I’d given up trying to talk to my father.

Hopefully, his mood would pass, and he would behave normally again. Whatever his problem was wasn’t my problem. If he found out about Bosco in the meantime and got angry about it, I would feel guilty.

Because I’d tried to come clean.

I was at the shop when my phone started to ring.

And my father’s name was on the screen.

Finally. This better be some good news. “Hey, Father.” I stood behind the counter and watched the pedestrians pass on the sidewalk. People were taking advantage of the sunshine as long as they possibly could before the rain inevitably returned.

“Hey, sweetheart.” His tone was gentle, like a drop of rain on a rose petal. He wasn’t flustered or annoyed like he’d been all week. He sounded like himself but with a hint of disappointment. “I’m sorry about earlier this week…things were just crazy.”

“I hope everything is alright.” I’d never seen him act that way in my whole life. I always felt like the priority. Not work.

“Yeah…it’s better now. So, you want to come by and have that conversation?”

Now that the moment had arrived, I dreaded it all over again. His complete attention would be on me, and I would have to deal with his wrath. There was no doubt in my mind he wouldn’t like Bosco. “Yeah, sure.”

“Okay. Because I have a few things I’d like to say to you too.”

Bosco called me during the drive. The sound came through my speakers due to the Bluetooth. “Where are you going?”

His men tailed me twenty-four hours a day. There was nowhere I went without them knowing about it. “My father called…and invited me to the winery so we could finally have that talk.” I sighed as I drove with both hands on the wheel, my sunglasses on the bridge of my nose. “So, this is really happening…wish me luck.”

“Good luck, Beautiful. I’ll be waiting for you when you come home.”

Good. It would be nice to have a shoulder to cry on.

“Love you,” he said, something he rarely said on the phone.

“Love you too.”

He hung up first.

I drove the rest of the way, enjoying the beautiful scenery without really taking it in. I was too focused on my destination, too focused on the mission I had to complete. There was no doubt in my mind it wouldn’t go well. But how badly it would go…that was still up in the air.

I arrived at the winery twenty minutes later and walked to the building where my father’s office was. Griffin and Crow weren’t walking around, so they were probably taking care of business elsewhere.

I made it to his office, and this time, the door was open.

My father was sitting behind his desk and looking out the window. There was nothing in front of him, no pens or papers. It was completely clear with the exception of the picture frame holding a photo of the four of us. One elbow was on the desk while his fingers were propped against his cheek. He was as still as the air outside the window, staring at nothing and looking so tranquil. He was clearly waiting for me, clearing his schedule because he finally recognized I needed to talk to him.

“Hey.” I stepped inside with one hand on the strap of my purse, needing something to hold on to. My palms were sweaty in distress as I dreaded the conversation we were about to have.

My father seemed to know this wouldn’t be a pleasant talk since he didn’t rise from his desk to greet me with a hug. He turned in his chair so he could face me, lowering his hand from his cheek and clearing his throat. “Hey, sweetheart. Please shut the door.”

I did as he asked, hearing the door click into place before I sat in one of the armchairs facing his desk.

He slumped in his chair as he looked at me, his face heavy with decades of stress that hadn’t been there a few weeks ago. Now he seemed exhausted, like he’d been working so much he’d tired himself out. He sighed as he looked at me, his green eyes showing a million emotions at once. “I think I should talk first.”

Why was that? “Is everything alright?” It seemed like we were thinking two different things, having two separate conversations at the same time. There was no way he knew why I was there. The second he knew I was sleeping with Bosco, he would have confronted me about it.

My father sidestepped the question. “I’ve been avoiding you because I didn’t want to have this conversation. I’m not an idiot. I knew I couldn’t postpone it long enough to make it disappear entirely. I just…was a coward.”

I was even more confused now. “What conversation do you think I want to have?”

He rubbed his fingers across his jaw, feeling the coarse hair from his shadow of a beard. “There’s something I need to tell you, Carmen. I’m not proud of what I did. And I hope you keep in mind that I’m just a father who wants the best for his daughter. Maybe that’s not clear all the time…but those are my intentions.”

“Okay…now you’re scaring me.” What did my father do?

He dropped his fingers and held my gaze. “I know about Bosco Roth.”

