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“Sit,” Dad says as we reach the dining room table. He takes the head of the table while I sit to his right, and Rome beside me. Dad looks up at me, staring at me for a long while before he speaks. “It’s been too long, Elisabetta,” he tells me. “And I’m sorry for my hand in it. I wanted you to know that my choices may not have been what you wanted, but I tried my best.”
“I know, Daddy.”
“Your mother would’ve been proud of you,” he says then, making my heart ache in my chest. “She was always the one telling me that you’ll be a handful, and after she died, I realized that I couldn’t be both mother and father. I wasn’t like her. She was far stronger than me.”
“You were strong for me,” I tell him. “You were the one who showed me that being independent was the way you survive in a cruel world.”
He smiles. It’s a sad one, and I want to go to him, to hold him and tell him that I’ll always be his little girl, but he speaks. “I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you. I had a long talk with Marco.”
“Oh?”
“He told me that you asked him for help, and that made me realize that I wasn’t the easiest person to come to. My focus was on work instead of my daughter, and that’s where I failed you.”
“Dad—”
“Let me finish,” he says, holding up his hand. “I’m here, and I’ll always be here. I should’ve made you feel like you could come to me with anything.” Then Dad’s eyes land on Rome. “And now that you’ve found someone to share your life with,” he says. “All I can say is that I’ll be here until my last breath to support you both.”
“Thank—”
“However,” he interrupts me once more, his shrewd gaze focused on the man beside me. “If I ever hear that my daughter has cried, has been hurt, or that she’s been in any danger, I will come for you, Rome Donovan.”
My heart catapults in my chest. “How did you know his name?”
Dad smiles. “I have my ways.”
“Marco came to see me as well,” Rome tells my dad. “And let me tell you the same thing I told him. Elisabet is special. She’s given me a new lease on life, and I will do everything in my power to make sure she lives her dreams. I want to see her smile every day and hear her laugh every moment I’m beside her. And if ever she does cry, it will be tears of happiness.”
“Rome—”
“And if ever she is sad, or heartbroken, I will be there to pick up her pieces and hold her until she can find her way back to herself.”
Tears burn my eyes, as my gaze flits between both men who talk over me as if I’m not even there. But I can’t even be angry about it because my heart is full.
“That’s what I needed to hear,” Dad says, nodding with a grin on his face. Our dinner is served at that moment. I’m lost in the quiet of both men agreeing to care for me with all they have.
“Your father loves me,” Rome tells me as we step into the apartment. He looks so satisfied with himself, I can’t help but laugh. “What?”
“He tolerates you because he knows I love you,” I tell him while wrapping my arms around his waist. “And he knows that if he were to forbid me from seeing you, I’d only do it anyway.”
“Are you trying to tell me that the man who raised you just can’t accept that you may love another man more than you love him?” Rome teases, tapping the tip of my nose with his index finger.
“Don’t be cocky.”
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s a bit difficult for me not to be cocky. I mean, you know how big it is,” he retorts, rolling his hips against me, and even though he’s not hard, I can feel the bulge on my stomach.
“Rome.”
“Just saying, sweetheart.” He winks playfully before swooping down and scooping me up. Without another word, Rome carries me into the bedroom I know I’m not getting any sleep tonight because he’s going to be proving his point until I’m a satisfied mess.
Chapter 33
Elisabet
The sun sets on the horizon, giving off a golden glow to the view. The ocean has turned a darker shade of blue, while the beach sand is taking on the same hue of the reddish-orange of the sky. Even though it’s nearing early evening, the air is still heavily humid.
I push my sunglasses up onto my head and sit up straighter. Watching Rome in the ocean has been rather fun, but I need to talk to him. I stand, shaking off the nerves that have hold of me.
