“Yeah.” I ended the call and stared at Paolo. “Do you think the baby was inside that little house?”
“It’s possible. But why would she leave the child there?” Paolo asked.
“Good question. Why?” I couldn’t imagine why Isla would leave her baby behind and then agree to have a drink with me. Unless she knew we were following her.
“I think you should make a plan. Get Alessio situated at home, then fly out to San Francisco. If Fabio has someone watching Isla, you have nothing to worry about. She can’t leave town with the baby. She probably thinks you’re never coming back.”
“Or she hopes I don’t. But I made my intentions known. I wanted her. At least I did before I knew about the baby.”
“You still want her. You’re just angry. You don’t want to see her when you’re unhinged.” My cousin’s words were wise,but I most certainly wanted to face Isla when I was unhinged.
I’d consider his thoughts. Rushing back to San Francisco may not be smart. I had no idea what I’d say or what I’d do when face to face with the woman who meant everything to me.
There were only two things that mattered to me right this minute. The first was confirming that I was Penelope Giovanna’s father.
The second was getting answers from Isla. I may have wanted her back initially. But now? Now I didn’t know what I wanted. If she’d betrayed me, I didn’t believe I could forgive such an offense.
If I never looked for her, would she have ever told me about Penelope? I didn’t care how she spun it. There was no excuse for keeping my baby a secret.
None.
If the baby was mine.
You know it is…
Jesus, I did.
17
ISLA
Old habits die hard.I could’ve taken an hour-long shower. Instead, I scrubbed my body and washed my hair in sixty seconds as if Pippa was in her crib waiting for me. After drying my body, I pulled on a tank top and bikini underwear.
As I towel-dried my short hair, I thought about my baby girl. This was the second time in a week that I left her to spend the night with Alba. It’d been six days since I saw Ciro, and I had to admit, I was shocked he hadn’t called or showed up at my work. But I wasn’t complaining. I just wanted to get back to living my life and stop looking over my shoulder, expecting him to jump out of the shadows and surprise me.
Of course, I thought about Ciro every day, and prayed Alessio was okay. Part of me wanted to reach out to Rosa, Ciro’s sister, to find out if Alessio was okay.
But did I really want to open that can of worms? She’d question me about what I’d been up to and would probably tell Ciro I called. Loyalty ran deep in the Remotti family, and I’d always been on the outside, thanks to Ciro for never allowing me into the fold.
Because of seeing him, my emotions were out of control. I’d hardly slept a wink since the night at the Irish pub, which was why Alba had suggested she keep Pippa tonight. There was no denying I needed a decent night’s sleep to function at work and for my baby girl.
A yawn took hold of me and I was about to collapse on my bed when a knock at my front door made me freeze.
I wasn’t expecting any visitors after ten o’clock at night. It was probably my sister, Elsie. Her boyfriend was a loser and habitually drunk. She might need my help and a safe place to crash for the night while he slept off his raging intoxication.
Although, I didn’t recall hearing them arguing when I passed their apartment half an hour ago. Those two were a thorn in my side that I wished would move away so I could live a peaceful life, just me and my Pippa.
Stomping down the hallway, I hated feeling obligated to help my sister when she wouldn’t do the same for me. If it were me needing help with anything, she’d make up an excuse as to why she couldn’t help.
I swung open the door without looking through the peephole. Big mistake because it wasn’t Elsie…
“Ciro,” I said on a gasp. His narrow brown eyes and stoic expression sent a chill down my spine. Every cell in my body told me that he knew about Pippa.
He pushed his way into my home and forced me to step back and he closed the door. “Is that how you answer the door? Don’t you think that’s just asking for trouble?” He raked his glacial eyes over my body. It was then I realized I hadn’t put on a robe before answering the door. I was only wearing a tank and underwear.
“I thought… I thought you were someone else.”
“Who? Your boyfriend?” he hissed, his jaw twitching as if he was trying to maintain control.
