SERENDIPITY | BOOK 1

T H I R T Y - O N E

I'm 24 weeks pregnant today, and we're FINALLY finding out what little bean is! We had our anatomy scan 2 weeks ago, and since then we've all been super busy with work, school, and just life in general and haven't really had the time to get all of us together. That changes today though, and my excitement is off the charts.

Its still pretty early, just 9am and Alexei and I are cuddling in bed watching our show when my door swings open and all of my brothers and cousins are walking in. They've been doing it every morning since we got home from Russia, though thankfully they took the hint when I told them that they either stopped waking me up at 6am with their bullshit, or I castrate them.

"Uh, hello?" I say as they all start taking their seats around my bed room. Giovanni walks over, snatches the remote from my bedside table, and flops down on the bed as he channel surfs- and I'm a little dumbfounded at the audacity.

"What on God's green earth do you think you're doing" I ask, stealing the remote back and turning off the TV. "I was looking for a show."

I shook my head. "Uh-uh, nope. You are not making yourself comfortable in here all day like you did yesterday."

Gio sends me a smile, but drops the subject- knowing that if he pisses me off I'll beat his ass, pregnant and all. They guys stayed for almost 2 hours, chatting and laughing before we had to start getting ready and I kicked them all out.

Alexei and I both showered, and after getting dressed- I was standing in front of the mirror, putting on some jewellery when he snaked his hands around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. He kisses my temple, and we swayed back and forth for a while as we watched our reflection in the mirror.

"You're beautiful my love. And thank you" he says, resting his hands on my belly and rubbing back and forth. "For what?" I ask, resting my hands on top of his. That was also the moment our little one decided they were going to wake up, and delivered a few harsh kicks to my belly, and right into Alexei's hands. "That" he whispers, getting choked up. "Thank you for giving me the family of my dreams."

I turned in his arms, and wrapped my arms around his neck before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Anytime baby. Let's do it again too?"

"Whatever you want. Let's have this one first though, okay?" I giggled and nodded my head. "Okay."

-----

A couple hours later, the party is in full swing and everyone is having a great time. Bryn is going around the room, recording everyone's guesses and passing out "Team Boy" or "Team Girl" pins, and Alexei and I are standing off to the side of the room watching everyone.

The house is a mess, its loud, there are people everywhere. Literally everywhere. And somehow I have still never felt more at peace. I can't wait to bring our baby home to the chaos.

Finally, it was time to pop the balloon, and as everyone gathered around where Alexei and I stood, and excitement rolling off of Alexei was contagious. Bryn brought out the black balloon and two sewing needles, and everyone started counting down from 10 as Alexei and I smiled at each other.

9

8

Alexei and I kissed as we held the string a little tighter.

7

6

5

I looked at my dad, and gave him a smile that he returned with an even bigger one of his own. 

4

3

2

I looked back at Alexei and nodded my head with a huge smile.

1

"Woohoo!!!" The screaming started the second blue confetti started to fall, and I couldn't help but smile and laugh as Alexei picked me up and spun me around.

"We're having a boy!" I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him. "We are" he replied with a smile, pecking my lips a few more times.

Everyone was super excited and ran over to us for hugs and kisses. My brothers let everyone else hug us before all running over to me and picking me off my feet. We were all laughing and smiling and the guys were jumping up and down.

"stiamo per avere un nipote" they all screamed. I laughed at that and hugged them all as tight as I could. Once I was done with the boys- they all gave Alexei a hug or a pat on the back and then left us alone. (we're getting a nephew)

"Are you happy детка" Alexei asked as we watched all of our friends and family gush over the news. (baby)

"I'm so happy my love. Are you happy" I asked.

He smiled and nodded his head. "The happiest man on earth" he said with a kiss. I smiled and kissed him back as I thought about what had done to deserve a life this good.

Everyone hung out for another hour or so before finally, the only people left were our immediate families, and the house was quiet. As we all sat and chatted in the living room, I couldn't help but feel an immense amount of love.

It has truly been the most amazing day.