Adaline (The Wallflower Series Book 3) (22 page)

“Mommy, look! Watch me!”

Adaline stared on humorously as her two men got into position. She sat on their living room couch with her feet raised. Per the demands of her doctor, this was how she spent most of her days. With her swollen ankles though, she didn’t complain. Dominic had a serious expression on his face as he directed his son with the seven-count, snapping his fingers. When the music started, they began to shimmy their slim hips in sync to the beat. It was loud enough for her to hear it with no problem. She recognized the popular tunes from the radio.

Their son, only reaching his father’s thighs, moved with the music in deep focus. They transitioned from dances like the Charleston to the Macarena until Adaline could no longer control her laughter. Especially when the twerking started. Unfortunately, her son didn’t have the motor coordination just yet to do it exactly right, but she preferred his modification. With their backs to her, instead of twerking, he just swished his hips back and forth, biting his lip in concentration as if it was the most difficult exercise. To add to the ridiculous spectacle, Dominic copied his son’s expression.

At that, Adaline nearly fell from the couch, holding her protruding tummy. It was simply too much for her to take, and she knew Dominic had planned it solely to entertain her after seeing the dazed look in her eyes as the days continued with little reprieve from the pain and discomfort. And he had chosen the best way to do it. Their son Amare, named after his late grandmother, was the absolute light of her life. From the moment of his birth, he had shown such personality and strength that she was constantly in awe of him. A perfect mixture of both his parents, Amare had inherited his mother’s darker complexion but his features were eerily a mirror image of his father. Of course that had come with some struggles. For one, Nikolai had been adamant that the child wasn’t Dominic’s because he had come out so dark. Everyone had quickly put a halt to his disgusting accusations, Dominic in particular who had actually gone so far as to physically threaten the man. Comparing Amare to his cousin Alexei’s pale skin, they were the epitome of ebony and ivory despite both of their mixed heritage.

“Stop! Stop!” Adaline found herself yelling in between bouts of laughter.

Amare and Dominic did a quite graceful twirl before lunging onto one knee with a hand to their heart and the other out to the sky. Of course, Amare had some difficulty with the transition. Compared to Dominic’s seamless movements, he continually paused before following his father’s moves.

“Mommy, we’re salad-naying you.”

A smile broke across her husband’ s handsome face at Amare’s pronunciation.

“Yes, baby. Do you like the way we salad-nayed you?” Dominic repeated mischievously instead of correcting his son.

She motioned for them both to come closer. Amare climbed onto the couch, grunting slightly at the effort given his shorter limbs, and sat down pressed against her side. As usual, he immediately placed a small hand on her pregnant belly and rubbed it. Looking up with wide eyes when he felt movement beneath his palm.

“That was beautiful, Amare. I’m so proud of you. I’m the luckiest mommy ever!” Adaline did her best to bend down and place a kiss on his forehead. Then she rubbed their noses together to the delightful sound of Amare’s gleeful giggles.

“Mommy, will I be a good big brother, like Lexi?” he asked.

Adaline exchanged a glance with Dominic. Amare, despite his cousin’s protests, refused to call him anything other than Lexi. They knew it was not intentionally meant to annoy Alexei, but a term of endearment. Amare, for his part, completely looked up to Sasha and Dmitri’s son given the three-year age difference. And now that he was going to be an older brother as well, he was constantly observing how Alexei treated his younger sister, for better or worse.

“Well Amare, you won’t just have one younger sibling. Remember how we talked about this?” Dominic bent down to his son’s height on the couch.

Amare still seemed to be confused by the idea that not one but two small humans were in his mother’s stomach. It still fascinated him that he had been there as well. Needless to say, the night they told him of his mother’s pregnancy, he had kept them up the entire night with questions.

“But there’s not enough space in Mommy’s tummy! It’s no fair. I have my own room. They shouldna haveta share.”

Dominic snickered but immediately tried to straighten his expression at the warning glance Adaline sent him.

“Well, baby…there actually is enough room for them both. They’re just very tiny.  You’ll get to meet them soon and you’ll see.”

“So, I’m gonna have a little brother
and
a little sister?” he asked, even though they had gone over this with him many times before. When they both nodded, he pumped his tiny arms at his sides and bobbed up and down on the cushions of the couch screaming in excitement. “Can Mommy have more Daddy? Pweeasse!” he whined.

Dominic winked at his son and whispered, “I’m working on it. I promise.” The smile on his son’s face widened even more with the knowledge that it was a secret between the two of them. “Now, c’mon champ! We have to get you ready for when Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Dean come.”

At the sound of their names, Amare eagerly followed his father to wash up. Ever since his birth, Adaline’s aunt and uncle had become staples in their lives, particularly Victoria. Almost immediately they had fallen in love with Amare as much as she had. And when Adaline had revealed to them his name, she had been shocked by the look of raw emotion on both their faces. After all, over time she had come to understand just how much her mother’s death had hurt them as well.

