Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 283

Janeen just laughs, and when she stands up from the bed Kent gives her a playful little shove on the back that makes her grin over her shoulder at him. "And take this puppy with you -" Kent says, reaching for my little friend who is pressed so close to my side.

"Noooo," I cry, wrapping a hand around the puppy's little belly and pulling him closer to my side. "No, you can't take the puppy, he's had such a hard day!"

"The puppy has had a hard day, Fay?" Kent asks, disbelieving as Janeen calls her goodbyes and heads out the door, shutting it behind her. Kent sighs at me for a moment before he turns away and moves around the room, pulling the curtains shut against the afternoon light.

"Just because we also had a weird day doesn't mean that the puppy can't have had a stressful day too," I say, smiling slyly because I'm very aware that Kent could have made Janeen take the puppy, and she'd have done it. But Kent let the dog stay because I want him near.

"I think you're allowed to be the focus of the day, gorgeous," Kent murmurs, finishing his work and slipping into the bed next to me. "It should be about what you need, not the dog or anyone else."

My drowsiness comes back in full force now that the room is quiet, and shady, and the baby has finished eating and has fallen into his own doze in my arms.

"Not me," I say quietly as Kent wraps a warm arm around me, moving the puppy so that he rests lightly on my lap instead of squished between us. "I think baby needs to be the focus today."

"Baby," Kent murmurs, smiling down at our sleeping son. A huge smile breaks out onto my face as I look at him too, though it's instantly interrupted by a yawn. "He's good looking," Kent considers quietly. "Thank god."

I laugh and whip my face up to Kent's. "You wouldn't have liked him if he was ugly?"

Kent just shrugs, his eyes still on our kid. "I would have. It just would have been harder."

I laugh and shake my head but snuggle up against Kent, because I know he doesn't mean it - he's just making me laugh. "Don't listen to your vain father, baby," I murmur to my new baby, all cozied up in my arms in his little newborn onesie. "Looks aren't everything." We're quiet for a long moment as I rest my head against Kent's shoulder, my eyes drifting a little shut.

"So," Kent says quietly, his voice soft in the quiet afternoon peace of our room. "Are we just going to call him baby his whole life? Because, I mean, that's very cute. But he might get a little beat up for it."

"Anyone who beats up our baby is going to have to come through me," I say, grinning a little. But then I sigh and open my eyes. "But you're right." I sit up a little and look down at my cute baby's little scrunched face. "The child needs a name. What...hmm." I turn my head to the side a little, considering him. "What do you think suits him?"

Kent and I - we've talked about names casually, things we like and we don't, but we never decided on anything - never even came up with a top ten. I guess it just sort of got lost in all of the other insane things we had to plan during the tail end of my pregnancy. "I don't know," Kent says, his words slow and considerate.

We're silent for a really long time, starting at the kid, when suddenly I start to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. "Oh, come on," I sigh. "We're not stupid people - surely we can come up with a name."

"I think that's the problem," Kent murmurs. "We can easily come up with a name, we just both want a good one."

"What about, Daniel Redeux - try that one again, see if it comes out right this time."

Kent laughs at this, but shakes his head. "Daniel will be too vain if he gets a namesake. Plus, confusing in the household on holidays. They'll fight over their presents"

I grin. "All right, well, what about Lil Kent - that one had some charm to it -"

Kent just growls at me this time, a low sound in his chest as the puppy lifts his head, quirking his ears at me. "We're not naming the dog that either, so try again."

"Well, the dog needs a name too!" I say, gesturing towards the sweet, patient little pup, who blinks his brown eyes at me.

"Call the dog 'back to the farm," Kent murmurs, his voice dry even as he wraps his arms tighter around me, pulling me close and pressing his lips to my hair, "because that's where he's going -"

"Oh, hush you," I sigh, scowling and shooting Kent a little glare as I stroke a hand over the dog's soft head.

"All right," Kent says, his voice more serious now. "For the dog, what about...Titus."

"Titus," I say, sitting up a little, curious.

"Sure," Kent says, "a figure of classic literature, a general returning to Rome, everyone wants him to be the emperor...it's a noble name."

"Kind of a...dark ending though..." I murmur, grimacing as I remember my Shakespeare.

"Well, we'll just ignore that part. Give our little Titus a chance to rewrite it."

"All right," I say, grinning and leaning forward to pat the puppy's head. "Titus Lil Kent Lippert. Perfect."

Kent laughs at my addition of a middle name and I turn to see him grinning at me. I lean back against him, looking up into his face with a happy sigh.

"Well," I say, a little cunning, "if you got to name the puppy...I get to name the baby. Only fair."

"What!?"

"Well, you can't do both names," I protest, my jaw dropping open. "Plus, Janeen will never forgive me if I let a man name Princess Baby -"

"That is too sly, Fay, you can't just wait for me to name the dog and then change the rules -"

"I can too! I did all the work today!"

Kent scowls and narrows his eyes at me, but I can see the little smile fighting to be on his lips. "Fine," he growls, wrapping his arm around me and letting his hand slip down my back, using his leverage there to pull me closer. "But I have veto power if you pick something horrible. What do you have in mind?"

"Well..." I say quietly, biting my lip and looking down at the sleeping baby in my arms. "I was thinking...Dominic."

Kent's silent for a long moment - long enough that I look up at him curiously.

But he's just staring intently at our son.

"Damn it," he says softly, shaking his head a little. "It's just too perfect. I can't even make a joke about it."

My face bursts into a smile. "You like it?"

"I really like it, Fay," he says, leaning close and pressing a kiss to my mouth. "It's...like it was always his name."

I hum a little with pleasure, lifting a hand to stroke Kent's cheek and then smiling down at my son. "Dominic Lippert," I sigh, pleasure welling warm in my heart. "You're very much loved already, little boy."

"Domenico," Kent murmurs softly, reaching out and stroking the baby's head like it's a blessing.

"What?" I ask, turning and frowning up at him.

"Domenico," Kent repeats, turning to me. "The Italian version of his name -"

"Well, we're not going to call him that -"

"Even if we don't everyone else will - he's a little Italian boy and Italian's can't say Dominic -"

"They can damn well learn!"

Kent laughs a little now, shaking his head at me. "It's not like there's not precedence. Daniel goes by Daniel and Daniele. Two names - one for each culture. Why can't Dominic do the same?"

"Because Domenico isn't as cute," I sigh, a little bitter, even though...well, I do actually think it's pretty cool that he'll have a name for each culture.

"It's very cute," Kent sighs, disagreeing and pulling me close again. "But we'll all just call him Dom for short anyway."

"Right, Dom?" I say, giving into it and tapping my little boy on his tiny, perfect nose. He fusses a little at the tap, yawning and turning his face away just an inch, which makes me grin. "It's perfect." "You're perfect," Kent murmurs, pressing another kiss to my hair as I yawn again.

"I may be perfect," I mutter, "but I think I'm fading. Will you please not let me crush the baby if I fall asleep?"

"Give him here," Kent says, reaching for him, "better safe than sorry." And so I pass Dominic over to his father, who I have full confidence knows how to hold a baby better than I do. This is his second time around, after all. "Wake me up when he cries," I murmur, snuggling against Kent and leaning back against the pillows. "The book says," I yawn so wide it feels like it's going to crack my jaw, "maybe...two hours..."

"You got it," Kent murmurs, one arm warm around me as the other cradles our infant son. "Just rest, Fay. I'll take it from here."

And I swear, it takes about eight seconds for me to fall completely asleep.