Nothing would’ve happened with Jon, even if Ciro hadn’t shown up.
Jon was a catch: intelligent, funny, hard-working, and handsome. Any woman would jump at the chance to be with him. Not me though. I was the problem.
I wasn’t ready to give my heart to another man. How could I trust another after Ciro shattered me into a billion pieces? I was finally in a better place, then he showed up…
Stop thinking about Ciro!
Falina wasn’t in the kitchen, so I assumed she was in her office. I sought her out and tapped on her opened office door. “Got a minute?”
She raised her head above her laptop. “I do.” She snapped her fingers in the air in a zigzag motion. “Sit.”
“Thanks. I wanted to?—”
“You’ve been crying.” Falina leaned forward on her desk with an examining eye. “What happened?”
“That’s what I was going to talk to you about.”
She reclined in her chair, waving her hand to continue.
“That man yesterday asking about me is Pippa’s father.”
Falina gaped and sprung forward, putting her hands flat on her desk. A speechless Falina was a first. All she knew about Pippa and me was that her father wasn’t in the picture. I hadn’t given any details other than I was on my own.
I gave her a moment to process.
“The sinfully gorgeous,matureman who looked like a million bucks?”
“Mhm.” My insides tingled as Ciro’s face flashed in my head. He was the most sinfully gorgeous man on the planet andmatureat fourteen years older than me.
“I don’t understand. He looks like the total package. Andhe’s rich, isn’t he?” Falina asked, but I could tell she knew the answer to her own question.
I really didn’t want to give her specifics. She could do an easy search online to find out his net worth if she absolutely needed to know.
“I noticed his Rolex and smelled his millions.” She eyed me for a reaction. When I didn’t respond, her eyes went wide as if she understood my silence. Ciro was worth billions, not millions.
“Listen. It’s complicated. I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I might need some time off.” I could be putting the cart before the horse, but there was a niggling in my gut telling me he’d want the baby near him. In what context I didn’t know, or if I’d be welcome in the Remotti mansion after keeping Pippa away from them.
“Time off? Why?”
“Because Ciro might?—”
“Oh my God! Even his name sounds regal.” Falina fanned her face like a starstruck fan. “He’s Italian, right? I know he is. He has a passionate, distinguished aura about him.”
“Will you focus?” I snapped louder than I intended. “Stop thinking about his money. He could take Pippa from me if he wanted to!”
“I’m sorry.” Falina clamped her hand over her mouth.
“He hasn’t said so yet, but I know he’s going to want me to take Pippa to meet his father and siblings. I just don’t know when and for how long.”
“Is that what you want? To be alone with him for an extended amount of time?” Falina’s question made me tremble inside.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I want.” I sighed, brushing my bangs back. “It’s complicated.”
“You said that already. Do I need to prepare myself to hire a replacement for you?”
“Maybe.” I steepled my hands against my mouth like I was about to pray.
Ciro told me to quit my job. He wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t intend on providing for Pippa and me. Maybe the words fell from his mouth—word vomit—out of shock. He’d barely learned he was a father. Perhaps he had responded emotionally. Who knew?
