Dom returned to the table a changed man. He looked tired. In all the years Adrian had worked with the man, he’d seen him worn out at the end of a big day, but he’d never seen him this soul-deep exhausted. Adrian almost felt embarrassed to witness the longing glance he sent across the table toward Jo.

Jo caught the look and turned away, leaving the table without a word. Dom’s eyes followed his wife as she left the room, but he didn’t go after her. Adrian didn’t understand it. If his wife were mad at him, he’d chase her down and argue it out. You couldn’t have make-up sex if you skipped the fight. He could picture himself and Sofia arguing fiercely over some future disagreement. Yeah, he’d really like to make up with her. Oddly, instead of worrying him, the image clicked in a fundamental place deep inside him as exactly right. He glanced at the back door, waiting for his partner to come back in.

“Zio Dom, I love you. We can talk more later, but Brandy’s got an early morning. We should get going.” Seth rose from the table as if on cue. Hugs and kisses passed between everyone before the young couple finally took their leave.

Dom gestured to the dishes left at the table. “Enzo, Frankie, you’re on dish duty.”

“But, Dad…”

Dom cut off the whine with a glare and a head shake. His remaining children left the table, leaving Dom and Adrian alone. This was it. They were going to talk about the proposal now. Why else would he have sent everyone away? Was Sofia giving them space for this conversation? Somehow he’d thought she would be by his side for this moment. Dom dropped heavily into his chair and drank down the rest of his mostly full wine glass.

“Adrian, you know I love you like you were my own.”

Oh no. That didn’t sound good. Adrian’s gut clenched in anticipation.

“Yeah, Dom, I know. You’ve been a second father to me every step of the way.”

“You make me so proud, which is why it kills me to say this.”

Why wouldn’t Dom look him in the eye? “Then don’t say it yet. Let’s talk about it.”

“I’ve been turning over your idea in my mind, trying to visualize how it would work, but there are too many obstacles to see a clear path.”

Adrian took the words like a punch to the stomach. It hurt like hell to hear it, but it wasn’t going to knock him out of this fight. “Like what?”

Dom scrubbed his hands over his hair with a sigh before pulling them down his face. “For starters, what kind of role would you have in the company? Would you keep leading teams, or do you want to take over more of the management?”

“I’d like to do both. I’m happiest running teams, but I can take on some management duties if it helps spread the load.” Finally, they were having a conversation about how this would work. Surely Dom wouldn’t dismiss the plan without giving him a chance to compromise.

“How do you see the balance of power at the top?” Dom still wasn’t looking him in the eye. He intently pushed his pork roast around his plate with his fork.

“Look, Dom, I can’t buy out the whole business, and I don’t want to. I want to keep working with your kids and Seth to make Valenti Brothers strong. I just want to have a say in how it gets run. Like you said, I’m the one who best understands what Valenti Brothers is about. Quality work, under budget.”

“Does your relationship with my daughter compromise your ability to work together rationally?”

That one hit Adrian a bit higher, right in his solar plexus, knocking the breath out of him. He was still fighting, but it was getting harder to breathe. He and Sofia were still figuring things out. Was Dom going to toss out this plan because he didn’t like Adrian dating his daughter? That question slipped from his lips before he could stop it.

“Do you have a problem with me dating Sofia?” Even saying it out loud scraped at Adrian’s heart, torn between affection for the man he loved like a father and the growing attraction he felt for his daughter.

“No, son. She couldn’t do better than you. But I know how hard it can be to work alongside the woman you love. It’s not for the faint of heart. Have you thought about how you’ll handle that?”

“No, but I’m sure we can figure it out.”

Dom looked up at that with a wistful gaze. “God, I wish I still had that optimism. Maybe it is time for me to step away. Adrian, it comes down to this. How can I make you a partner and take part of my kids’ company away from them? I would in a heartbeat. You have to know that. I trust you to run the building side of the business more than any of my kids at this point, and I hope to God you’ll stay, but it’s not just my decision. I’m getting pushback on this.”

Adrian had temporarily dropped his guard and the jab landed solidly, rattling his confidence. “Who is against it?”

“Sofia keeps butting heads with me whenever I try to talk with her about it. She just told me she wants to run the business with her siblings and her cousin. So as much as I hate to say this, I think the answer has to be no.”

