“Is this a business meeting?” The little shit. He knew it wasn’t.
“No. We’ll save the shop talk for work tomorrow morning. Eight o’clock. My office.” I winked, knowing it would irritate my brother. Sure enough…
Luca groaned. “Why so early?” He was a late riser unless it was a meeting.
Roman handed me a glass. The caramel-colored liquid was precisely what I needed to settle my nerves. Maybe I should’ve waited for Isla to be with me. She calmed me better than any drink ever could…
The first time I had brought Isla into my father’s study, she didn’t speak for the longest time, as if absorbing it all. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was the first woman I had ever brought into my family’s home. She would be the last.
I remembered how she had cradled my face, staring up at me with unshed tears, after I’d shown her a picture of my mother. She’d said, “I see Giovanna in you. You have her hypnotic brown eyes.” It was then, after she paid me the highest compliment anyone could give me, that I let her into my heart.
“Ciro? Are you okay?” My sister’s concerned voice sliced through my thoughts.
I shook myself out of my head and found all eyes were on me.
“Yes. I’m sorry. A lot has happened in the last couple of days.”
Rosa gasped, pressing her hand to her chest. “Well, don’t delay another second. My nerves are about to unravel.”
Wolf growled low as he wrapped his arm around her and tucked her into his side protectively.
Why had I decided to tell the family all at once? The pressure was mounting, and my father looked on edge like me. He of all people should be relaxed and carefree, following his open-heart surgery.
I turned toward Roman; he issued a slight nod. I then pulled out my phone to show Padre the pictures I’d taken of Pippa over the weekend.
“Another text?” Rosa shot me a cross look.
“No. There really is no easy way to do this, so I’ll just say it.”
“Well, get on with it.” She took Wolf’s hand. Pregnancy had made her emotional and anxious. She knew the dangers in our lives and of her Russian husband, whose brother was Bratva. And yet, she was bring a child into the evil world. Clearly, she was braver than me.
I inhaled a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. I strode toward Rosa and my father, knelt, and presented my phone. “I have a daughter.”
My sister covered her mouth. As she stared at my beautiful baby girl, her eyes filled with tears.
“Isla.” Padre looked me in the eyes for confirmation.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Isla had a baby… your baby?” Luca asked in disbelief.
“Yes. Isla.” I held my father’s gaze. “Her name is Penelope Giovanna. She was born October sixteenth.”
His wet eyes stayed locked on the phone. I swiped the screen to show him there were more pictures. At least a hundred of my baby girl, and even a few of Isla, I’d snuck when she was busy tending to Pippa.
“She has Giovanna’s name?” Padre continued to swipe the screen on his own.
“Yes. But Isla calls her Pippa.”
My sister’s face brightened. “Adorable.”
“And lovebug.”
“Holy shit! This is huge.” Luca shuffled over beside our father to see the pictures. “Damn, she’s a cutie.”
Rosa smiled. “She’s precious.”
“An angel,” Padre said. “But Ciro, why am I just now hearing this?”
