36

Giovanni Haynes

"You have reached the voicemail of..."

"Still no luck?" Matt asked, strolling in just as I tossed my phone onto the leather couch across from me. "Come on, man, you did say she asked for space."

"Yeah, well, tell that to Haylie." The child has been incessantly asking when she'll get to meet Ciara, and it's getting on my last nerve.

He chuckles. "That's on you. I'm taking them out for ice cream, though; you should come along. Who knows, it might help take your mind off things."

That's the last thing I want to do. These kids are like small hexenbiest, and the thought of potentially fathering one of my own is inconceivable. "No, I'm good," I replied.

"Please, Uncle," the kids chant, their eyes shining with excitement. I gave a smile to Luca, who had started to call me "Uncle" just like his cousins.

"Alright," I said, getting up to grab my keys from the kitchen. But before I could head out the door, the doorbell rang. "Get that for me, will yo