Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Out with it,” Matty orders me.
“It was one night,” I finally say, my feet moving as I pace their living room, back and forth in front of them.
“You don’t do one-night stands,” Matty reminds me, and I groan.
“Well, obviously I did,” I exhale. “It was after that one time I said I will never have another one-night stand. I had just finished my first-ever merger, and I was flying high.” I run my hands through my hair. “She bumped into me at a bar, and then we went to grab something to eat, and she just, fuck, I don’t know. She just made me forget my rules.”
“Can we circle back to how you didn’t see?” Sofia looks at Matty.
“How was I supposed to see?” Matty puts his hands on his hips. “Now I see it, but you think I walk around with a picture book, and I’m like do any of my cousins look familiar?” He throws his hands up in the air. “Oh, you have no father for your daughter. Here, take a look at him. Does he look familiar?”
“Can you be more dramatic?” Sofia asks, laughing at him, and he tilts his head to the side. “Okay, wrong question.” She holds up her hands.
“Anyway,” I say, looking back at Sofia, “what can you tell me about her parents?”
It’s Sofia’s turn to glare at me. “Nothing.” She folds her arms over her chest. I know she is not going to tell me anything when it comes to Addison. I know this because she’s loyal to a T, and her loyalty will be with Addison before it is with me.
“You know what I do, right?” I ask her, and this time, it’s me putting my hands on my hips. “I can find out everything in two minutes flat.” I stare at her.
“Then why haven’t you?” She asks me the loaded question I have been asking myself since I found out about Avery.
“Because I wanted her to tell me,” I admit to her, “and I felt like I was invading her privacy.”
Sofia gasps. “How are you related to this family?” She points at Matty, who rolls his eyes at her.
“We are all not like my uncles,” he retorts, “or your grandfather.” He smirks at her.
“She just told me she raised Avery on her own.” I fill Sofia in on the little part that she gave me. The statement made my blood run cold in my body. The statement that when she walked away from the table, I thought I would break the glass in my hand from how hard I was squeezing it.
“She did, and she did a great job.” Sofia almost glares at me.
“No, she didn’t do a great job,” I correct softly, and I talk fast because she looks like she is going to throttle me. “She did an exceptional job, I know that.” I shake my head. “I just don’t get it.”
“I don’t really know the details,” Sofia says softly. “All she told me was they haven’t spoken to her since she walked out and said she wouldn’t get rid of her baby.”
It’s then that Matty grunts, “What the fuck?”
I ignore him because if he is feeling even a quarter of what I felt, it’s a lot. “How long has she been working for you guys?” Surely, that question isn’t invading anything.
“Not that long, but she’s busted her ass the whole time.” She stands with her shoulders back and I’m almost thankful, knowing even if I wasn’t here, she had someone who would go to war for her and for Avery.
“Okay.” Matty holds up his hands, sensing we are going to go toe-to-toe. “What does this mean?”
“What do you mean?” I ask him because his question is loaded.
“Well, you have a kid,” he points out, and I don’t know why, but I can’t help feeling proud, especially since she’s the most amazing kid I’ve ever met.
“I do.” I smile at him, and if I could puff out my chest, I would. “I need to get a house.”
I grab my phone out of my back pocket. “I have to call your mom.” I thought I would be able to get a house on my own, but after searching and driving around for the past two days, it’s clear I need help in that department.
“Are you finally setting roots?” Matty asks, and I throw my head back and laugh.
“You’ve been in the South too long,” I say, then look over at Sofia. “Is there anything I should know?”
“Is there a specific question you are asking?” Sofia counters but then holds up her hand. “Doesn’t matter, I won’t tell you.”
“Great.” I shake my head. “Good talk.”
“Don’t you ‘good talk’ me, Stefano,” she hisses. “I’m not the one who had sex without a condom.”
“We used protection. Do you think I would be that careless?” I throw back at her. “Look at Michael and Jillian, it’s not one hundred percent.” I mention my cousin Michael, who had a one-night thing with Jillian, only to find her four months later when he went to pick up Mia and Emma.