AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rafa made a little spinny motion, and I knew he wanted me to flip the phone camera so it was on the baby again. Heaving a heavy sigh, I turned the phone’s camera back around, to show Bobbi-June asleep on my chest. She looked like the little doll I called her.
Thank goodness Rafa had the mic covered, otherwise Theresa’s, “Che cazzo é questo?!” would have woken the baby right back up again. At least she’d said, “The fuck is this?” in Italian, so the baby’s first word wasn’t going to be a curse.
I snapped another screenshot. Man, I was going to put these as my wallpaper. However, I wouldn’t get to surprise anyone else, because I had no doubt that by the end of this call, Theresa would have texted everyone in the family. And probably the extended family. Possibly even the neighbors.
I grinned, and Rafa rolled his eyes. “I think you better start from the beginning.”
I weighed how much to tell them. I hated lying to Rafa, but he told Theresa everything, and in turn, Theresa told everyone else everything. I didn’t want it to get out that this thing was anything but a love match. At least, not until after Tally had the custody locked down.
“I met Tally at work. She’s a former NASCAR driver. VANT Racing hired her to train the simulator. She’s hot. I found myself thinking about her every day, seeking her out. When Antony told me I was struggling to get my green card, I propositioned her.”
Rafa frowned. “What is she getting out of it?”
I gave him a cocky smirk. “What do you think, brother?”
Let him think what he would about that statement. “Rocco, tell me you?—”
“I got a prenup, Rafa. I’m not an idiot.” I didn’t tell him I was giving her fifteen million dollars, regardless of how this went down. I didn’t want her to struggle if things went sideways.
Rafa shook his head repeatedly. “Three months in that country, and you’ve already got a wife and a baby.”
I didn’t tell him about my wife’s two boyfriends. That might get him on a flight over here to check me into the crazy house. I also didn’t tell him of the contentment I felt with them here; like I’d been starving and alone for so long, and now here they were, a feast for my senses. Alive and full of comfort, when I’d been living with my loneliness until it was a familiar ache in my soul. Not that I’d tell Rafa any of that, because he’d be racked with older sibling guilt.
“Anyway, tell me about VANT. There’s talk about them petitioning to be included in Formula E within five years.”
We moved onto more comfortable topics, and it was like no time at all had passed since I saw him last. The whole time, the baby slept on my chest, and the dog eventually came to curl in a ball beside the lounger.
Inside my chest, the wall I built to keep myself safe from people who just wanted to use me, crumbled to dust.
The rumble of the removal truck leaving told me that the three other members of my newfound family would probably seek me out soon. “I should go, Rafa. Give my love to my nieces. Tell Mamma I love her when you inevitably call her straight after this.”
Rafa shook his head. “I’m flying out at the beginning of the IndyCar race season to see your debut. I expect to meet your new wife then.”
I winced; my brother was intense at the best of times. I gave him a small salute. “Okay. Bring the kids. I’ll pay.” I did it to needle him, because we both knew he wouldn’t take my money, and he always acted so insulted when I suggested it.
He raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps you should bring your bride to visit the family instead.”
I imagined showing Tally my country. Imagined her in the warm Italian sun, a smile on her face and her hair glowing like a halo of gold. “Maybe I will.”
The snort at the other end of the line was definitely skeptical. “I’m sure. Love you, brother.”
“Love you too, Rafa.”
Hanging up the phone, I stroked my hand over the baby’s downy head. “Hope you stay an only child, Bambolina. No one drives you crazy like family.”
Holding her close, I slowly—so fucking slowly—climbed to my feet. Walking on soft feet, I carried her through the house and up the stairs. I could hear laughter coming from one of the bedrooms, and a pang of longing hit me square in the gut. They were so happy.
When was the last time I was that happy?
It wasn’t when I was balls-deep in some influencer from the Gram. It wasn’t when I won my last race, though that had felt satisfying. But it didn’t make me happy.
Laying the baby down in the bassinet beside Tally’s bed, I picked up the baby monitor and tucked it in my pocket. Then I walked away from the sounds of that happiness, before I was tempted to stand outside the door and feed on it, like the emotional black hole I was.
THIRTY-THREE
TALLY
Rocco’s home contained none of his personality, except for maybe the garage. All the guys were down there at the moment, drooling over Rocco’s Ferraris the way some men would drool over porn.
