“No.” I pulled out of his grasp. “We can’t.”
“Don’t push me away. I came for you. I won’t leave without you.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you really want me. You justdon’t like to lose. Now you know about Pippa, and she’s changed the game.”
“Now you’re calling me a liar. I’m not playing games. I came here foryou! I fucking missed you every second of every day.”
“Really? Then why did it take you so long to find me? Answer me that. I didn’t disappear off the face of the earth. I didn’t assume a new identity. If you missed me that much, you would’ve come for me sooner.” Jesus, we couldn’t be civilized for one minute.
“You’re impossible,” he hissed.
“Enough. This isn’t about us, not that there is an us.”
“Figlio di puttana,” he quietly spatmotherfuckeras if I couldn’t hear him.
“And no cursing around Pippa, not even in Italian.” I rolled my eyes. “Let’s just go inside to see her.” I opened the door and slammed it shut, then stalked to the door and knocked.
I didn’t hear Ciro behind me, which was odd, so I turned to see where he was at. What I found blew my mind. He was shirtless, digging through a tote bag in the trunk. My mouth went dry. His body was just as I remembered. Tan. Magnificently sculpted.
In typical fashion, Ciro wanted to make a perfect first impression for our daughter.Our daughter. The sound of it warmed me and made me sad all at once. She wasours,but we’d never be a real family.
“Damn, that’s quite a view.” Alba snickered behind me, and I whirled around to face her. “Oh my God. Honey, are you okay?” She wrapped her arms around me. “You’ve been crying.”
“We keep arguing. I’m scared, Alba,” I toldher honestly.
“Why?”
“I’m scared he’ll take her from me,” I whispered.
Alba pulled back. “Do you really believe he’ll do that?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “If I don’t do what he wants, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”
“Jesus.”
Pippa cooed inside. I went in and scooped her into my arms.
“My Pippa.” I peppered kisses all over her sweet face. “Mommy missed you like crazy, lovebug.” Her drooling smile melted my heart. She whimpered in the next breath, smacking her lips and wiggling with agitation.
“She’s starving,” Alba said. “Hi. I’m Alba. Come in.”
I turned around.
Ciro was frozen at the door, his dark gaze was locked on Pippa.
“Come on, she doesn’t bite,” Alba said in her usual snarky tone.
“Thank you,” Ciro replied.
Pippa started to fuss and my breasts responded with a painful ache. I wondered if I should nurse her in front of him. It was a stupid thought. Breastfeeding was a natural way to feed my baby and not sexual.
I sat on the sofa, cradling Pippa. Her legs kicked wildly in anticipation. “Okay,” I cooed as I lifted my T-shirt and unhooked my bra. Pippa latched on like a pro, and relief overcame me. My sweet baby, I’d missed her terribly.
I glanced at Ciro. The poor guy looked nervous as hell. “Come sit by me.” I patted the spot next to me.
He nodded and settled in close. It was closer than I preferred, but I didn’t object. Several minutes passed as Cirostared in awe at his daughter. He was never a kid person. I was sure he didn’t have a clue what to do.
“You can touch her,” I told him in a gentle voice.