There it was, the knockout combination. Being told no was bad enough, but having the reason be the words of the woman he was falling for knocked him out. He scrambled to recover, but his back was firmly on the floor. How could Sofia turn on him like that? It couldn’t be true. Surely Dom had misunderstood.

“Don’t say no yet. Give me a chance to convince her. Let’s pretend we didn’t have this talk. I can’t believe that she would say that.”

“I’ll keep an open mind, but she is pushing me to decide before we get the new show launched.” Dom held his hands out as if they were tied, which pissed Adrian off. His were the only hands that weren’t tied in this unholy mess.

Adrian could see his dreams slipping away, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Let me talk to her.”

“Good luck, son. She takes after her mother. You’re going to need it.”

Dom quietly rose and headed for the kitchen, where his real kids were clanging dishes in the sink, leaving Adrian alone and still firmly on the outside.

Had he misjudged her completely? Had he given his heart to someone who didn’t respect him? Was his dream of stability for his family and his friends going to blow up in his face because he couldn’t keep it in his pants? What the hell was he going to do now? He knew how to build walls, so he steadfastly began to build one to protect himself while he figured out the answers.

* * *

Sofia was unnerved by Adrian’s silence. When she’d come back inside, he’d been sitting alone at the table, quiet and withdrawn. Waves of hurt were rolling off his hunched shoulders and crossed arms. What had happened while she was getting her shit together outside? Honestly, she didn’t know if she had the emotional energy to handle one more round on the roller coaster tonight after her fight with her father.

She was a grown-ass woman. Why was it so hard to stand up to her dad when she knew she was right? If it had been any other boss, she’d have calmly and coherently laid out her argument. Sofia hated that her knees and her voice still trembled when her daddy got mad. It was exhausting.

And now here was another man in her life, clearly angry about something. They climbed into her car, and Adrian still hadn’t said a word. When she couldn’t take the wall of silence any longer, she chose humor as her hammer of choice. Hopefully she could get him to laugh off whatever her mom or dad had said, and get back to the happy vibe they’d had before they came.

“Well, you made it out alive. That’s better than most.”

Adrian grunted.

“Come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.”

He huffed out a breath and kept his eyes glued to the window.

“You know, that whole grunting instead of speaking thing is really only sexy when Tom Hardy does it.”

No response. Not even a twitch of his dimple. So much for humor. She reached for the jackhammer of details.

“Are you worried about the contract? I convinced Jake to let me have it back. I think we can bargain for better compensation for your guys since it’s going through the network this time.”

Adrian stoically refused to look at her, flashing street lights illuminating his furious profile an eerie orange.

“What am I missing here? Why are you so mad?”

“It’s what I missed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“How did I miss that you never supported my proposal?”

Sofia barely managed to keep her eyes on the road. What was he talking about? “That’s bullshit. Of course I support you.”

“Oh really? That’s not what your father said tonight. He said he hoped I wouldn’t leave, but it was looking like I wouldn’t have a unanimous vote. He said he couldn’t see how to make it work around your reservations. What the hell, Sofia?”

“That’s what he took away from what I said?” Sofia clenched her hands on the steering wheel, wishing they were around her father’s neck instead. She could believe only too well that he hadn’t really understood her point. She had to take her foot off the accelerator before she caused an accident.

“So you did say that? Jesus, Sofia. You know how much this means to me. How hard I’ve worked.”

“I have reservations about it, sure. Has he talked to you about any details? Any numbers? Any structure of the deal?”

“No, not yet. If you had concerns, why didn’t you talk to me about them?” Adrian was glaring at her now, and she kept her eyes on the road so she could say what she needed to say. She would not let another man intimidate her tonight.

“Because they weren’t concerns you could address. Only my dad can figure out how he’s going to structure the company. But yes, I asked questions about what would happen to my share of the company, and Enzo and Frankie’s, too. It’s our legacy. I need details, Adrian. How can I figure out how to support your proposal if I don’t know what it is?”

“Because we are together. I thought you had my back.”

Sofia pulled up to a stoplight and finally turned to face him. The anger in his eyes burned. She knew she’d hurt him with her questions, but she had to be true to herself. She knew her dad was impulsive, and she had to be the voice of reason. “I do, but you can’t expect me to jump into a deal without knowing what’s what.”

“But you can design a house without the inspection, right?”

“That was different.” Yes, she’d made mistakes, but with the pressures of the show, she’d thought he understood.