My heart immediately fell into my stomach, sinking like a heavy weight. This entire time, I’d thought my secret was safe, but my father had figured it out. How long had he known? Was he avoiding me for that reason? I didn’t try to make up excuses for not telling him as long as I did. My father had been keeping a secret from me just as I was keeping one from him. “How long?”

“A little over a month.”

My eyes widened automatically, and a thunderstorm of stupidity struck me. An entire month had passed, and my father had known about the man I was seeing. He knew before I even decided to stay with Bosco. “How did you find out?”

“I wasn’t spying on you,” my father said. “One of my new clients is the owner of Giovanni’s. He told me you and Bosco went there for dinner…and you were sporting that black eye.”

I remembered when Bosco ordered a bottle of Barsetti wine for the table. I hadn’t even made the connection at the time. I was more engrossed in the man across from me than the situation. Now it all made perfect sense.

“I assumed he was the reason for your black eye…so naturally…I declared war against him.”

Obviously, nothing had happened because both men were still living. My father must have calmed down at some point. “He wasn’t. Bosco would never lay a hand on me.” He was my protector and my provider, not my abuser. “In case that wasn’t clear.”

“It wasn’t clear until Griffin explained the situation to me.”

That was a bomb I wasn’t prepared for. “Griffin told you?” So this entire time, my father knew, and Griffin didn’t care to mention that to me?

“Before you get angry at Griffin, understand he did it for a reason.” My father spoke so calmly that it was actually frightening, like he was considering his words very carefully so he would remain in control. “I grabbed my weapons and met up with Crow. I was prepared to march down there and shoot Bosco in the head. Griffin told me everything so I wouldn’t go through with it. He explained to me that Bosco didn’t give you the black eye, that you two actually had a relationship.”

I was still pissed at Griffin for leaving me in the dark, but now I didn’t feel completely betrayed. I wouldn’t have wanted my father to get himself killed or shoot the man I loved. It was probably the only option Griffin had at the time.

“I’m not gonna lie, sweetheart. I wasn’t happy when Griffin told me you were seeing Bosco.” He held my gaze, the pain burning in his eyes. “I understand you’re an adult who can make your own decisions, but…you couldn’t have picked a worse man to get involved with.”

His disappointment hurt me, much more than I expected.

“There’s something else I need to tell you, and you aren’t going to like it. But I don’t want to lie about it, regardless of how bad it makes me look.”

What did he do?

“Crow and I went to the casino so I could confront Bosco myself.”

Now I wasn’t breathing, taking in all this information without being able to truly understand it. My father and uncle were in the casino with Bosco…and Bosco never told me. I didn’t know whom I felt more betrayed by…Bosco or my own family.

“We spoke for about thirty minutes.” My father kept talking calmly, like it was all he could do to combat his true anger. “I told him I didn’t like him. I told him I wanted him to leave you alone. And I offered him a hundred million if he cooperated.”

I was punched in the stomach—again.

“He didn’t take it.”

“Of course he didn’t,” I said, my voice rising. “There’s nothing you could offer him to make him leave me. He loves me, Father.”

Pain moved into his eyes. “And I love you too, Carmen. I did it to protect you.”

“To protect me?” I asked incredulously. “So if he took the money and dumped me, you would have just never said anything?”

“If he took the money, then he never loved you anyway.”

I threw my hands down on my thighs. “That’s not the point! I can’t believe you interfered like that. You didn’t even know him. I’m twenty-five years old. How could you treat me and my personal life like you own me?” I’d never been more disappointed in my father, not ever.

He dropped his gaze, unable to look at me anymore. “I knew you would be angry…and I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” I asked incredulously. “You’re sorry that you completely overstepped your boundaries and stuck your damn nose where it didn’t belong?”

“Don’t curse at me—”

“Don’t threaten my man.” I slammed my hand on his desk. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Your. Father.” He leaned forward, losing his calmness. Now his nostrils flared in rage, like a wild bull about to charge. “I admit I shouldn’t haven’t handled it that way, but I didn’t understand the extent of your relationship at the time.”

“Then why didn’t you ask me? Your daughter?”

“Because Griffin told me to keep it a secret. I thought I could fix this without you even knowing about it.”

