiling as she took in both my guys’ behavior. “Matteo said you had some questions for me.”

“Will it hurt Sofiya to have a baby?” he asked.

I raised my eyebrows. “Jumping straight in, I guess.”

Dr. Amato sat down in a chair beside the bed. “This isn’t my area of expertise. I’ve done a bit of research and it looks like people with EDS do have a higher risk of some pregnancy complications, but there’s no reason to think it won’t be possible for you to carry a baby.”

I took Matteo’s hand and squeezed tight. He squeezed it back.

“What complications?” he asked.

“Again, I’m not an expert here. But the studies I read suggested a possible increased risk for premature labor, bleeding, and C-section. But the research also suggested that pregnancy is well-tolerated in women with hypermobile EDS. If and when you get pregnant, we’ll make sure you have the right specialist care so you and baby are taken care of.”

Matteo wrapped his arm around me and I leaned into his side. I let out a small sigh of relief until something else dawned on me. “Would my baby have EDS?”

Dr. Amato gave me a thoughtful look. “From what I read, there’s about a fifty percent chance that any child you had would have EDS. Of course, as you know, symptom severity can vary widely. There’s no way to know if your baby would have EDS and how it might affect them.”

My chest tightened as I tried to process everything she’d told me. There was so much uncertainty, and I didn’t know how to cope with it all. I looked at Matteo, but he wore his usual impenetrable expression.

“Thank you, Aria,” he said. “We’ll reach out if we have more questions.”

The doctor gave me a smile and said goodbye before leaving.

Matteo pulled me into his lap. “What are you thinking, tesoro?”

I fidgeted with his tie, trying to gather my thoughts. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom.” I swallowed hard. “But what if… what if our baby is like me?”

He stroked my hair and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We would be so lucky if the baby was like you.” I opened my mouth to clarify what I meant, but he cut me off. “And if our child had EDS, we would make sure they received the best medical care possible.”

I blinked as tears filled my eyes. “But does it make me a bad mom to pass my disability on to a baby?” Mila had never been interested in children and she’d never understood why I wanted to be a mom so much. I didn’t really understand it either, but I’d always dreamed of having kids and raising them in a loving, happy family—so different from the one we grew up in. And after Matteo’s care for me, and the intimacy of last night, I longed to have a baby with him. To see him be a dad. I could handle whatever pregnancy complications came my way as long as my baby was okay.

Matteo cupped my face and ran his thumb across my cheek. “You could never be a bad mom.”

“What would you think if we had a child who used a wheelchair? Especially if we had a boy?” I pressed.

Matteo shrugged. “Then he would use a wheelchair.”

“But what would others think? They wouldn’t accept him as Don.”

Matteo scowled. “The fuck they wouldn’t. It wouldn’t make him any less capable, and I would kill anyone who said otherwise.”

His words eased the tightness in my chest. Hearing him defend our future child, defend me as a wheelchair user, meant everything. I snuggled further into him. “So murderous.”

“Anything for you. Or for any babies we’re lucky to have.” His hand dropped to my stomach and for once, I wasn’t anxious about my belly rolls. I imagined my body swelling with new life and wondered if maybe my Dream List could become a reality.