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Mr. Roman. Yeah, I guess that’s who I was, a stranger that showed up out of nowhere. I tried to not let my disappointment show.
“Nice to see you again, Romina. You are right. I’m going to take you and your mom out to lunch. Sound good?”
“Yay!” She clapped her hands. “Are we gonna go somewhere nice in the city?”
“No.” I smiled and looked at Salvatrice, who was waiting to hear my plans. “We’re gonna go out to sea. I arranged for a small yacht for us with a chef to serve lunch.”
Romina started skipping around in circles and Salva stepped closer, hugging her body like she was shielding herself from me.
“You didn’t have to do this, Roman. We could have just grabbed a bite somewhere nearby.”
I put my hands in my pockets and rolled my eyes.
“You said she likes the boats in the marina.”
“She does, but…”
“I want her to like me, Salva.” I let out a long breath. “I’m terrified she won’t. I mean, look at me; I have my most expensive suit on. I really don’t know how to do this.”
“Roman.” She coated my name in sweetness. “I’m so sorry. I know this is all me. Look, Remy is the sweetest child. She’s naturally good and she’s already your fan since you gave her a hundred euros for ballet. She’s also very smart. I’ll tell her everything and give you a fair shot at actually knowing your daughter. I owe you that much and…” She took a deep breath. “You and Remy will have a great relationship.”
She looked away and her eyes, usually clear, were burning with determination. It was odd to see her so cooperative when I knew very well that she hated the idea that Romina could have contact with my lifestyle and famiglia. This wasn’t the time to look into that.
The three of us walked together to the marina. Salva looked pretty relaxed, but with every step that Romina took, every time she ventured in front of us, my heart skipped a beat.
“Shouldn’t we hold her hand or something? What if she falls?”
“Roman, she’ll be alright. It’s adorable how worried you are. It gives me peace of mind to know you’ll take care of her.”
Again, her words made me frown, not sure I was following.
“Did you think it would be any different? Was there a moment when we were together that I wasn’t committed to protecting you, Salvatrice?”
“No.” Her voice was small.
“She’s my child. Even if Romina decides that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.”
Salva exhaled, looking relieved and nodded.
“I’ve always known you’d be a good father, Roman.”
“Then why didn’t you let me be one?” I bit my tongue when I heard my sharp tone. “Sorry. I think I need to find a way to let a few things go.”
“You’re entitled to hate me. Me leaving had nothing to do with who you were when we were together, but with who you were when I wasn’t around. When I found out I was pregnant, my first instinct was to go even further away; that’s when I decided to leave the country. I would have done anything for Remy to never know that an arm’s length away, there’s a dark world of violence and crime. Shit, I didn’t even want to think you were part of that.”
“Salva, we’ll talk about that later.”
We made it to the yacht and the captain that I talked to the other day was waiting proudly next to his beauty of a boat: Perugia. I stepped aboard first, taking Remy in my arms and releasing her on the deck. She was enchanted by everything and started bombarding the captain with questions right away. Curious little mind, just like her daddy.
I offered Salva my hand and she took it, taking a big step to get to me, but when she put her foot down the deck, her heel slipped. She would have landed on her stomach if I hadn’t been there to catch her. I gripped her waist firmly with both my arms and brought her to my chest. I expected a to feel something, a jolt of energy, from the closeness, but it never came. There was no shock between us. My body recognized every line, every curve molding onto me.
I helped her back to her feet but didn’t let go. Having Salvatrice back in my arms was like coming home after a long war in the arid wilderness of a desert.
“Are you ok? Did you hurt your feet?”
“No.”
“Good.”