“Fix it?” I asked incredulously. “There’s nothing to fix. I would have been devastated if I’d lost him.”

My father grimaced, like he didn’t like that reaction. “Carmen, look. I’m sorry. I’m apologizing to you for what I did. I was upset and emotional at the time, unable to think straight. You’re everything to me, and I just…snapped.”

I should pity him, but I didn’t. Now I was also pissed at Bosco because he knew about all this but didn’t tell me. “What happened when you were there? You know, after you tried to buy him off?”

My father ignored my sarcasm. “We talked.”

“About…?”

“He told me that you meant a lot to him, that he protects you and respects you.”

“Which he does,” I said proudly.

“But he also told me how you guys met, how you tried to leave him, but he wouldn’t let you, that he forced you to give him a chance.”

I admired Bosco for being so honest about it.

“Do you understand how much that pissed me off? Hearing some pompous little bitch say he forced my daughter to do something?”

“It wasn’t like that… I wanted to stay.” I couldn’t tell my father the extent of my feelings, not without making it extremely awkward. “I knew it wouldn’t work out with us in the long run…so that was why I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to get invested in a guy when there was no future. But I wanted to be with him a little while longer…and that contract was how I got what I wanted.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “That’s not how relationships are supposed to be. That’s not how a woman should talk about her future husband. You want a good man, not a bad man like that.”

“He’s not a bad man, Father. He’s kind, generous, and loving. He’s strong, powerful, and extremely authoritative. Maybe you don’t want to hear it, but he reminds me of you and Crow. He’s a man’s man… I don’t want an average good guy. I’ve dated lots of other men, and not a single one made me actually feel something. I understand you had in mind what kind of man you wanted me to be with…but that’s not what I want.”

“Carmen.” He rubbed his temples with his fingers. “This guy is the most famous criminal in Italy. Maybe even in Europe. He’s the leader of the crime lords. He has more power and more money than anyone else…combined. Do you really think it’s a good idea to get involved with someone like that?”

“I know that’s how he is on paper…but he’s not like that in reality.”

“Yes, he is,” he said coldly. “It’s one thing to be with a man like Griffin. His occupation is separate from his personal life. But Bosco is the job. He’s the symbol of power and authority. That’s dangerous.”

“He said he would give it up for me.”

My father didn’t seem surprised by that revelation, only annoyed. He rubbed his temple again before he looked back at me. “I heard.”

“Then you’re getting what you want.”

“I still don’t think he’s good enough for you, Carmen. Just because he’s walking away doesn’t mean people don’t still want to kill him.”

“I’m sure he’ll keep his security detail. He’s a very paranoid man.”

“And he should be,” he snapped. “That man has a lot of enemies.”

“He’s a man of his word, so I doubt it.”

“Any man with money has enemies, Carmen.”

“What about you and Uncle Crow?” I demanded. “We’ve had nothing but trouble for the past year.”

“I know,” he said with a growl. “And I don’t want it to continue.”

I didn’t know what else to say to him. It seemed we’d reached a stalemate. My father wasn’t happy about this, and he’d had plenty of time to think about it.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at me. “This is really hard for me, sweetheart. If I didn’t give a damn, I would just accept it and look the other way. But you’re my only daughter…and I love you more than I can express in words.” His eyes softened, full of eternal love and affection. “I know we can’t always choose who we fall in love with. Sometimes it’s a chemical reaction we can’t control. But I want you…to have the best man on this goddamn planet. I want a son-in-law who will protect you when I can’t do it anymore. I know you’re angry with me, but please remember, my heart is in the right place. It’s always been in the right place.”

I was emotional and angry at the same time, and his speech softened me just a little bit. “I tried not to fall in love with him. I really did. I knew you would never like him…that Uncle Crow would never like him. I knew this would be a repeat of Griffin and Vanessa. But it happened anyway. I don’t want you to hate him. I told him if my family can’t look past this…then we don’t have a choice.”

My father regarded with me with a tender expression. “You would choose me over him?”

