“Milo deserves to be happy, and he found it with you. Knowing how much you care for my son is comforting. I don’t want him to be alone.” He leaned back in his chair. “For years, my kids thought after what happened to their mother that I wanted them to stay single.”
“You were just afraid they would know the pain you knew.”
He nodded. “You’re extremely perceptive.”
My heart ached for Nico. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him to have to live with the guilt of Julia’s death on his conscience. I would never want that kind of anguish for Milo.
An overwhelming pang of guilt slammed into me when I thought about how I had manipulated him into letting me stay. I hit him where he couldn’t resist. I used our relationship to persuade him to let me stay here. If something did happen to me, Milo would feel responsible for the rest of his life.
“It would be selfish of me to want my sons to stay single.” Nico moved the pen on the desk toward him and then rolled it away from him. He repeated that motion a few times before he continued his thoughts. “They needed to find the type of love I had with their mother, and I think both of them have accomplished that.”
“I do love your son.” I smiled. “And everything that comes with him.”
“Thank you.”
“Dad!” Milo burst into the room and placed his hand on the small of my back. “There’s a situation that needs your immediate attention.”
What now…
SEVENTEEN
Milo
When Sable beggedme not to send her away from the only home she’d ever known, how couldn’t I have given in? But my internal struggle had never been this tortuous. One wrong calculation and our lives could be changed forever.
The biggest struggle between us now was that I thought with my heart and not my gut. She wanted my heart to be my guide. If I went with her thinking, the consequences would follow me for the rest of my life.
That was why I had to take out an insurance policy. Maybe now, things would turn around. For the first time in weeks, I could see a way forward.
“Milo.” My father followed me and Sable down the hallway to my office. “What is it?”
“You’ll see.” I smiled at Sable who eyed me suspiciously as we passed my office.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?” she asked.
“You.” I tapped her nose as we approached Marchello’s door. “And this.”
I pushed open the door and stepped out of the way so my father could enter the room and begin the reunion he had been waiting for.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He entered the room with a smile on his face that I hadn’t seen in a long time. “What are you doing here?”
“Did you miss me, Dad?” Marchello hugged our father, holding onto him as if he hadn’t seen him in years.
“You’re home.” He released Marchello and looked him over. “It’s about time.”
“I thought it was time for me to come back and get you two out of this mess,” Marchello said.
“Let me hug him.” Lissia wrapped her arms around my father, falling into his protective arms. “I missed you, Daddy.”
My father shook his head as he embraced her. There were many things my father could control, but when it came to Lissia’s pet name for him, he chose to allow it. He had a knack for choosing his battles wisely.
“Did you know they were coming home?" Sable asked.
“I arranged it late last night,” I said. “Marchello knew he was needed here and decided it was the right time. I agreed.”
I had hoped for this reunion for weeks. Now that it was here, I couldn’t take anything for granted. Security had to be tighter than ever if I wanted to keep this family out of harm’s way. With Marchello home, I could get back to focusing on a plan to make sure our enemies didn’t get close to us.
“Hey, Sable.” Lissia hurried across the room and hugged her as if they had been friends for years. “Has Milo been treating you like the princess that you are?”
