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Now I felt guilty for hating her father for so long. I should have given this to her a long time ago. “I don’t know about the best friend part, but I respect your father. I respect him for raising you. Where would I be if he hadn’t done that? Where would I be if I didn’t have you?” I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes, treasuring the single most important thing in the world.
“Griffin…”
The only time I’d ever shed tears was when I walked away from Vanessa. I’d kissed her goodbye and left the house, knowing I would lose her forever. Every step I took put the distance between us, and that made the tears grow bigger and bigger. It was the only instance in my adult life when I felt something so strong that it broke through my callous soul. I felt something similar now, but fainter. “Look at me.” I opened my eyes and stared at her face, seeing the way she kept her eyes closed as I held her.
She opened her eyes, the surface of those green gems still shiny.
“We have everything we want now, baby. Be happy.”
“I am happy…that’s the problem.” She chuckled and blinked her eyes quickly, trying to dispel the moisture.
I kissed the corner of each eye, getting the salt on my tongue. “Let’s visit your nephew now.” My hand cupped her cheek, my fingers reaching into her hairline. There was something arousing about comforting her, taking care of her. I’d never loved someone so much, not like this. I loved my boys and I loved my mother, but this was different. I’d trade my life for hers in a heartbeat—without even thinking about it. Her tears were my tears. Her pain was my pain.
“Okay.”
I kissed her on the mouth, a simple kiss that was soft and sensual.
When she pulled away, she rubbed her nose against mine. “I love you.”
I moved my lips to her forehead and kissed her, embracing her in a way I never embraced any other woman. “I love you.” My arm moved around her waist, and I guided her to the sitting room near the back of the house.
When we stepped inside, Sapphire was comfortable on the couch, wearing a long dress that was loose around her stomach. Her hair was pulled back, and she looked exhausted, like motherhood was just as hard as people described. But she also glowed even though she was no longer pregnant. She watched Conway cradle their son in a single arm, Reid wrapped up in a blue blanket. A quiet coo came from the bundle, and a small hand rose to reach for Conway’s face.
Sapphire smiled. “He loves you already, Con.”
“He does,” Conway said in agreement. “But he loves you more…and I’m okay with it.”
Carter turned to me first. “Hey, man. Glad you’re back.” He greeted me with a handshake, behaving like I hadn’t just helped him pull off a crazy stunt. Together, we found a corpse to replace Mia so we could get her away from Egor. No big deal.
“Thanks.” I shook his hand firmly before I turned to Carmen. I considered giving her a one-armed hug, but since her father was there, I just gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “How are you, Carmen?”
She made a disgusted face. “What the hell was that?”
“What?” I asked, dead serious.
“This weird thing…” She patted me on the shoulder awkwardly. “Come on, you can do better than that.”
A restrained grin came across my face.
She moved in and hugged me, squeezing me hard like we were family. She hugged me when we saw each other in Florence, but since her father wasn’t watching every little move I made at those times, I was a lot more comfortable. Things were going really well with the Barsetti family, and I didn’t want to cross a line and fuck everything up again. “This is how you hug family, Griffin. Learn from your mistake.”
I chuckled. “Alright, I will.” Carmen was still my favorite Barsetti. Her blunt candor was refreshing. When she smiled, it was sincere. She talked to me like a friend when she didn’t even know me. She was the only Barsetti to give me a real chance, to trust Vanessa’s instincts and accept me.
Cane came next. A guilty look was in his eyes, like he knew that whole charade was because of him. “Heard everything went well. Glad you’re back home.” He gave me a one-armed hug then patted me on the back. “My daughter tells me you walk her home all the time?”
After we went out for drinks or dinner, I always did. “Yeah.”
Cane gave me a look of gratitude—and remorse. “Thanks, man. That means a lot to me.”
“She doesn’t need me to walk her home,” I said in Carmen’s defense. “I just do it because I like her.”