My eyes watered the second he asked the question. “In a heartbeat. But it would hurt me so much to do it…because I love him. It’s real love. It’s not lust or infatuation. I know him, know his soul. Don’t make me lose him. Don’t put me through what Vanessa went through.” I wiped my tears away and sniffed back the drips threatening to escape from my nose.

He rose out of his chair then sat in the chair beside me, moving close. Now the conversation felt more natural, not like he was the executioner and I was going to get my head chopped off. He grabbed my hand and held it on my knee. “I don’t want to go through what my brother went through with Vanessa. I don’t want you to go through what Vanessa went through either. But…I’m still struggling with this. When I met Bosco, he wasn’t as bad as I thought he was going to be, but I don’t still don’t like the guy.”

“Get to know him.”

He sighed like he didn’t want to.

“Please,” I said. “At least try. If you try and don’t change your mind…I’ll understand. But you need to give him a chance. Griffin was hated by everyone, but then he turned out to be the greatest addition to this family. Bosco could be the same.”

“Griffin is an honorable man. I don’t think it’s right to compare Bosco to him…just yet.”

“Then let’s take baby steps. Can you do that for me…?”

Father stared at my hand as he considered it, noticeably quiet and tense.

I waited patiently.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally agreed. “Okay…I’ll try.”

When I came home, my eyes were puffy and red. I tried to fix my makeup in the rearview mirror in the car so Bosco’s men wouldn’t see my tear-stained face, but there wasn’t much I could without my concealer.

I took the elevator up to the top, and the second the doors opened, he was standing there. With his head several inches higher than mine and with a concerned look on his face, it was obvious he’d been thinking about me the entire time I was gone. His eyes narrowed slightly when he took in my pained expression. “Beautiful.”

“I’m pissed at you right now.” I lacked any conviction whatsoever as I walked around him and stepped into the apartment. I tossed my bag on the table, and just like the other day, I left my boots and coat on the floor because I didn’t care. “But I’m so worked up right now that I don’t want to fight. I need you more than I want to push you away.” When I got all the heavy layers off my body, I moved into his chest and closed my eyes. His body was hard as concrete, not soft like the pillows on his bed. My arms wrapped around him, and I took comfort in the man that I loved, even though he’d lied to me.

Bosco wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. “Didn’t go well, I take it?”

He was so warm, searing hot against my cheek. “It went as well as I expected it to go.”

His hand moved under the fall of my hair and to the back of my neck. He gently massaged the area as his other arm circled my waist and held me close. He didn’t address why I was pissed off at him, probably because he’d figured it out on his own.

I pulled away and looked into his pretty eyes. He was the most powerful man I knew, but even he didn’t have the power to fix this.

“Are you going to let me explain myself?” He slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants as he tilted his head slightly to look at me.

I felt betrayed that he’d kept this secret from me for over a month. The entire time I was stressing about my father’s reaction, Bosco knew exactly what that reaction would be. He kept quiet, hiding it as a dirty secret. Nearly every person involved had all the facts, but I didn’t know anything. “No.”

He maintained the same stoic expression.

“I just want to go to bed and forget about this until morning.” I was emotionally drained from the intense conversation with my father. None of it had unfolded the way I wanted. I couldn’t even anticipate the conversation because he dropped a bomb on me the second I walked inside. Bosco could have at least told me the truth before I faced my father for the discussion.

“Will I be joining you?”

“Yes.” I walked into his bedroom and shucked the rest of my clothes, leaving my panties on and fishing a t-shirt out of his drawer. I pulled it on then got into bed.

Bosco joined me a moment later, lying beside me in his boxers. He cradled me to his chest, and we lay there in the darkness, even though it was barely five.

I’d skipped lunch and dinner, but I still wasn’t hungry. I just wanted to lie there and think about nothing.

He dragged his fingers lightly down my back and pressed a kiss to my hairline. “I love you, Beautiful.”

I wasn’t ready to be angry with him, so I put my feelings on hold and let him comfort me. “I love you too…”

When I woke up the next morning, my fury was at the forefront.

Bosco noticed my anger in my movements, the way I quickly got ready for work without looking at him twice. He watched me hurry to do my hair and makeup and pull on my clothes before I marched for the door. “So…now, you’re officially mad?” He followed behind me, his hands moving into the pockets of his sweatpants.

