Frankie
Fucking Dante.What exactly do I owe him?
It’s the question I keep mulling over after I leave the diner and take the Jaguar for a long drive on the Venetian causeway, attempting to clear my head. The bridges and bay views always calm me down. The sun and wind are just right, too, and for once I don’t feel like I’m suffocating from the weather.
My life seems determined to smother me no matter which way I turn, but I’m not going to let it. I can’t. For once, I just want to feel like I’m not trapped. Like I get to make myownchoices, determine myownfate.
Yes, Dante has a right to know his child and be a part of that child’s life. That’s not up for debate. But he doesn’t have the right to dictate every aspect of how I livemylife. I’m tired of the secrets and half-truths and flat-out lies. The manipulations and ultimatums. I deserve better than that, and so does our baby. So I’ll just have to figure out how we’re going to co-parent if we’re not in the same city, much less the same state. It can be done. I’m determined to find a way.
As for right now, I need to take things one day at a time. That’s all I can do. Tomorrow, I’ll look for a new job. A more professional one that will actually pay me decent money. See, things are looking up already. And baby bean seems to be letting me keep down the burger and fries I’ve been eating on the drive, so progress! Though I really should start eating better. And I will.
By the time the sun begins to set, I’m not exactly settled, but at least I’m feeling like I’ve got a grip on my emotions. I’ve got this. I’m going to be okay. And I’m ready to head home.
When I pull into the apartment building’s rear parking lot, though, the first thing I spy is Dante’s rental car in one of the visitor spaces. Instantly, my good mood shatters. Fucking bastard. What the hell is he doing here? I only just got a handle on things, and now this.
Didn’t I make myself clear this morning? Yet here he is, obviously planning to strong arm me into doing whatever he wants. He probably figures he’ll get my mom on his side, the two of them coaxing me into taking the easy way out—the gilded cage—for the good of the baby.
This is too much.
I sit in the car for a minute, steeling myself for the confrontation that I don’t want to have, giving myself a pep talk about how I’m not going to back down. Then I force myself to get out and march to the apartment. Turning my key in the lock, I take a deep breath and then push the door open.
A strange hush goes through the air as I walk inside. And do a double take. No…THIS is too much.
“What the hell?” I blurt.
Charlie, Mom, and Livvie are sitting on the couch. Dante and Clayton are opposite them, in the armchairs, while Armani stands hovering behind Dante. Miggy jumps up when he sees me and bounces over, barking a hello while pawing at my feet.
I don’t get a moment to recover from the shock of seeing my family before Charlie and Livvie fly across the room and wrap me in a huge hug, both of them babbling excitedly about my pregnancy.
“This is going to be amazing,” Charlie murmurs into my ear. “I promise.”
“I can’t believe the good news!” Livvie squeals. “You’re going to be a mama! Why didn’t you tell us we’re going to be aunties?”
I glance past Charlie’s head and shoot an evil look at Dante, but he just tilts his head toward my mom, who looks sheepish.
“I um, wanted the time to be right,” I say lamely. “But wait…what are you all doing here?”
“It’s Thanksgiving! What better time for the whole family to be together?” Charlie says with strained mirth.
Uh-oh. I know that voice. It’s the Dad Did Something Again voice.
Our mother scoffs. “Cut the crap. We just need to talk about what’s going on. And Livvie deserves to know the whole truth—she knows most of it already, and trying to keep it a secret almost let something bad happen to her, didn’t it?”
My stomach drops, and I pull away from my sisters. “What?Livvie, what happened?”
“You should sit down, Frankie,” Charlie says.
She and Livvie exchange a glance and my heart picks up double time.
“I don’t want to sit down. Just tell me. Somebody say something,” I demand.
Well, there goes my peace of mind. The hush that’s fallen over the room suggests that whatever I’m about to find out is pretty bad.
Charlie clears her throat and gazes at me with clear eyes, using her calmest voice to say, “Two days ago, the last day of school before the holiday break, the vice principal at Livvie’s school—Mr. Matthews—noticed two men watching her from the parking lot while she was waiting for the bus. When they got in their car and followed the bus, he followed them.”
My hand goes over my chest, where I can feel my heart pounding behind my ribs.
“He wasn’t totally sure at first,” Charlie goes on, “but when it was clear they really were following Livvie, he called the police to send a cruiser to Bellanti Vineyards. It was enough to scare off the men, apparently, and since there was nobody at the house except the Bellantis’ staff, Mr. Matthews drove her to Nob Hill to stay with me.”
