“Oh no. He has me totally beat,” I replied in a shaky breath.
“You just gotta show him who's boss.”
“I’m not sure my usual methods will work on him.”
Bea laughed. “You’re going to be just fine.”
“From your lips to God’s ears.”
“I’ll leave you two.”
“What? No!”
At what must’ve been my expression of sheer panic, Bea replied, “I’ll be just outside if you need me.” With a wink, she added, “That bodyguard of yours is a silver fox.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “If you say so.”
After Bea left, I allowed myself to get my first good look at Luca. As I stared down into his face, my heart clenched in agony.
The bow mouth.
The button nose.
The shape of his eyes.
“Fuck me, you look just like your mother,” I remarked.
His tiny brows rose as his tongue flicked out. “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t be saying cuss words in front of you. I’m sure if your mom was here, she’d have my a–, uh, butt.”
Exhaling a ragged breath, I said, “Somehow in my mind I thought you’d look like your father. That every time I saw you it would be a constant reminder of what I saw as your mom’s betrayal.
Luca scrunched up his brows before whimpering. “I’m sorry. Please don’t do that again. Bea will come back in, and I’ll look like a total fuckup.”
When he waved a fist at me, I sighed. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry for mentioning what happened with your mom. Just like I told her, I know she didn’t have a choice. She had to do what your bastard grandfather said.”
My apology seemed to soothe Luca because he relaxed his brows. He stared up at me with his tongue slightly poking out,and it immediately reminded me of Drea when she was really concentrating on a sketch.
“Maybe I wanted you to look more like him so you’d be easier to hate.”
At Luca’s grunt, I said, “I know I’m a real bastard for saying that.”
Grimacing, I said, “There I go again. I’m really sorry about my language, bud. I shouldn't have said that word in front of you. Heads up that I’m going to make a lot of mistakes when it comes to you. I mean, I already have made a huge one by not being there for your mom when she needed me. And now she could…”
My voice choked off as I fought off the tears at the idea of losing Drea. “The truth is I don’t hate you. Even though I tried really hard, I couldn’t. You might not have my DNA, but you’re mine. I’ve been with you almost since the beginning. I saw you as a tiny blob on the ultrasound screen and felt you move beneath my hand.”
Tears clouded my vision. “No matter what happens, I want you to know I’m here for you. As long as I’m breathing, no one is ever going to try to hurt you again.”
At a sniffle in the doorway, I tore my gaze from Luca. While I expected to see Bea, Caterina stood framed in the doorway. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“How long have you been standing there?” I demanded in a hoarse voice.
“Oh Leo,” she hiccupped.
Fuck. She’d heard everything. While my mortification scorched my cheeks, Caterina crossed the room to Luca and me. Without a word, she bent over and threw her arms around my neck.
As she wept, I brought my free arm up to cup the back of her neck. “I must’ve been some bastard earlier, huh?” I teased.
“I thought I’d lost my brother.”