“Very.” I hit the code on the elevator, and the doors opened. “We’ll talk about this when I get home.”

“Why don’t we talk about it now?” He grabbed me by the elbow and gently tugged me back toward him.

“Because I have to work. I already closed the shop enough times trying to talk to my father. I can’t miss any more time.” I looked at him, the fire smoldering in my eyes. “And it would have been helpful to know he was avoiding me on purpose. Wouldn’t have wasted so much of my time.” I yanked my arm out of his grasp and stepped into the elevator.

Bosco let me go, but he didn’t look happy about it. He slid his hands into his pockets as he stared at me, holding my gaze as the doors slowly closed and hid him from view.

The elevator descended to the lobby, and I kept picturing Bosco’s face in my mind. Handsome, apologetic, and full of angst. I could tell he wanted to yank me back into the penthouse and not let me go until he’d earned my forgiveness.

That was how I was sure he knew he was wrong for what he did.

I got into the back seat of the car, and his men dropped me off at work. I hardly ever drove my car anymore, only when I went to visit my family because it would be hostile to show up with a dozen armed guards on their property.

I arrived at the shop and got to work, doing my best not to think about all the drama going on in my life. My father and boyfriend were more aware of the situation than me—the person connecting them together.

I felt so stupid.

This entire time, Bosco had known my father hated him. And my father knew about Bosco too. Even Griffin was aware of everything, and he never once mentioned it to me. Did Vanessa know as well?

Who could I trust?

Around lunchtime, I got a special visitor.

My mom.

“Carmen.” Mom appeared at the counter, sneaking up on me slightly. She smiled at me like she wasn’t angry, just happy to see her daughter.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest, especially because I knew exactly why she was there. The storm that had hit our family was spinning at full force, and there was no way to escape. Even when I stood in the eye, I could feel the wind swirl around me. “Hey, Mama.” I finally found a smile when I recovered from the shock. “Sorry, you snuck up on me.”

“I walked straight at you,” she said. “You were even looking at me.”

“Sorry…my mind was elsewhere.”

Her smile started to fall. “Your father told me what happened, Carmen…” She rested her arms on the counter as she looked at me, her fingers interlocked together. “He’s still fairly angry about it. I’ve been trying to talk him down. I think I’ll need a few more days to make a dent in his armor.”

“Well, thanks for trying.”

“Is this the same man you mentioned a few months ago?”

I nodded.

“The one who isn’t right for you but you can’t stay away from?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do you think he’s not right for you?”

“In the beginning, I thought he was too dangerous. But now I know he’s completely harmless to me. When I realized he was a good man, I knew Father would be my next obstacle. After talking with him…it doesn’t seem likely there will be any success.”

My mom tucked her brown hair behind her ear, her mocha eyes glowing beautifully. I inherited all my good looks from her, only getting my father’s eyes and subtle hints of his Barsetti blood. My skin wasn’t as dark as Vanessa’s because I took after my mother so much. “This is the man you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

Bosco told me he would give me whatever I wanted. Because of that, there was no doubt in my mind. He loved me enough to sacrifice everything, to walk away from all that he’d built just to have me. If that wasn’t love, I didn’t know what was. “Yes.” The idea of finding someone new and forcing myself to love him the way I loved Bosco sounded unappetizing. “He’s the one.”

“You’re sure?” Mom asked.

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

She rested her hand on mine and gave me a gentle pat. “Then I accept him, Carmen. In time, I’m sure I’ll like him. But since I haven’t even met him, that’s kinda hard for me to do right this second.”

That was surprisingly kind, even though my mom had always done everything for me. “Thank you.”

“Your father told me Bosco is one of the biggest crime lords in the city. He’s a bit arrogant. He set his eyes on you then never stopped pursuing you. Your father said you tried to break things off with him, but Bosco wouldn’t let you.”

“Yes…not his finest qualities.” I didn’t want to lie to my parents about my past with Bosco. I wasn’t ashamed of it because we grew into something more. That felt so long ago that it didn’t seem relevant anymore. “But that’s not who he is anymore. He’s…extremely kind. All he cares about is protecting me. He would die before he let anything happen to me. So instead of focusing on those moments, focus on that.”

