Jude always learned from his screwups, and that’s why I kept going after him. Just like he came after me when I took off after his mother’s tirade. “Ti amo, tesoro.”
Clinking out glasses, I said, “Now you say you love me in Italian.”
Jude was hesitant, then said, “Ti amo, Babbo.”
My face creased into a wide grin. “You remembered that babbo translated into father or in our case, Daddy.”
We drank and our food arrived. When our server left, I said, “Don’t take a bite until I get one sentence out,” even though the pasta with steaming calamari smelled delicious.
Jude sat with his hands folded. “I’m listening, Daddy.”
“We’re going to Italy.”
Jude’s hand flew to his mouth. “Daddy,” he exclaimed. “For real?”
“Yes, for real. I’m so stoked, Jude. I’ve been longing to return.”
“Tell me everything.”
“Mangiare, and we’ll talk.”
I repeated everything that Artemis told me, and my heart expanded a hundredfold with Jude’s first reactions, which proved to me that amid his fears and doubts, he loved me.
“I’m so excited. I can learn the language and be able to speak to you in Italian and I’ll get to see where you come from. How far is Agrigento from Modena?”
“Mm…” I tried to recall from when I traveled the route when I was apprenticed at Maserati. “If I remember correctly, about eight hundred miles. I flew, but if we went, I’d suggest we take a train and you’d really be able to absorb a sense of the landscape as we travel through the unique regions.”
Jude put his fork down and pressed his hands to his flushed face. “I have the chills, Daddy. And all this will happen in six months?”
“Yup,” I said, loving Jude’s enthusiasm. “My start date is on Monday, September 1. But I’m given a paid week, giving us a few days to move into our new quarters. And since you won’t be working there, I’d depend on you to get us settled in.” I stopped short and modified my statement. “That is, if you’re with me. I don’t want to assume.”
“Daddy, not for nothing, and I don’t mean for you to think you’re my sugar daddy or anything. But shit, Daddy, you’re offering me a life that… is right out of a fantasy playbook.”
I observed Jude’s expression when I asked, “And if Isabella is with us?” I threw a curve ball at Jude and held my breath waiting for him to answer…
TWENTY-FIVE
JUDE
Isabella.Of course. Not that Daddy had agreed to adopt her. But I read the writing on the wall. If I wanted this fantastical life, she’d be a part of it and I’d be the primary caretaker, since he’d be working all day. I felt his studied gaze, waiting for my reply. “I can’t answer until I’ve been with her. You’re the one who suggested spending time with her. I’ll answer you when the trial period is up. Isabella might not like me.”
He raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Tesoro, she’s three days old.”
I sat back, my eyes glazed over. I blinked and shook out of my temporary stupor. “It truly is a miracle, isn’t it? Only days old Daddy. It’s kind of crazy.”
“It is, and thank you for giving the best reaction possible,” he said.
“Was that a test, Daddy?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
We finished our meal, which was the best seafood ever. When we returned to the hotel, we went to the rooftop for thesunset, made out under the canopied lounger, then went to bed where Daddy fucked me into oblivion.
I slept like the dead and before I knew it, Daddy’s morning wood was nudging my ass. He slipped in for a quickie, after which we showered and dressed, then left our room. In the parking lot, he walked me to my car. Tossing my duffle in the back seat, he pulled me to him by my waist and kissed me thoroughly, leaving me breathless.
“Drive safe,tesoro.”
“I will, Daddy. I’m going to search for a podcast in Italian.”
