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“A shitty one. Honestly, I don’t care about the money. I make way more money than he does anyway. The only thing I want from him is time for Luke, and he can’t seem to even manage that. It’s a struggle for Luke at times.”
“And then my daughter rubbed salt in the wound.”
“It’s not ideal, but they’re kids. They don’t quite understand exactly what they’re saying.” I turn and look at them laughing and playing together. “They seem to have moved on.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Can we move on?”
“Does it matter? We’re not in each other’s lives.”
He briefly pauses, as if thinking. “I’ve been putting this off, given our history, but I need your legal expertise.”
“Call Cassandra. You’ve worked with her before.”
“I have. She can’t get to it in our timeframe. Time is of the essence. Reagan told me to hire you specifically.”
I close my eyes for a brief moment. “Send everything to my office in the morning. I’ll take a look.”
He smiles. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. “Thank you.”
Before anything else can be said, they bring our pizza, and the kids return.
I do my best to make it through lunch sitting across from the man I’ve never been able to get out of my mind, knowing that I’m about to work with him and still desperately attracted to him.
CHAPTERFOUR
DOMINIC
Ilook at Gabriela’s face on the computer screen. “How’s your mother doing?”
She shakes her head. “She’s not well. When I came down here, I wasn’t sure of the timeframe. It’s going to be slowly drawn out. She’s dying but it won’t happen this month or next. She’s so frail. I hate seeing her suffer this way.”
“I’m sorry. I know firsthand how hard it is to watch your mother slowly die.”
“I know you do. Thank you. The two of them will be reunited soon enough.” My mother and Gabriela’s were childhood best friends which carried through until the day my mother died.
“How’s your father?”
She lets out a laugh. “You know how he is. He’s barking out orders, yelling at everyone within a ten-mile radius, throwing his money and power around at the doctors and hospital as if it will cure her. Always the puppet master, needing to pull all the strings.” She rolls her dark brown eyes. “He’s pissed as hell that the kids aren’t with me. He’s been ranting about it since I got here. How are they managing?”
I smile. “They’re doing well. Valentina seems to have made many friends at her new school. Matteo is quiet, as always, but I think being around other children all day is best for him.”
She shakes her head. “I still disagree. It makes him uncomfortable. You should have hired a nanny to stay home with him all day.”
“It’s uncomfortable because staying home is all he’s ever known, with you refusing to properly socialize him.”
“Dom, it’s embarrassing to have the one kid in a playgroup who doesn’t want to play with the others. It was hard for me.”
“It’s not really about what’s best for you. It’s about what’s best for him. Kids need to socialize with other kids. It’s an important part of their development. You can’t lock him away forever.”
She sighs. “I didn’t call to fight, especially about this never-ending topic. I don’t have it in me. Have the kids Facetime me when they wake up in the morning.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I will.”
* * *
TEN YEARS AGO
I hold my mother’s hand, knowing she’s about to take her last few breaths. Tears are streaming down my face.
