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Once we make it to the living room I find myself sitting on an overstuffed love seat with the two of them side by side on a couch facing me over a wooden coffee table. I’m trying tofigure out where to start, when Dante dives headlong into the conversation.
“I’m glad you’re here, Detective Turner. That entire day was kind of a blur for me but I know you saved Violet and I’m not sure I properly thanked you at the hospital.” He throws his arm over Violet’s shoulder, dwarfing her as she looks up at him with adoration in her eyes, and pulls her closer into his side. I’m about to do my standard deflection of thanks once again but before I can get the words out of my mouth he continues on. “I also heard about how you saved Bianca last week. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for this family.”
“It’s not a problem, sir. She wouldn’t have even been in any danger if it wasn’t for me.”
“Nonsense. You didn’t do anything but love her. It’s not your fault what happened to her any more than it’s my fault what happened to Violet.” I’m not sure that’s true, but I decide it’s probably in my best interest at this point to not argue with the man that can help me get the love of my life back.
“I’m just glad everything worked out well and nobody was hurt. Actually, I was hoping I could speak to you about Bianca.”
“I thought that’s why you might be here.”
Violet gives me a look that’s laced with sympathy and pops up from the couch. “I’m going to let you two talk. There’s some work I need to get done upstairs in the office.”
“Are you sure, baby?” Dante asks her.
“Yeah, I think this is a talk the two of you should be having and I should stay out of it.” As she walks past me towards the stairs she gives me a pat on the shoulder. “But I’m rooting for you, Carson Turner.”
I’m not sure if I should be happy about the fact that one of Bianca’s best friends is rooting for me or deflated that she feels the need to tell me she is in the first place. I decide I’ll stick to the happy feeling and hold on tightly.
“So, you and Bianca, huh?” Dante seems to be searching my face looking for the slightest sign I don’t have the purest of intentions when it comes to his daughter, but at least I know in that regard, he won’t find anything to disappoint him. I only want what’s best for Bianca. It just so happens that I’m what’s best for her.
“She’s an amazing woman. But I’ve messed things up between us and I’m hoping you can give me some advice.”
“I’m not going to lie to you. Bianca is as stubborn as they come. In fact, if she knew you were here talking to me she would be pissed.” I open my mouth to respond to that but he holds up a hand stopping me. “I’m not going to tell her you were here. I’m completely loyal to my daughter and I’ll always do what I think is best for her, even if we happen to disagree on what that is.”
I merely nod my head, letting him continue. “Bianca has been happy for the last few months. Happier than I’ve seen her in a very long time. It wasn’t until recently that I learned that was in large part due to you and your son. Are you too old for her? Maybe.” His eyes wander to the stairs that Violet just disappeared up. “But who am I to judge something like that? As long as the both of you care about each other I’ll be happy for the both of you.”
Hearing that I have her father’s blessing would feel like a weight lifted off my shoulders but unfortunately, I don’t have Bianca’s blessing yet. “Thank you, I really appreciate that. But I’ve messed up when it comes to her. I tried to do the right thing but I went about it the wrong way and now she thinks we aren’t right for each other. That I’m going to get tired of her. She’s completely shut me out and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Dante leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands together while watching me closely. “Bianca has one of the biggest hearts there is. Even I didn’t know how loving and thoughtful she was until she accepted Violet and mewith barely a fight. The one thing she never talks about, not even to me really, is the accident and her infertility. Until the two of you broke up, she hadn’t even told Violet or Hollie about it.”
I flinch a little at that. I obviously knew this was her biggest insecurity but she had never even told her closest friends about it? The size and scale of my fuck up keeps growing and growing.
“When she came over here a week ago, asking if she could stay until I found her a new place I basically forced her to tell me what was going on.”
“She’s moving?” I almost shout the words but manage to calm myself down. No matter how bad things got I could always comfort myself with the fact that she was right next door, I still had a shot as long as she was within arm’s reach. I figured this stay at her father’s was just a short-term thing to help with Violet and maybe get a little break from our forced proximity. I wasn’t expecting her to move.
“The house she’s living in is one of my rentals and she wants to switch to a different one, but I don’t have anything else available right now. There’s one that’s under construction and should be ready sometime next month but for now she’s stuck there.”
My level of desperation has just shot up significantly. I’m going to need Dante’s help more than I thought I would. “Look, I’m not used to asking for help but I need yours here. I don’t know what to do. I can’t get her to even talk to me, let alone give me another chance. There has to be some way to get through to her, to make her understand.”
“Once Bianca makes up her mind,reallymakes it up, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her change it. I can tell you love her.”
He goes silent then, still watching me closely, waiting for a confirmation I have no problem giving. “She’s the love of my life. I want to be with her forever. I don’t care that she can’t have children, all I want is her.”
Dante nods his head like I’m confirming something he already knew. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve already tried encouraging her to rethink her position on this but she seems determined to stand by her decision.” I try not to let this piece of information deflate me, but if she won’t listen to her father, I’m not sure what hope I have of getting her to listen to me. “I don’t think she’s going to be persuaded by words. You’re going to have to think of a way to show her how serious you are about her.”
“I’m starting to get that feeling. It doesn’t seem like anything I’ve said is getting through to her.”
“Like I said, you’re going to have to find a way to show her. I don’t know how but I honestly hope you get through to her. Otherwise, I worry that she may stay alone for the rest of her life.”
The thought that the men she’s dated, myself included apparently, may have damaged her psyche so much that she’d stay alone forever is enough to make me feel like a villain. Dante is right, I have to find some way to show her how much I love her. That she’s the only person in the world for me.
After thanking him and leaving, I get in my car and drive aimlessly for a while, letting my thoughts drift. How can I show Bianca how much I love her? Obviously, daily texts and flowers aren’t the way to go. I’m not rich like Archer Clarke, I can’t buy her some expensive painting, though to be honest, I don’t think Bianca is the type to be swayed by that type of thing anyway. Hell, she has the painting he gave her for her birthday hanging above her bed for her own enjoyment, it’s not even out on display for others to see. No, she doesn’t need an expensive gesture, she needs something big but personal to her and our situation.
My mind is stuck in a loop of ways to show her what she means to me but I discard every idea as soon as it comes to mind. Nothing seems good enough, big enough to show her she’s theonly thing I want, that I’ll ever want. To be honest, the thought of having kids with someone who isn’t Bianca makes me slightly nauseas.
There’s one idea that I’ve been kicking around in the back of my mind for several days. I think it might be the only option I have left. My big Hail Mary. If I do this, and she still won’t take me back, then I really will be fucked. I’m just a little worried she might think I’ve gone too big. Been a little too crazy. But maybe it’s time I take a page out of Bianca’s book and be a little reckless. If I can get her back, it will be well worth it.
