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“Is Matty still asleep?” Nico asked, checking his watch. It was eight a.m.
He’d booked a two-bedroom suite at the Black Diamond Hotel, and of course Emmy Black had known about it. Not only did she ensure he received a discount, but there had been a bottle of champagne on ice in the room when they arrived. And the coffee was excellent.
Kaylin nodded, mug in hand. “You really tired him out yesterday.”
“I tired myself out too. How do you do it every day?”
“Caffeine and a lack of other options.”
Her words gave him pause. “Do you need more help? Should I find a nanny?”
Did he feel guilty about taking over the care of another man’s son? Probably he should have, but it seemed there was a little of the old man in him after all. And Cesare hadn’t been a great father. Yes, he’d provided material things, and there was no shortage of money, but the boy hadn’t been allowed to interact with anyone outside his own family and the hired help. What life was that for a child?
“No, no, no, I didn’t mean… Things are much better now. Cesare never used to lift a finger to help because in the Cavallaro family, childcare is a woman’s work. Along with cooking, cleaning up, maintaining her figure, and being charming at parties. At least I only have Matty. Francesco and Bambi have six kids, and she always looks as if she’s about to drop.”
“Bambi?”
“She was a stripper, but it turned out that’s actually her real name.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t have more children. Cesare struck me as a man who’d want to pass on his genes.”
“Oh, he tried.” Kaylin’s tone froze the blood in Nico’s veins. “The doctor said that stress on its own couldn’t cause a miscarriage, but every time I got pregnant, I wanted to throw myself off the roof terrace. That couldn’t be healthy, right?”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and Nico cursed himself for saying the wrong thing. Fuck. A hug couldn’t fix this, but when he wrapped his arms around her, she leaned her cheek against his shoulder.
“I had three miscarriages. Well, one stillbirth at six months. A girl. We named her Cosetta, and giving birth to her was the most horrible thing I’ve ever done. I was devastated to lose her, but at the same time, I felt…relief. And guilt. Guilt that I felt that way.”
Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, and Nico kissed her hair.
“I can’t tell you things are okay now because they aren’t, but I hate that you went through that.” Hated that he had put her through it. Cesare. Not for the first time, Nico considered hiring Emmy again. “I’ll do everything within my power to ensure you and Matty never have another dark day.”
“I wish I’d called you after we had lunch in New York,” she mumbled. “Right after, I mean.”
“You’re not the only one with regrets about that.”
“Really? Then why didn’t you call?”
What had Kaylin said before about minefields? Nico was on tiptoes now.
“I experienced some feelings that weren’t necessarily compatible with our history.”
“I see.”
“Do you?”
Slowly, Kaylin nodded. “I know what I looked like. Your big head saw a girl you’d treated as a kid sister, and your little head saw the kind of woman you’d pick up at a party.”
“That’s a succinct way of putting it, yes.” She hadn’t kicked him in the balls, which he had to view as a good thing. “Does that upset you?”
She choked out a strangled laugh. “How can it? I mean, that’s why I didn’t call you either. It would’ve felt weird.”
“And now?”
“Now, it’s still weird, but I don’t care anymore.”
Kaylin looked up at him, and their gazes locked as Nico slowly, slowly lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. The breathy little sigh that escaped her lips made him hard in an instant. Fuck.
Definitely inappropriate.
