AllFreeNovel
Share Us
William wrapped an arm around Antonio’s shoulders and pulled him into a bear hug. “Go be happy. You deserve it.”
Antonio clapped him on the back, his throat constricting. When he stood back, it was to see William grinning from ear to ear. The scar no longer stood out. Just the glimpse of the boy Antonio had once known and the man he’d become.
Isabella moved to his side and enfolded him in an embrace. “My child.” She leaned back and smiled. “Despite your ridiculous height, always my child. Not my husband, not my protector. It was not your job to assume so much responsibility, and I’m so sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Adrian chimed in. “Madreand I...we had a lot to work through. Still do.” He came up and put an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her forehead that put another sparkling sheen of tears in her eyes. “But it’s much better now.”
“Father and I are even getting along,” Alejandro added from the chair. “Telling him we’re having his first grandchild helped matters.”
Adrian rolled his eyes. “By a month.”
“What about Father?” Antonio asked, his gaze going back to his mother. “At the wedding, you said things weren’t going well.”
“They weren’t.” Isabella sighed. “I was in a bad place for a long time. I maintained a rosy view of what your father and I had. I made excuses for him not being there, for him not being involved in your lives. He shared some things with me this summer, too, that hurt very deeply.” She inhaled, her shoulders straightening. “But he’s working on himself, just as I’m working on myself. We want to make our marriage work. It’s not easy. It’s very, very hard. But sometimes you have to fight harder than others.”
Antonio let out a harsh breath. “Anna and I...relationship wasn’t what you think it was.”
“Drop the pretense, baby brother.” Alejandro stood in one fluid motion and stalked closer. “Adrian overheard you fighting at the reception.”
“What exactly did you hear?” Antonio asked with a glance at Adrian.
“Every word. The fake relationship was a nice touch. Although,” Adrian added, “it looked damn real to me in those photos.”
It had felt real, too.
“She won’t want to be with me. Not after I pushed her away.”
Isabella shook her head. “I can’t believe that. Not with the way she looked at you.”
“You don’t understand,Madre. I’ve hurt her so much.”
“That’s a risk we all take when we care about someone.”
All heads swung toward Alejandro.
“What?” He grinned. “I’m in love. And so are you, even if you deny it,” he added to Antonio.
Adrian hit something on the screen of his phone then handed it to Antonio. His heart twisted. It was a tabloid article, the headline screaming Hotel Billionaire and Childhood Sweetheart Indulge in Ice Cream in Italy.
Sorbet, he mentally ground out. But then his eyes landed on the picture. Anna’s eyes were partially shut, her mouth open in a laugh as sorbet dripped over her fingers. A photo most women would shudder to see; normalcy instead of poised elegance.
But Anna looked happy. Happy and beautiful and joyful, her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, her mint-colored skirt and white blouse shown off to perfection against her tanned skin.
His gaze slid over. In the photo, he was smiling at Anna. Truly smiling, his lips curved up at the corners, his eyes crinkled as he watched her. It had been early in the second week, after he’d taken her to bed. One hand rested on her knee, fingers splayed across her skin that he remembered had felt like warm silk beneath his touch. She made him enjoy the little things in life, achieve a balance that had eluded him until she’d literally landed back in his life and offered him her heart once more.
“Dios mío, what have I done?”
“Get him the whiskey,” Adrian ordered.
Alejandro pressed a glass into Antonio’s hands.
“Don’t worry. Alejandro and I have both been where you’re at.”
“Just a couple months’ ago, actually,” Alejandro added cheerfully. “And look at us now.”
“I said things to her...horrible things.” The whiskey burned a trail down his throat, but also banished some of the panic threatening to burst in.
“Yeah, I think you said even worse things than Adrian did when he broke things off with Everleigh.”