“That’s bullshit. It’s irresponsible and unethical to spend the client’s money so recklessly.”

“Excuse me?” A horn honked behind her, startling her into motion. How long had that light been green?

“You should have my back on this. I thought we were building toward something here. How can I be with someone who doesn’t support my dreams?”

Sofia turned the corner onto her street and pulled into the drive of her apartment building. “All I said was—”

“That you don’t believe in me or my plan. Yeah, message received. I thought we were on the same team. Don’t worry. I won’t make that mistake again.” He was out of the car and stalking to his truck before she could do more than call his name.

“Adrian! Wait!” She fought her seat belt, frustration and fear making her fingers clumsy. She managed to fall out of the car and race to the end of the driveway as he slammed his door and peeled his truck off down the street, taking half of her heart with him.

* * *

The show didn’t stop filming just because the pilot was done and her heart was broken. She had a full day of B-roll scheduled around the office. Sofia pulled herself out of bed and managed to strip out of the sweats she’d been wearing for two days straight. Friday night, she’d barely made it into her bed before collapsing into a mess of tears and snotty tissues. Now, after a weekend spent dissecting every last detail of that nightmare family dinner, she had two-day-old makeup caked on her face in oh-so-attractive rivulets and had to face the world. She hadn’t realized that Adrian had managed to get inside her walls, so when he’d swung his words with the force of a sledgehammer, the damage was severe.

At least you held your own. The little voice inside was trying to offer comfort, but it wasn’t making a dent in the sad yet. Yes, she’d pushed back against his accusations, defending her actions. But in doing so, she’d been forced to see just how little he respected her work, how little what they’d shared had meant to him. Apparently, his ego mattered more than making a reasoned decision. Honestly, it was for the best that things between them were over. She refused to be with a man who would treat her that way. She had to believe that or she’d crumble onto the floor of her shower, fragments of her soul rinsing down the drain.

She ran the shower as hot as she could stand and held her face beneath the stream, letting the water chase away her fresh tears along with her old mascara. If only the water could wash away the stain on her heart as well. She had really thought that things were going to be different with Adrian. Everything he’d made her feel was sharper and stronger than any man before. Unfortunately, that held true for pain as well as pleasure.

Enough. She had to push this aside and be professional. She soaped up on auto-pilot, towel-dried her body and hair, and put on a clean skirt and blouse. The routine of putting together her outer shell helped her shore up inside, too. Marginally coordinated, neat and tidy, she left her apartment and drove herself to work without waiting to see if Enzo or Frankie wanted a ride. Normally, living so close made it easy to spend time with her siblings, but today she needed the solitude to rebuild her defenses. She drove all the way to the office without turning on the radio, lost in her thoughts of how she would handle working with Adrian today. A day full of shooting filler scenes around the office would be hard, but she would handle it. She handled everything.

She pulled into the lot, aware that she was late, and prepared to make excuses.

“You look like hell.” Jake called her out on her appearance the moment he saw her. “Where the fuck have you been?”

“Sorry, I overslept.” She chose a technical truth over the whole story. If Jake found out about her breakup, he’d probably want to film her about it, and she was just too raw.

“Well, get into makeup. You can’t go on camera looking like that. Luckily, your parents are stuck in traffic, so we are running behind anyway.” He looked up from his clipboard and shot her a glare. “Why are you still standing here? Go!”

“Sheesh! What crawled up his butt this morning?” she muttered to herself as she obediently made her way to the makeup tent set up at the back of the parking lot. Natalie was there, finishing touch-ups on Frankie.

“Hey, I knocked this morning, but you didn’t answer. Spend the weekend at Adrian’s?”

Sofia sat back in her chair, casting a loaded glance at Natalie. She’d just as soon not have her breakup broadcast to the masses.

Natalie caught her meaning before Frankie did and laughed. “Oh, honey. I’m not miked, and unless you see Trina, there are no cameras here. I’m on par with your bartender or priest. We beauticians have an oath of secrecy as well.”

Sofia had to laugh at that, and it broke through her resistance. Natalie had become a fast friend during the last month of filming, and she might as well get it out now before she got her face all fixed.

“No, I didn’t see Adrian this weekend, and I’m not likely to again any time soon.”

Frankie turned to face her, much to the annoyance of the beleaguered makeup artist. “What does that mean?”

“Please, Frankie. Hold still.” Natalie swiveled the chair back to face the mirror.

