“Christ, Fabio. It’s been over a year. If the kid is mine, Isla went through it all without me.” Emotion bubbled in my throat. “That baby is what? Seven months old now? And I’ve had no part of its life…Ifit’s mine. My family, either. Jesus, my padre. He’s in the hospital and had open heart surgery.” A single tear slid down my cheek. I didn’t even care if crying made me look weak in front of Paolo. My father would feel robbed of his grandchild. I felt robbed too.
“I’m sorry to hear about Alessio, but you need to calm down. This is a delicate situation. You don’t want to make matters worse.”
“Make matters worse? Could they get any fucking worse than finding out I have a child in the world that I didn’t know existed? I don’t even know what it is or its name.” Never mind the fact that Isla never mentioned the baby once when we were together.
“It’s a girl. Penelope Giovanna Martin.”
Penelope Giovanna. I couldn’t breathe. Her middle name was my mother’s. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
I have a daughter. A little girl.
More tears threatened to fall, but I held those little bitches back.
“Are you okay?” Fabio asked.
“No, I’m not okay. I just found out I might be a father. I don’t know what my child looks like. She doesn’t know me…”
“Give yourself some time to process. Talk to Roman and your dad. Let them help you with this.”
“No. I’m leaving tonight back to California. I need to confront Isla before she…”
“Before she what?”
“Steals my baby.” It sounded crazy even to me, but if Isla hid Penelope’s existence, she could go on the run with her.
“Shit, Ciro. I knew you’d overreact. Listen, I have a man watching them. She won’t get away with stealing your child.”
“I appreciate that. But I must see her. If I see her, I’ll know if she’s really mine.”
“How?”
“I’ll just know. If she’s mine, I’ll know.” God, I hoped I’d know.
“What about Isla?”
“What about her? I’m fucking pissed at her for keeping my baby from me.” How could she be so heartless? Treat my family this way? Even if I’d never wanted kids, this kind of betrayal was unforgiveable. I couldn’t believe Isla would do this. Maybe I never really knew her.
The very thought slashed my heart. I knew Isla in every way possible, physically, emotionally, all her hopes, dreams, and fears. It was why none of this made sense. Isla wasn’t malicious. So why the fuck had she hid my daughter from me?
You fucker, because you told her to never come back.
No, there is no excuse for keeping my child from me.
“Christ. That’s why I was afraid to tell you.” Fabio’s voice cut through my mental ranting. “Don’t hurt her, man. If you do, you’ll lose her and your child for good.”
“Don’t hurt her? What about how she hurt me?” I roared into the phone like a fucking animal. “I will not lose my child! Do you hear me? I will not lose my child! I’ll get the best goddamn lawyer money can buy. I won’t lose!”
“But you never wanted kids,” Fabio said in a tight voice. “Marriage and kids are your greatest fear, ever since your mom died. Think about it. You didn’t give Isla what she wanted because you were afraid of losing her if you loved her.”
Fabio was right. For most of my adult life, I swore I’d never get married or have kids. Isla knew this. When I told her to leave and never come back, she did as I’d commanded.
But still. I had a right to know I had a child…If the baby is mine.
“What are you going to do?” Fabio asked. “I know you love her, even if you won’t admit it. That’s why you wanted to find her after all this time.”
“I don’t know. Thanks for the information. I’ll be in touch if I need anything else.”
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
