Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Her back hits the wall behind us, the air leaving her lungs with a soft puff that escapes her lips. “Yes, you’ve taken care of me, and I appreciate what you’re doing for my baby, but adoption?” She points a finger toward the restaurant. “What you said in there… Are you out of your mind?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “My mind has never been clearer.”
She pushes up against the wall, flattening her body, the stance reminding me of the night we met.
Searching my eyes, she says, “You told Justi—”
I bite off every word. “Do not say his name.”
“You told him you’ll have paperwork delivered.” She drags in an audible breath. “To sign over his paternal rights.”
I slam a palm next to her face on the wall. “Damn right. He’ll sign it over even if I have to cut off every finger on his left hand.” My smile is mocking. Savage. “I’ll start with his ring finger. He won’t miss it too much. He doesn’t wear a wedding ring anyway.”
“Why?” she asks, her pretty face scrunched up with confusion. “Why would you force him to do that?”
I lean in. “Because he can take the baby away from you. Have you thought about that?”
She blanches.
“Yes,” I continue. “If he wants to, he can file for custody, and not you or I will be able to win a court case.”
“Because of whom you are,” she whispers, shock washing over her features. “Because I’m with you.”
“Because he’s an asshole.”
“He can simply denounce his paternal rights.” Her voice is pained. “Why do you want to adopt my baby, Saverio?”
I snap my teeth together and grind my molars so hard my jaw aches.
Why indeed?
It takes only a moment to school my features, to lock the violence in the cage with my beast and find that place where I can ignore my emotions before they show on my face.
“You’re going to marry me,” I say. “Your baby will need a father.”
“A father,” she says with an ironic chuckle.
“Yes.” I straighten and drop my hand to my side, releasing her from the prison of my arm. “A father who can protect him and take him fishing, teach him what to say to a girl if he truly likes her, how to drive a vintage car...”
“And how to handle a gun.”
“You can handle a gun.”
She folds her arms behind her and leans against the wall. Her tone is soft but earnest, perhaps all the more earnest because it’s so soft. “I won’t give up my child, Saverio. Never. I’ll fight whoever tries to take her away from me until my last breath.”
And there she is, the lioness I admire.
I cup her cheek. The coldness of her skin penetrates my palm. “I know, tesoro. I don’t expect you to give him up. Even I’m not that cruel.”
“Why?” she asks again, giving me that look she does when she’s trying to figure me out. “Why would you do something like that for a child who isn’t yours, a child of a woman you don’t even love?”
“You know the answer. You want to hear it again? I own your life. You’re mine, and I told you I take care of what’s mine. I already took responsibility for the baby inside you from the moment you told me you were pregnant. It’s my job to keep both of you safe, and I take my duties very seriously.”
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, something sad reflecting in her eyes despite the vow I just made.
“I’m not a good man.” I brush a thumb under her eye, tracing the softness of that spot. “But I know how to be a good father.”
“I suppose, once again, you’re not giving me a say in the matter,” she says with an accusation burning in her gaze.
I pull my hand away from her face. No. What she says matters, but it won’t change anything.
“It is what it is,” I say, willing her to accept our situation and spare herself a lot of suffering. “We’re getting married, and I’ll be the best father I can be for your child.”
She nods, but the gesture is absent-minded.
Sensing her slipping away from me mentally, I take her hand. “Come back inside. You didn’t even take your coat.” I rub her arm. “You’re cold. We’ll have a warm meal and a mocktail. You’ll feel better for it.”
“Just take me home,” she says, hugging herself.
I can’t deny her the little things when she has no say about the major decisions in her life.
Shielding her from the cold by pulling her under my arm, I take my phone from my pocket and summon Kevin.
We go back inside for her coat. I leave a few bills, enough to pay for Kearney’s meals and ours, the ones we won’t be having after all, and do what my treasure wants.