My mother nodded, giving a slight smile. “I believe you, Carmen. I’ll keep an open mind…and I’ll try to convince your father he should do the same. The only reason it’s difficult for him is because he’s spent his entire life protecting you, and he can’t stop that impulse. He feels like he needs to save you…even though you don’t need saving. He loves you so much that he’s always imagined some Prince Charming riding in on a white horse. Your prince comes from a good family, he’s rich, and he’s squeaky clean. Since this doesn’t match your father’s expectations, he’s disappointed—not because he’s not getting what he wants, but because you aren’t getting what he wants.”

“I understand…but I don’t want Prince Charming.”

“I know,” she said. “Trust me, I do. Good men are boring, if you ask me. Women want a man who’s real, who has dimensions and layers. They want a man who pushes the boundaries and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. You would never be happy with some…accountant, doctor, or lawyer.”

I couldn’t picture Bosco with a regular job like that.

“The fact that Bosco had the talent to accomplish what he has at such a young age is admirable,” my mother said. “Maybe he was motivated by greed, but for someone to pull that together and retain his power and esteem for so long is incredible. Only a very powerful man would have been able to pull off something like that. His success is so incredible that even your father and uncle are intimidated by it…and that’s saying something.”

Sometimes I forgot that my mother was so much cooler than my father. She was more pragmatic and logical when she viewed the world. There was never pride or emotion in her decisions, just objectivity. She could immediately see past Bosco’s faults and highlight his charms. “Thanks for having such an open mind.”

“Well, your father is extremely biased in how he views things. Sometimes he forgets he wasn’t always the man he is now. Once upon a time, he wasn’t so different from Bosco. He was young, greedy, and hotheaded. He thought he could do whatever he wanted without retribution. But then he met a special woman, and that changed his path permanently. It made him reevaluate what kind of man he wanted to be. He abandoned the darkness and embraced the light, finally finding a reason to become a good man.”

I smiled. “Was that special woman you, Mama?”

“Yes.” She patted my hand. “I’ve done my best to remind your father of that, but it doesn’t change the way he feels. He thinks you deserve better than I did. He loves you so much he can’t see straight. You have every right to be frustrated with him, but don’t forget, he’s only behaving this way because he loves you so damn much.”

“I know…”

“I’ll make him cut you and Bosco some slack. But I ask you to do the same for him.”

I nodded. “I’ll always cut Father some slack. He’s earned it.”

After talking with my mother, I wasn’t as stressed about the situation as I was before. Now that I had one parent on my side, it would only be a matter of time before the other caved. My mother was naturally persuasive, having the ability to change anyone’s mind about anything. Hopefully, changing my father’s mind would be simple.

When I took the elevator to the penthouse and saw Bosco standing right in the living room, my previous anger came back to me. The man I slept with every single night had betrayed me. He’d carried on the lie for weeks, choosing to withhold vital information that would have changed everything.

“Still mad, huh?” he asked, standing in his gray sweatpants.

“Yep.” I set my purse down and shed my coat.

“Alright.” He took a deep breath as he waited for me to start yelling.

I faced him and crossed my arms over my chest. That handsome face couldn’t bring my rage to a smolder, not this time. It didn’t matter how pretty his blue eyes were, how masculine that jawline was. “You lied to me. You made me look like a fool. You kept a secret from me for over a month. How could you possibly justify that?”

“It’s simple.” He spoke to me the same way he spoke to his men when he was at the casino, holding in all his emotion and talking to me like he didn’t feel a thing. All he felt was authority and power. “Your father made a mistake marching onto my turf like that. If he weren’t your father, he would have been thrown in the ring. I would have made him fight his own brother and watched every hit until the end. He threatened me on my own property, and then he insulted me by trying to buy me off with a hundred million dollars—which is pennies to me. I told him I would do him a favor by not telling you what happened—because it made your father look like an ass. I told him we weren’t just fucking, that we loved each other. I looked him in the eye and told him I would die for you—in a heartbeat. Based on all the mercy I showed, I think he believed me. I didn’t think he would confess to his crimes, not when it made him look so selfish. But I guess your father isn’t as much of a coward as I thought he was.”