The night Dominic had first spoken to Dean regarding his intentions with her, Adaline had also had a revealing conversation with her aunt. It had been a raw, emotional experience speaking to Victoria after she blatantly informed Adaline of her deep dislike for her niece. Unfortunately, Adaline had never given her aunt the opportunity to provide context to her hurtful words, quite literally running from the home so that Victoria could not see the way it affected her. But when she finally returned, Victoria had been intent on fixing the cracks in their relationship.

Not surprisingly, Victoria had revealed the jealousies she had always held against her sister, and how that had driven them apart. With things never settled between them, the negative emotions had simply transferred over to her daughter. Adaline had never seen Victoria so defeated or apologetic as she listened to her aunt explain herself. While Victoria’s words had done little to appease the hurt Adaline felt, it had been the first time she’d ever seen a crack in the woman’s armor. Such a reveal had consequently put a dent in the walls Adaline had built in order to protect her heart against her family. Adaline had walked away from that conversation with the same dislike she always had against her aunt, one conversation could not erase years of mistreatment. But to her surprise, Victoria had seemed to walk away with a new intent. It was as if hearing herself say the words and trying to excuse her behavior had made Victoria more aware of how she had acted toward her niece. And from that day, there had been a change.

For one, Adaline had actually begun to receive phone calls from her aunt to just “check-in” on her. It had definitely taken Adaline aback to hear her aunt express concern over her job and her safety in Boston. But the biggest change to their relationship had been her pregnancy and the birth of Amare. After Carla’s struggles to have her own children and resulting divorce, Victoria had immediately clung to Adaline’s child as her grandson. While at first Adaline had been wary over how her aunt would treat him, Amare had always loved spending time with both Dean and Victoria, knowing them now as his grandmother and grandfather. When he got older, she would explain to him his true lineage, but all that truly mattered was that he felt loved by them both.

For Dean’s part, it had never been a question of blood. Just as Adaline was his daughter, so too was Amare his grandson. With his sight back, he flourished in the role of grandfather, taking Amare out to play and watch sports, sneaking him sweets, and otherwise being just as sneaky as Dominic in letting Amare have everything he wanted. And Adaline expected he would be just as bad with the twins. 

Dominic walked back into the living room, rubbing his hands together mischievously. “So, when Dean and Victoria come to get Amare, what are our plans?”

Adaline could tell from the sexy glint in his eye and the deeper timbre in his voice that his thoughts were less than innocent.

“What do you mean, what are we doing? You’ll be rubbing my feet while I watch HGTV.” She anticipated his response.

“What? That’s not fair!” He stood in the middle of the living room and frowned at her. Thinking he could convince her otherwise, he bent down at the knee as in the serenade earlier. “
Please,
”
he signed and leaned toward her.

Adaline rolled her eyes, “What are you? Boys II Men?” At that, they couldn’t help but to both laugh. But she soon sobered enough to sign, “
Of course, I can’t wait to spend time with you. But, look at me! I’m a beached whale!
”

Dominic frowned at her words, “Don’t call yourself that.” He stood up and leaned over to press soft kisses along her jaw line. “You’re just as beautiful to me, and I want to spend quality time with my wife before this house is completely overrun.”

She couldn’t deny that he was right. They were definitely going to have their hands full and the strength of his gaze as he visually explored her body never failed to ignite her desire. Grabbing him by the ears, Adaline brought him down to capture his mouth. Their kiss was slow and sensuous, carefully exploring each other and savoring the feel of skin against skin.

“You know, that was the sexiest twerking I’ve ever seen,” she teased.

“I blew your mind, didn’t I?” he winked and bit his bottom lip flirtatiously.

Though they were joking with one another, her voice was serious as she replied, “You always do.”

Dominic’s gaze softened at her words. As if they both read the other’s mind, they signed together, “
I love you
.” And they showed each other just how much for the rest of the night, pregnant belly and all.

Adaline Playlist

Photograph……….Ed Sheeran

Let It Go……….James Bay

Last Train……….Dawn Golden

Dancing On My Own……….Robyn

Thinking Out Loud……….Ed Sheeran

Love on the Brain……….Rihanna

Music is not only an escape for me, but it is also the source of motivation when it comes to my writing. The above songs I thought really reflected the emotional development and pain of either Dominic or Adaline in their journey to love. If you haven’t heard or listened to these songs, I highly recommend them!

I Hope You Enjoyed Adaline and Dominic’s Story!

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About the Author

Originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, R.J. Fletcher currently attends graduate school while working as a high school teacher. She is an avid reader of romance novels and began writing at a young age because she wanted to finally read about the experiences of Black women as central characters. When she’s not busy with schoolwork and teaching, she is usually spending her time trying out new healthy recipes, at the gym, and contemplating life. She is interested in world travel, having lived in Japan during college for a period of time. However, it is her dream to eventually make it across the Atlantic to Germany, Ireland, and Italy.