Page 93 of Secret Seduction

“And now?” I prompt, having a feeling I know where this is going.

“And now, I still do. But I also want to be a mom and a wife. Peyton went back to work, and she loves it, and Bri swears she’ll be back to work the second she’s cleared, but I …” She shrugs. “I feel like I have to choose between my career and my family, and as much as I love Russo, I love my family more.”

“I’m not a mom,” I say, glancing at Leo and then back at Dani. “But I had a mom who wanted nothing to do with me. On top of her working the hours she needed to pay the bills, she would go out trolling for men, trying to meet her Prince Charming, and all I wanted was for her to spend time with me.

“Many women have to work, and for those who want to work, that’s okay. Peyton’s babies are older, and Bri hasn’t had to leave her baby yet. But if you want to stay home with your babies, then that’s okay too. Because you can do that. Not everyone has that luxury. And …” I glance up and spot Lorenzo standing in the doorway. He must’ve come in through the back door, and from the look on his face, he’s been listening.

“And … I have no doubt that Lorenzo will more than understand your want and need to be home with your babies. Life is too short to not do what makes you happy. If your dreams include staying home with your babies, then that’s what you should do.”

“And I will more than understand,” Lorenzo says, making his presence known.

“Oh God!” Dani shrieks. “You knew he was there?”

“Not until she told you that I would understand,” Lorenzo tells her. “And she’s correct. That forty-nine percent is yours whether you work for Russo or not.”

Leo waddles over to Lorenzo, and he picks up his son, gives him a kiss on his forehead, and then looks at Dani.

“If, one day, you decide you want to work for Russo, there will always be a position for you. But if you decide it’s not for you, that’s okay. We’ve lost too many people in our lives. We have been through too much to not do what makes us happy.”

“Thank you,” Dani says, standing and hugging her brother.

Leo gets squished in their hug and squeals, making everyone laugh.

“And thank you,” she says to me, hugging me.

“For what? Listening?” I scoff, waving her off.

“For not judging and making me feel like it’s okay to do what will make me happy.” Dani smiles a watery smile. “I’m going to miss you. Promise you’ll visit often?”

She hugs me again, and as I hug her back, emotion clogs my throat, preventing me from saying anything back. Even though the words I spoke were meant for her, I can’t help but wonder if they were also meant for me—because my dreams … they used to be clear as day, and now, they’re starting to look a little different.

32

Lorenzo

When I walked into the condo, using the back elevator, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on Vanessa and Dani. Maintenance had been fixing an issue with the main elevator, and rather than wait, since only one elevator goes up to my floor, I had gone around to my private elevator, not wanting to wait to pick up Vanessa and get our weekend started.

My plan was to show her how much I loved her and convince her that we were worth fighting for. That even though she’d be living across the country, I wanted to be with her.

But then I listened to her tell Dani that life was too short not to follow her dreams, and it reminded me that Vanessa deserved to follow her dreams and not have them weighed down by me and Leo.

She had told me once that after graduation, she wanted to get a job with a fashion designer and that most headquarters were in New York and Los Angeles. If she thinks that I’m in Harbor Point, waiting for her, she’s not going to follow her dreams. And she’s worked too hard to throw it all away for anyone, including me.

At first, the age difference kept me from touching her because I didn’t want to look like a creeper, but as I got to know her, her age was pushed aside and replaced by her personality and selflessness. She’s far more mature than most people her age. So, I stopped focusing on her age and let myself see her for who she was—a beautiful, caring woman on the inside and out.

But as I listened to her tell Dani to follow her dreams, I was reminded not only of her age, but mine. We’re in two different places in our lives. I already went to college and followed my dreams. I get up every day and do what I love. I want to find someone to share my life with, but not at the expense of the other person’s dreams, and if I were to tell Vanessa that I was willing to wait for her, that’s what I would be doing. Every decision she made would be tainted, and we’d always wonder if the choices she made about her future were what she genuinely wanted or if she was compromising to be with me.

This trip was supposed to serve as a way to show her that what was happening between us was real and could be just the beginning, but now, despite it tearing me apart inside, I know it has to be our goodbye because I love Vanessa too much not to let her walk away.

“Lorenzo,” Vanessa gasps when we step into the Presidential Suite at the Hard Rock Hotel.

It’s not my favorite hotel, and in my opinion, it’s overrated, but it has a legal casino, and I thought it would be fun to wine and dine her and gamble the weekend away.

“What are we doing here?” she asks, taking in the twelve-hundred-square-foot suite, complete with a living room, dining room, and wet bar.

“Well …” I say, snaking my arm around her waist from behind and pulling her into my chest.

She smells like her signature floral scent, which I learned is Tom Ford Rose—a gift from one of the parties she attended with the designer she interned with. She joked that she was careful with it because once it ran out, she’d never be able to afford to replace it.