CHAPTER SIXTEEN - CAMILLO

I looked into the eyes of my little songbird when she asked me that question, and I found myself lost. This woman was like none other. The strength she possessed and the love she carried for her family rivaled my own. I’d walked into her life after three years of absence between us and she welcomed me to her dinner table like I was an old friend. She had served me the best of the food she had to offer in her home and she had allowed me to bond a little bit with someone who was important to her in her life.

All the while holding our daughter close to my chest for the very first time.

This beautiful woman had been working full time at a diner, trying to make ends meet while taking care of her family and raising our daughter. She was single-handedly the foundation of this run-down home and had sacrificed everything she could in her life to make sure the children had everything they could ever want. She was still in her work clothes while a brand-new gaming system sat on the shelf for her brother in the living area. I admired her for the strength and beauty she possessed and I wanted to know everything about her. I wanted to know what she needed from me to be able to be happy.

She was staring at me, waiting for me to tell her what would happen next.

She was waiting for me to take control, just like I had all those years ago.

“I need to be a part of my daughter’s life,” I said.

“Okay.”

“I want to get to know you,” I said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Why do I want to get to know the mother of my child?” I asked. “Because…”

How did I tell her? How in the world could I communicate to her that no woman I’d ever attempted to be with since her compared to what we shared that night? How could I tell her that I stopped sleeping with subs altogether because of how perfect she was beneath my body that night? How could I tell her that I couldn’t rid her sounds from my ears or her image from my eyes?

How could I tell her all this without scaring her?

I could see the doubt filling her beautiful eyes and I knew I was losing her. I saw fear and hesitancy, like she thought I might be lying to her. “Because you’re beautiful and have done an amazing thing here raising Ana and Kevin. Because I’d like to see if we could be more than what we shared the night we made Ana.”

She looked at me like she desperately wanted to believe what I was saying, but was afraid to let herself. I realized she must have suffered disappointment after disappointment in her life.

“If you don’t believe that I want to get to know you, then at least let me get to know Ana. Let me come around. Let me play with her. Let me be a part of her life.”

I could tell she was thinking and I was hanging on to every movement her eyes made as they danced around the room.

“Let me provide for you what I should’ve been giving you for the past three years,” I said.

“What does that mean?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

I did the only thing I knew how to do.

I was going to show her what I meant.

I reached into my pocket and wrapped my hand around the massive wad of cash. I’d brought it to the diner, intent on having this talk. I’d brought it to the counter under the assumption that I’d have to prove to her what I could provide before I even got a chance to see my daughter.

But she’d allowed my entrance into her home without even knowing what I brought to the table.

I pulled the cash out of my pocket and took her hand. I placed it into her small palm, the wad of money dwarfing her entire hand. Her eyes widened and she tried to give it back to me, but all I did was cup my hands around it and bring her fingers up to my lips.

I kissed each of her knuckles while our eyes connected, and when I dropped her hand, she clung to the money instead of trying to give it back.

“You’ve done such a wonderful job, Rose,” I said. “You’ve sacrificed whatever it took to make sure you could give Kevin and our daughter the life they deserved. But I know you were embarrassed when I drove up to your house. I knew you were scrambling to clean it up. It’s why I stayed in the truck for as long as I did.”

I saw tears of shame rising to her eyes and I pulled her close to me. I expected her to push me away, to backtrack as fast as she could now that she had the one thing she needed so desperately.

But all she did was press herself deeper into me, almost as if she were seeking something else.

“This isn’t a bribe,” I said as I held her close. “You have the final decision in this. But this is what I want to provide. Money. Support. Guidance. Whatever I should’ve been giving you these past few years, I want to be here to give it now.”

She sniffled and pulled away from me, her eyes glued to the bundle of cash she had to hold with both of her hands.

“You can come visit,” she said as her entire body trembled. “When I get off work, during the evenings.”

“That’s all I ask,” I said.

“Under one condition,” she said as she looked up at me.

“Anything.”

“Please don’t take my daughter away from me.”

In that very moment, the fear she had been holding back trickled down her entire body. She shivered, goosebumps raced up her arms, and tears started down her cheeks. I moved toward her, backing her into the fridge and pinning her into my body.

Then, I scooped her up into my arms and held her close.

“Never am I ever going to separate my daughter from her mother,” I said into her ear. “You have my word. Look at me.”

Her eyes, bathed in her tears of fear, slowly panned up to me, and I felt my chest fill with the same warmth I’d felt all those years ago. Even as she sniffled and tried to control her sobbing chest, she was the perfect vision of beauty. Even in her sadness, her big, bold eyes and her beautiful, black hair boasted of a kindred innocence she shared with my daughter.

I hooked my gaze onto her as I leaned against her kitchen counter.

“I am never taking Ana from you,” I said. “I want what’s best for all of us. For me. For you. For Cassie and Kevin. All I’m asking for is a chance to prove it to you.”

I held my breath as I searched her face for a reaction and relief coursed through my pulsing veins when she smiled.

“Okay,” she said breathlessly.

I hugged her close as I slowly set her down onto her feet. She leaned her cheek against my chest and allowed her hands to slide down my stomach. I had to take deep breaths to try and calm my body, because just her warmth was intoxicating. I ran my hand through her hair and rubbed her back soothingly, finally feeling her relax from the weight of all I had brought upon her tonight.

“The next time we meet up, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” I said.

“Oh?” she asked. “Who’s that?”

“You’ll see,” I said as my hands stroked her arms. “For now, all I want to do is help you in any way I can. Is there anything else you have to do tonight?”

“Well,” she said as she looked down at her hand. “I suppose I have to figure out what to do with this.”

She lifted the green wad of cash up to her face and smiled a devious little smile. I couldn’t help but lose myself in her playfulness, the way she’d opened herself up to me without any regard to how I might hurt her. I felt my softness come into play as my hand reached out to cup her cheek, my thumb tracing over the pouty lower lip I’d suckled on back at the diner.

She puckered her lips to kiss the pad of my thumb, and I felt my entire body heat up underneath the small little touch.

What this strong woman did to me was unmistakable and I knew in that very instant I’d never let her go.

Not even if she wanted me to.