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Antonio slowly stood, doing his suit jacket up as he went. “I came to see how Bailey was doing.”
Romeo raised a brow, his disbelief clear for us all to see, so much like his father had done to me moments ago. It took Romeo a second to process what his dad had said, but as soon as he got his bearings, he ground out, “You came, now you can leave.”
“Romeo!” I shouted, jumping up off the sofa. “Don’t be rude.” He tilted his head at me, a warning on his face that I acknowledged within seconds as I backed away. No, wait, I wasn’t going to do that. I wasn’t going to be his little pet that did whatever he wanted. The fighter in me bubbled up, taking over as I pushed my shoulders back. “No.” I told him, shocking both of them. “Don’t give me that look. Your dad came to see how I was. And I…I appreciate the fact that I’m seeing someone’s face other than yours and Raf’s.” I threw my hands up in the air. “What is with you Pagani men?”
He chuckled, looking directly at his dad. “Him. He’s what’s wrong with us.”
“Son,” Antonio warned. “Can I have a word with you?”
“As long as you leave right after,” Romeo growled, the front door still open behind him.
Antonio nodded in agreement, taking my hand one final time. He placed a piece of paper inside it. “It was so nice to meet you properly,bella. If you need anything, here is my number. Don’t hesitate to call.”
I smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. There was something about Antonio that reminded me of my own father. Maybe it was the way he stood tall and proud, or maybe it was the way he looked at me like I was precious but fierce all at the same time. “I won’t hesitate,” I told him, lifting up on my tiptoes and placing a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for coming to see me.”
He cleared his throat, flashing me one last smile, then turned around, heading right for Romeo who was watching us like we’d both grown five heads. I shrugged, making out like I didn’t know what the problem was, when I could sense that Romeo and his father didn’t have the best relationship. That, and Raf had let some things slip like how they were so alike, and how Romeo blamed his father for why his mother didn’t ever come out of the house.
“He’s gone,” I heard Antonio say to Romeo. He glanced back at me but I quickly grabbed the cups off the coffee table and made out like I didn’t hear them, but I could—I did. “Son? Did you hear what I just said?”
“What?”
“I said, he’s gone.”
I shuffled into the kitchen, not able to hear what they were saying now, but within a minute, the door was slamming shut and Romeo’s footsteps were coming closer.
“What the hell was he doing here?” he asked, beelining right for me. His arms wrapped around me from behind, his face burrowing into my neck and inhaling. “God, you smell so nice.”
Placing my hand over his, I sighed, content. I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel like this again. In fact, I didn’t think I’deverfelt like this. At peace. Truly at peace.
“He came to check on me.”
“Mmmm.” He didn’t believe that, but it didn’t matter becauseIdid.
“He was nice,” I told him, turning in his arms and tilting my head to the side, watching for each small reaction he was giving me. It was clear that when it came to his father, he wasn’t afraid to show how he was feeling. “He made me feel…” I looked away, staring at the clock on the wall and focusing on the way each of the seconds ticked by.
“Made you feel what?” Romeo asked, his voice low.
“He made me feel”—I looked back at him, staring into his dark eyes—“safe. He made me feel safe.” He blinked, a frown marring his brow at my words. I reached up, smoothing it out, hating seeing that look reflected back at me. He didn’t like talking about his dad, and I had a feeling my words were taking him to the brink that I wasn’t sure I could bring him back from. We needed a subject change, and I knew just how to make it. “Who’s gone?”
“What?” His body stiffened, his reaction telling me that he knew exactly what I was asking.
“Your dad said someone is gone, who? Who’s gone?”
He stared at me, his eyes turning impossibly darker as his hands held me tighter. “No one, angel. It’s just business. Nothing for you to worry about.”
I pursed my lips, everything in me wanting to say something back to him, but he was shutting down, making it crystal clear that itwassomething for me to worry about. But for now, I wouldn’t worry about it. For now, I was going to embrace the fact that I was happy and in Romeo’s arms.
But most importantly, that I was safe. Truly safe.
* * *
ROMEO
“Are you hungry?” Bailey asked from beside me, her finger tracing the tattoos on my chest. There was a calm clinging to us—cocooning us—that I hadn’t noticed before, but now I realized it had been there all along, just waiting to be recognized. “I can make us breakfast in bed.”
She lifted her head off my chest, her messy hair shining like a halo around her face. It was that “I just woke up” look that I fuckin’ loved on her. The fact that she’d woken upnextto me made me like it even more. Her eyes were a little puffy from sleep, her lips pursed.
Damn, I couldn’t get enough of her. I wasn’t sure I ever would get enough of her.
