He sat back and licked his lips. “I have a good hundred pounds over you. I’m all for wrestling for the top position.”
Grinning, I came a little closer as if I were going to kiss him. “Are you really going to deny that you love my cock in your ass?”
He growled, a sound of both annoyance and pleasure. We made a game of trying to take control of each other's mouths. I let him have the win because I wanted to kiss him desperately. We were going to have this every day and I looked forward to it.
The doorbell cut off our fun like glass crashing to the floor. I passed him an anxious look, wondering if he’d heard too or I’d imagined it. My father wouldn’t be brazen enough to show up here after everything that had happened?
Oh, he absolutely would.
A shadow passed over Sean’s face and he asked, “Do you want me to handle this?”
Yes, I totally did, except I was the man of the house now and this was my responsibility. I got to my feet as the bell chimed again. “No, I can take care of it. I should have known this wasn’t over. He probably wants to tell me how terrible of a sinner I am and that I’m going to burn in hell. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”
“I really want to punch your father in his snobby face,” he grumbled. “I’m going to get dressed but if he starts putting you down, I’m stepping in.”
Him sticking up for me was sexy. I watched as he padded toward the grand staircase that would take him to the secondfloor. Gathering my courage, I inched to the front door, the opaque privacy glass showing me the blurry shape of a figure.
If I could call my father out on his bullshit in a courtroom, I could do this. Sucking in a healthy dose of air, I yanked the door open.
I gaped at the tiny figure standing in front of me and seeming so much smaller than I remembered. “Mama?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SEAN
It was funny the way life turned out sometimes. One day I was wishing I could find someone to share my life with and the next, the most infuriating brat dropped in and turned everything upside down. Those years ago, I never imagined he would be the one.
As I dressed, I tried to focus on our lovely morning. I was a bit annoyed about him going behind my back and giving me so much money but it was hard to stay that way when everything was so…perfect. His words of devotion and love were a piano song in my heart. I never thought I’d hear them from him and I regretted not telling him how I felt sooner.
My throat tightened and my heart squeezed as I realized I was one of the lucky ones. Was I really getting everything I’d wanted?
The feeling didn’t last long because I’d meant what I’d said. I was determined to stand by Matteo’s side and give him the support he deserved. I was going to make sure he knew at least one person besides his grandmother loved him in this fucking world.
I shrugged into a tight t-shirt that highlighted my muscular arms because I wanted Matteo’s father to know I had a wicked right hook and wasn’t afraid to use it for the ones I cared about. I came to stand at the base of the stairs and listened. All I caught was a shocked whisper followed by a stretch of silence. After a few beats of my heart, I descended the staircase and found Matteo standing still as a board at the door, his jaw hanging open.
I took my place by his side, prepared to duke it out with his father. Instead, I found his mother dressed spectacularly inher best labels and finest jewelry. But she looked smaller than I recalled with tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, the mascara slightly runny. Her chin did that trembling thing again.
It didn’t take a lot to understand why she was here, clutching a stuffed duffle bag but all Matteo could do was stare at her.
“Mrs. Fernandez,” I started and cleared the gravel from my throat. I looked at Matteo. “Might you want to come in for a moment?”
He snapped back to reality and moved aside. She seemed uncertain and stepped in, her head swiveling around as if it had been a very long time since she’d been here. Maybe she was confused as to why she was here.
“Mama, is Papa with you?” He finally asked, his tone raw and I wished I could sweep him away from all this heartache.
I squeezed his shoulder to remind him that I was here. It was the best thing I could do for him right now.
She said something in what I assumed was French that made Matteo frown as if he’d been presented a calculus problem. He looked at me. “She says she came alone.”
“Mrs. Fernandez, can I take your bag?” I asked, wanting to help the process along.
“Yes, thank you,” she mumbled.
I accepted the heavy bag as she floated into the living room and took a seat on the couch still covered in a white sheet.
“Matty,” I said to get his attention, who was still in a state of shock. “Listen to what she has to say.”
He nodded and proceeded to stare at her from the safety of the foyer. I wanted to take over, but he needed to do this. The best I could do was give them a gentle push in the right direction. When he was ready, he approached and sat at a distance from her.
