“OK. I’ll tell him. And if he proposes, I’ll say no. For now.”
Benedetto smiled and patted my hand. “Watching you drive this boy crazy will be an endless source of entertainment for me. I hate that I will miss so much when you’re back in Texas.”
“Thank you,” I said.
His expression turned serious, and I saw something in his eyes that made my heart ache. He seemed to be in pain. “I haven’t been the father you deserved. I failed you. I’ll never forgive myself for failing you. But know that I will use the rest of my time on earth to make sure I never fail you again. I can’t change your past, passerotta. If I could, I would take it all away. But I can’t. I can only do what is in my power. And I will use every ounce of that power to ensure that your life is full of sunlight and joy from here on out.”
Tears welled in my eyes, and I tried not to blink so they wouldn’t roll down my face. I didn’t have to tell him about my past. Looking into his eyes, I felt he already knew. I wasn’t sure what he knew, but he knew something. And it was enough.
Mase
It was late when Reese finally made it to the bedroom. I had struggled with the desire to check on her several times, but she had been with her father, and they needed that time together. This was her chance to heal from the anger and pain she carried toward him.
I was sitting on the end of the bed when the door opened and she walked in. Seeing the smile on her face helped ease my mind, and I jumped up and rushed over to her to make sure she was OK. “Hey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms and inhaling her sweet scent.
“Hey,” she replied. “Sorry I’m so late. We ended up talking a lot longer than I expected.”
“About the past?” I asked, pulling back to look at her.
“Yes and no. We also talked about happy things. His childhood and how he met my mother. Things like that. Things I never knew or understood.”
“Did it help?” I wanted it to help. It would never erase her past, but I wanted her to be able to close the door on it.
“Yes. It helped a lot.” She paused, and I waited. “But that wasn’t why I wanted to talk to him. I came here for another reason.”
The touch of uncertainty and fear in her voice didn’t sit well with me. The walls she had built were about to come down, and I was scared to find out why she had built them to begin with. What did she need to talk to her father about that she couldn’t entrust to me?
“Mase, I . . . see, um, I . . .” She stopped and let out a frustrated sigh as she struggled to put words together. I watched her close her eyes tightly and inhale deeply. This wasn’t easy for her, and that terrified me. What could she possibly need to tell me that was this hard?
“Reese? Baby, whatever you have to say, I can take. I’m here. Just tell me.”
She nodded and opened her eyes to look at me again. “OK. I want you to know that this wasn’t planned, and this is not a trap. I’d never do that. I do not expect a thing. I just . . . I just need you to believe me when I say that. I don’t want you to ever think this was on purpose.”
She was rambling, and I was getting more nervous by the second.
“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out, and her eyes went wide, as if she couldn’t believe she’d said it out loud.
That was what she was so scared to tell me? She was going to have my baby? I stared at her in awe and let my gaze fall to her flat stomach. We had created a life, and it was inside her. She was carrying it. Our baby.
“I swear, I don’t expect a thing. If you aren’t ready for this, Benedetto said I can stay here with him. So don’t think you have to—”
“Wait, what?” I snapped my gaze back up to meet hers. “Stay with him? Why would you stay with him? We have a home. Our home. Our baby’s home. You’ll stay with me. Both of you.”
Her shoulders slumped with a sigh, and I wanted it to be one of relief. Why she thought she had to prepare for me to kick her out I had no idea. Didn’t she understand that when I said she was my future, I fucking meant she was my future?
“There’s no pressure. It happened, and it’s my fault. I forgot to take a pill that day that . . . Marco came. I took two the next day when I realized it, but apparently, that didn’t work. I don’t want you to think you have to do anything you’re not ready for.”
This woman was having my baby, and I worshipped the ground she walked on. How in God’s name did she think I’d feel pressured to do anything when it came to her? I loved doing things for her. “Reese, baby, I love you. I don’t say those words easily. When I tell you that I love you and you’re my world, I mean it. They aren’t words that I just throw around. You’ve given me your heart, and I thought you’d given me your trust, too. Apparently, I don’t have all of you yet, and that’s my fault. I failed somehow. I haven’t made sure you know just how important you are to me. You’re having my baby, Reese. The woman I love is carrying my baby inside of her. Do you know how fucking thrilled I am right now? You are mine.” I walked over and put my hand on her stomach. “This is mine. And I’m not ever letting go of either of you.”
Reese laid her head on my chest and let out a small sob. I cradled her against me. She was so scared of people turning on her, but she expected it. From everyone. Except Benedetto. She’d trusted him. She had told him. How did he get the trust that I didn’t have? What did he do right that I had done wrong?
When I picked up the ring I had found last week and was having resized, I would prove to her that she had me. Hell, she’d had me the morning she sang off key and shook her ass in my face. I hadn’t realized it then, but she’d had me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. It was just a surprise to me, and I wasn’t sure how you would react. I didn’t want to force anything on you.”
I cupped her face in my hands. “In this life, you will always be my number one priority. Your happiness is my goal. Never doubt me again. Promise me that,” I said, needing to know that next time, she’d come to me. Not her father.
She nodded. “OK. I promise.”
I kissed her lips gently. I wanted to get her naked and inspect every inch of her body to see if it had changed. Were her hips wider and I hadn’t noticed? Did her stomach show any signs? Were her breasts tender?
“I need you to do something for me,” I told her, reluctantly letting go of her mouth.
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
“Get naked. Let me explore and see if I can find any changes,” I said with a grin I couldn’t wipe off my face.
She blushed. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Very.”
I could see the arousal in her eyes as she watched me. She liked the idea of me touching her everywhere. Paying extra attention to areas she loved me to kiss.
“I’ll give those sensitive nipples special attention,” I promised as I slid my hands to the waistline of her skirt.
“Oh?” she asked, leaning into me.
“Mm-hmm. Any other tender place that needs my expertise?” I asked, cupping her ass in my hands.
“Ahhh . . . yes.” She arched into me.
“Then let’s get you undressed and find out just where I need to kiss. This could take hours.”
Reese lifted her hands into the air and gazed up at me. All that trust in her eyes made me want to beat my chest and roar. This was my woman. I’d never let her down.
Reese
When we left Chicago, Nonna was already knitting a baby blanket. My father had been right. She was ecstatic. Raul had also been thrilled. He kept referring to himself as Uncle Raul for the rest of our stay. But after three days, I knew we needed to get home and tell Mase’s parents.