Free Made for Him: A Mafia Baby Romance by Rae Lynn Blaise

this to Jim.
    My uncle pauses his pacing momentarily and stands at the counter, his back to me. “It’s dangerous for everyone,” he answers slowly. “And it’s about who you know, Jessica. Not what you do.”
    Just as I’m about to fire back a retort about how I don’t know anyone dangerous—Matteo aside—Jim turns to me with an unreadable face. “Do you care to explain this to me?”
    In his hand, he holds the plastic container of prenatal vitamins. I had left them out on my counter.
    Shit.
    For the briefest second, I consider lying. But then I stop myself. What will that help? Especially when the truth will be evident enough in another month when I start showing.
    So I swallow my discomfort and confess the truth. “I’m pregnant, Uncle Jimmy. About two and a half months along.”
    There’s a brief flash of love and concern, but just as my chest starts to swell with happiness that he’s not angry or upset, the concern vanishes, replaced by frustration.
    “Dammit, Jessi,” he swears, calling me by my childhood nickname. “And is there any chance it’s Nate’s?”
    Jesus, when will he stop being so obsessed with Nate? “It’s not his,” I say irritably. “We didn’t have any sex at all the month we broke up.”
    He rubs a hand over his graying beard, frowning. “This is bad, Jessica.”
    I’m hurt. “Well, it’s not great, given that I’m still young and not married, but God, I thought you’d be at least a little supportive.”
    His face softens. “I’m not trying to bring you down, honey, but there are bigger things going on right now. I promised Nate…”
    “Promised Nate what?”
    “I promised him you , Jessi.”
    This is so outside of my experience that I have trouble processing what he’s saying. “This isn’t Sarah, Plain and Tall ,” I say, my voice rising in anger, “I’m not a mail order bride. You can’t promise me to people! And what does that even mean?”
    He rubs his beard again. “It’s complicated.”
    I throw up my hands. “Let me uncomplicate it for you! I’m not going to go back to a man who cheated on me just because you made a promise that you had no right to make. Got it?”
    “He wants you,” my uncle implores. “Even after you left him, he still wants you back. And I said he could have you, in exchange for certain…business favors he’s done for me.”
    “I don’t care what he said or what you said,” I tell him coldly. “I’m not going to get my heart broken again. Not for him. And besides, I’m dating someone else.”
    “You are?” my uncle seems shocked. “But you’re pregnant!”
    I roll my eyes. “It’s the father of the baby. It’s not unheard of for people to date in that circumstance.”
    A rap at the door interrupts our conversation. I walk over to the peephole and see Matteo on the other side of the door, looking mouth-watering in a dark suit with a bright blue tie.
    “What do you know,” I tell my uncle. “You’ll get to meet him now.” And then I open the door.
    Matteo steps in and crushes me to his chest. His stubble scrapes against my face as he asks, low in my ear, “Where were you? You didn’t meet me at the restaurant and I was worried…” he trails off, seeing my uncle.
    And then he slowly lets me go. A cold silence wafts between the two men; a cold, scary silence.
    “ Moretti ,” my uncle seethes, taking a step forward.
    Matteo cuts in front of me, pushing me behind him as if to protect me. “Jimmy.”
    “You two know each other?” I ask, confused.
    “You could say that,” Matteo says, his tone polite even as I can feel his body practically vibrate with violence.
    “Jessica, step away from that man, honey. He’s dangerous and he’ll hurt you.”
    “Matteo?” I push around my lover’s arm to be able to look at my uncle’s face. “But he’s the guy I was telling you about. The guy I’m seeing.”
    “He’s your baby’s father?” Jimmy couldn’t look more disgusted than if he’d just stepped on