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The nanny, who can’t be older than twentysomething, jumps and bows her head. Rocco peers up at the nanny and then at Angel. “You will not fire his nanny for going along with him to meet his father, Angelica. It’s obvious he feels safe with her.” He stands slowly and tells Ethan to go with Brittney and his nanny to check out a room down the hall. The nanny rushes to where Ethan and Brittney stand and walks away with them.
He waits until they are out of earshot and launches into Angel. “How dare you keep my son from me all this time!” he shouts.
“He’s not your son! He was supposed to be Hawk’s!” she shouts back.
“What the hell, Angel?” I snap. “Your twisted sense of right and wrong knows no bounds. How can you face this man who fathered your son and say he wasn’t ever supposed to be his? I may not be his greatest fan for obvious reasons, but even I know he deserves the chance to know his son.”
Rocco cuts his gaze my way and then to Matteo.
“There will be a price to pay for your lies, Angelica. And yours, Aldo. This was supposed to have been my family anyway, but you took it from me, both of you.” Aldo doesn’t speak, he simply stares with wide eyes as Angel keeps her chin tipped up.
“I didn’t love you then, Rocco. I don’t now. I love Hawk,” she sputters.
“But I don’t love you, Angel. I never did. You tricked me, that’s why I proposed. And you know it,” I interject.
She looks as if I slapped her. “That’s not true. You do love me. We’re going to be a family. I did all this for you…for us.”
I feel sorry for her. She’s in denial or delusional. “Hear me when I say this…I won’t ever be with you for any reason. The woman I love is in the other room caught up in the middle of the mess I shouldn’t have gotten involved with in the first place. She has all my lasts. She’s my forever,” I say out loud.
Matteo smirks, and if it’s possible, I think Rocco might have too.
“Ethan is staying with me here for the next couple weeks. You owe me that much. You can visit if you want, but I’m keeping him for a while. It’s time for me to get to know my son. You can leave now,” Rocco says to her and Aldo.
Her lower lip quivers as Aldo ushers her outside. Leo and Matteo walk with me and Rocco down the hall to the bedroom where the nanny, Ethan, and Brittney sit on the floor laughing with a deck of cards playing what looks likeGo Fish.
Leo claps me and Matteo on the shoulder as Rocco walks in the room and attempts to sit with them and get in on the game they’re playing. “We’ve got it covered, boys. I know you don’t trust him and given our pasts I don’t blame you, but he’ll be a good father and I’ll be here to help him. You don’t have to worry. We fight for those we love, and I can tell you right now, the meeting between that boy and his dad is love at first sight.”
As I take in the scene, I find myself agreeing. Brittney glances up at me and smiles faintly, and I find myself hoping Brittney and I still have a fighting chance too, even if what Matteo said is true…I don’t deserve her.
The next morning, I lie in the bed I shared with Hawk at the Rossis’ mansion. Hawk insisted I come back here and rest where he could make sure I was safe. I assured him I was fine, but he reminded me I’d been drugged. Reluctantly I stayed. Hawk and I aren’t exactly on good terms even if he did come for me when I was in trouble.
When we got back here last night, Wren flung herself at me and pulled me in for an unexpected hug. But hers was the only warm welcome. Valentina, Gianna, Marco, and Vincent kept their distance. This crazy nightmare is finally over and it’s time for me to go home.
Hawk strides in the bedroom and closes the door quietly behind him. He stares at me for a beat. “How are you feeling?”
I pull myself into a sitting position. “Better. Thanks for letting me stay here last night.”
He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Brittney, we should talk.”
Nothing good follows those words. I brace myself and simply nod.
He doesn’t come near me; he stands like a statue in the middle of the room. “You know I care about you, but—”
“But what, Hawk?” I ask sharply.
“I have obligations here now…promises I made,” he says.
“Mmm.” I hum as I throw the covers back and stand.
“What’s that for?” he asks with a furrowed brow.
“I guess it should be some sort of relief to know you’re keeping promises you make to everyone but me. At least I know you’re capable of it. And I don’t care to hear the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech, so you can spare us both the trouble. Thanks for bailing me out of my moment of stupidity with the contract and thanks for coming for me yesterday. It’s time for me to get back home where I belong,” I tell him as I slip on my tennis shoes.
I start to move past him to where my things sit by the bathroom door already packed. “Please don’t do that,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Do what? Save you from having to let me down easy?” I ask as my eyes burn with unshed tears. I stand a little taller. “That’s what you’re trying to do, isn’t it? You didn’t trust me when it counted. Without trust, there’s nothing. You’re choosing to stay here and be a puppet for your family instead of fighting for me. I wish it were different, but it’s just how it is,” I say as I scoop my bag off the ground.
He stalks over to me and searches my eyes, then tucks a strand of hair behind my ear before leaning in so close his breath fans my lips. “Dolcezza,I—”
