“I need to visit the hospital tomorrow.”
“What for?” Luc asked, eyes narrowed as he glanced over at me.
I rolled my neck to one side and heard the crack before straightening up. “It’s for a doctor’s appointment.”
Luc turned his attention back to the road, not interested in my possible health concerns. I was the boy who cried wolf, so faith in my medical issues was a little shaky. “Obviously. Do whatever you want.”
“Mia’s doctor’s appointment,” I clarified eventually. She had told me about her check-up and I’d volunteered myself to attend the hospital with her, in hopes of being able to talk more freely. This was rocky territory. Luc hadn’t said a word about her pregnancy since the day he’d barged into the house. Something was going on up top, but he wasn’t ready to share, and I wasn’t ready to start poking around at the risk of losing my life.
The tension flooded his muscles and his grip on the steering wheel grew tighter, poker face in place. “Is everything alright?” he asked, calmly.
This was the most interest he’d shown, and I needed to tread lightly. “As far as I know, it’s just routine.”
“Right.”
“I guess now she’s back home she’ll have a new set of doctors to get used to before she actually gives birth.”
“Yeah.”
Luc was never a man of many words, but this was the shortest he had been with me. And whereas I was usually pretty good at reading him, I struggled when I had so little to go on. When he pulled up outside the house, I made the decision to take a stab in the dark. “Maybe you should come with us.”
“And why would I want to do that, Dante?” Luc asked, looking at me. “She’s made it crystal clear she doesn’t think I’m fit to be a father.”
“Wait, what? When?” As far as I knew, they hadn’t spoken again.
“If she thought I was good enough, she would have come back when she found out.”
Running a hand down my face, I wondered if Charlie felt like this when Luc used to turn to him for help. Frustrated and wanting to smack some sense into him. “How was she meant to do that when you were ready to put her six feet under?”
“You said she was with Carmen,” he pointed out. “She had people to speak on her behalf and she still chose not to. She was planning to keep my child from me. She had no intention of ever telling me.” There was the answer as to what he was doing during his self-imposed isolation. Overthinking himself into oblivion.
“If that’s what you think she’s thinking, then prove her wrong, Luc. Come to the appointment. Be a part of that kid’s life. Yourbambino.”
He looked ahead of him as if the answer would be out on the road somewhere ahead of us both. “I’m not sure that’s what she wants,” Luc said to the abyss.
“You’ve got no clue what she wants,” I told him bluntly. “You don’t have a clue what you want. You’ve been lost since the moment Mia left, but she’s back now and you need to have a conversation with her, Luc.”
“What am I meant to say to her?”
“Whatever is running through your head. Swallow your pride and be honest with her. If you want your family, Luc, then you need to get them back before this is too far gone.” Luc opened his mouth, but I didn’t give him a chance to respond. “Don’t bother lying to me. I know you. I’ve known you most of your life. If you wanted to kill her—really, truly wanted to end her life—you’d have done it by now. You’d have done it in my home without a care for the mess you left on my floor. And that was before you knew she was pregnant, so don’t hide behind yourbambinoas an excuse.”
Over the years Luc had lost it over the smallest things and when he was in a true blackout rage, nothing could stop him. Something inside him had stuttered when he’d seen Mia. He might have been angry, but not enough to end her life the way he had planned.
“Let me know if there’s any problems tomorrow,” Luc said, disregarding everything I’d said to him. “I’ll see you at work.”
I huffed out a sigh and opened the door and stepped out into the night once more. My hand gripped the handle as I leaned down and said, “10 a.m. at Claremont. In case you change your mind.”
Chapter Nineteen
Mia
“Itold you, you could have stayed at home,” I said to Franco as he zipped down the streets toward the hospital. “Dante could have picked me up.”
“I’m not sure Gabriel would have been too happy about that,” he replied, glancing at me. Neither of us was happy about the arrangement. With Gabe at work, I’d hoped that Dante and I would be able to chat privately, but Gabe had given strict instructions before he left. Franco would accompany me to my appointment and nothing I said could persuade him away from that order. Everything Franco did was to appease Gabe, which was no surprise, considering his life probably depended on it.
“I suppose not,” I muttered in agreement.
Franco parked up and helped me out of the car. I tugged at my shirt, a new nervous habit, and felt him at my heels as we made our way up to the entrance. With each step we took, my eyes darted around the area in search of Luc. Dante had mentioned that he’d extended the invite. There were plenty of people around but no sign of Luc, and then my eyes landed on a familiar figure. Dante beamed as he caught sight of us, and the anxious knot in my stomach eased. Walking into his outstretched arms, I hugged him around the middle as he dropped a kiss on the top of my head.