“I don’t see why I need this crap on my face anyway. I’m a contractor, not some freaking model.”

“It’s so you look normal on camera. Now, I’m almost done. Hold. Still.”

“Fine.” Frankie turned back to the mirror, but didn’t let go of the question. “What do you mean by that, Fi?”

“It means that I think we broke up after dinner Friday.”

“No wonder you look like hell.”

“Thanks a lot.” She flipped off the mirror they were both staring at and immediately felt better, then turned her attention to the makeup genius. “Do you think you can hide it, Natalie?”

“No sweat, honey. I’m a professional. If I can make this mug look normal, yours is no sweat.” Natalie laughed and patted Frankie on the cheek. “That didn’t hurt too much, did it?”

Frankie answered with a smirk and turned back to Sofia, like a dog with a bone. “So why did you break up?”

“Short story—he doesn’t respect my opinions or my work. He expected me to fall in line with his plans just because we were sleeping together, damn the consequences to me or my family. If you want the longer version, you’ll have to wait for the red wine tonight, because I cannot afford to start crying again.”

“Well, if he was that much of an asshole, then good riddance. I wonder what this does to his plans to join the company.”

“I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if I answer to him as my boss. If he’s in, I’m out.”

“Your turn.” Natalie wrapped the paper bib around her neck. “It sounds like you need full armor today.”

“Waterproof everything.”

“You got it. Let’s knock him on his ass.”

Sofia closed her eyes, and relaxed as Natalie painted foundation on her face. She was definitely facing a battle today. It felt good to be pampered a little bit while she prepared her mental and physical armor. Even Frankie was quiet while Natalie worked her magic.

Sofia tried to pull her thoughts to the scenes they’d shoot today. B-roll, they called it, and they’d use it to fill in the transitions between big scenes and commercial breaks now that the pilot had been picked up. She wasn’t used to doing everything out of order, but she was learning fast. She had always picked up on things quickly. She just wished her dad respected that ability more. Instead he just thought that her job was easy, and that’s why she had stepped into the role seamlessly. After all, her mother had done it with ease as well. She hated what that said about her dad’s opinion of both of them. His casual disregard of her achievements burned. To have Adrian talk to her in the same dismissive way was the last straw.

Natalie was working on her eyes when Frankie piped up again. “So, you really think things are over?”

“I do. I won’t give myself to someone who doesn’t respect me.” Natalie’s hand paused briefly before resuming her blending of eye shadow.

“Well, it’s a shame that’s how you see me.” The deep voice rattled through her, and she kept her eyes closed out of mortification.

She’d been set up. She’d kill Frankie for this. Adrian sat in the chair next to her. She scrambled for a response. “What’s a shame is that I didn’t see that our relationship was dependent on your partnership deal.”

“I never hid anything from you.”

“What a crock.”

“You’re the one who went behind my back to convince your dad not to sell me part of the company. How is that not hiding?” Adrian stared her down in the mirror, and she wanted to cry at the anger and disappointment she saw there.

“I didn’t tell him not to accept your proposal. I asked him questions and told him I couldn’t decide one way or another until I had answers.”

“Mascara. Open up.”

Sofia blinked rapidly and raised her eyes to the ceiling, while the tiny artist expertly applied the finishing touches. She would not look at him and screw up all of Natalie’s hard work with tears.

Frankie chimed into the conversation. “She didn’t tell him not to sell, but I did.”

“What?” they both asked in unison.

“I want to run the building side of the business. I have worked damn hard to prove my worth to this company, even if Dad refuses to see it. I’m not going to sit quietly by while he sells away half of my business.”

“Lips.” Sofia held hers still while Natalie painted them, giving her a good reason to refrain from stepping back into the fray. Frankie was doing just fine.

Adrian tried to protest. “That’s not how it would—”

Frankie cut him off. “How would it? How exactly do you see this working?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to get Dom to talk about it.”

“Ha. Good luck with that. I’ve been trying to get him to talk to me about the future for years.”

“Camera in ten,” Jake bellowed from outside the tent.

Sofia pulled the paper bib off her shirt and rose as gracefully as she was able to on shaky knees and stilettos. “I’ll leave you two to hash this out. I’ve got scenes to shoot.” Happy to escape the tension of the tent, she greeted Jake at the front door of the office with a firm and fake smile plastered on her face.

Let the circus begin.