It was a legitimate explanation, but I was still angry. “This whole time you knew…”

“I would have told you, but I couldn’t do that without compromising him. Even if your father and I have our disagreements, I don’t want to affect your relationship with him. As a man with no parents, I understand how important it is to cherish them while you can. I never want to come between you and your father. I just want to be accepted among you.”

“There’s nothing my father could ever do to make me stop loving him, to make me turn my back on him. I was pissed when he told me what he did, because it was wrong, but I know he only did it because he loves me. I forgave him for it.”

“As you should,” he said. “He meant well…even if his actions were idiotic. I respect a man who protects the women he loves. He and I are the same in that regard…even if he doesn’t realize it.”

“He will realize it…in time.”

He watched me for a long while, his eyes boring into mine. “If you forgive him, then you must forgive me.”

“Of course I do. But I’m still mad at him, and I’m still mad at you.”

He bowed his head slightly.

“I feel so stupid going down there without knowing. This entire time, my father knew about you, and I was assuming otherwise. Now I understand he was avoiding me the because he didn’t want to address the truth. It’s just…embarrassing.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” he said calmly. “He should be embarrassed for blowing you off like that.”

“I guess he wasn’t ready to deal with this.”

“No. He’s had a hard time.”

I kept my arms crossed over my chest, my teeth grinding together in annoyance. “I’m irritated that this is my personal life, yet everyone knows more about it than I do. People are sneaking around behind my back and leaving me in the cold. Even Griffin was doing it.”

“Griffin was in a tough spot, in his defense.”

“Are you seriously defending him?” I asked, an eyebrow raised.

“It’s not black and white, Beautiful. That’s all I’m saying. Since everything is done and we’re still standing here, maybe you should let this go.”

“Easy for you to say…”

“The worst is over. Let’s enjoy our small victory.”

I couldn’t handle any more lies, any more half-truths. Griffin didn’t owe me anything, and I didn’t expect more out of my father, but I expected more out of the man I loved. “I never want this to happen again. If you want to be my man, that means no more secrets. I’m serious.”

Bosco stared at me as he considered the question, standing a short distance away from me with his hands in his pockets. “Alright.”

“Is that a promise?”

He nodded. “That’s a promise. I’ll never keep anything from you again. But remember, that’s a double-edged sword.”

“I’ll take my chances. If this is gonna last a lifetime, then I want a partner I can trust, someone I can count on. I want to be in the loop, not oblivious to important knowledge that’s been shared right under my nose.” That wasn’t much to ask for, so I didn’t feel out of line. He’d already sacrificed plenty for me, but I wanted a little more.

“Alright.”

Now that I’d gotten what I wanted, I kept my arms crossed over my chest, unsure what to do next.

“Can I kiss you now?” The corner of his mouth rose in a lopsided grin.

I loved that smile and couldn’t resist it. “Yes…”

He moved into me and bent his neck down to kiss me on the mouth, his scruff rubbing against me slightly. His lips were soft, but his jaw was hard. He lightly sucked my bottom lip into his mouth before he let go.

“So your mom stopped by?” He knew everything about my life, even as it was unfolding. “And how did that go?”

“My mom is a lot more logical than my father. She said if you’re the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, then she accepts that. She trusts my decision and supports it. But she needs to get to know you before she can actually like you.”

“Wow. She’s way better than your father.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, she’s great. She’s a lot more understanding. Doesn’t have unrealistic expectations of anything.”

“I look forward to meeting her…whenever that time comes.”

“I’m not sure when it’ll happen. She said she’s still working on getting my father to see reason. She’ll need a few more days.”

“The fact that she thinks she can do it in days instead of years is impressive.”

“Well, my mom can do amazing things. She’s a superhero.”

His smile faded slightly, and a note of sadness entered his look.

Somehow, I knew he was thinking about his own mother, the woman he respected most in the world. He still missed her, even though he was a grown man who didn’t need anyone for anything. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “Sometimes the sadness just hits me, and it takes me a second to recover. I still miss her. Your mother reminds me of her…at least, based on the way you describe her.”

“They are alike. They are both women who don’t put up with bullshit.”

“Yeah…and you’re like that too.” His hands squeezed my hips. “One of the reasons I fell in love with you.”