Page 134 of Say It Isn't So

“Stop! I won’t hear this anymore, this. . . this nasty, venom-filled talk about a good man. Knox has never been anything but good to me, and even you, and you’ve never given him a chance. You know, it was actually his idea to come here. He convinced me that I needed to see you; to tell you that we were together and that it’s almost Fourth of July—”

“I’m familiar with the calendar.”

Righteousness on my side, I narrowed my gaze. “I’m taking him to the Hamptons with me.”

Eyes wide, he clenched his jaw and said through gritted teeth, “No, you’re not. I will not have a leech in my house.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and braved on. “I don’t care. It’s not just your house. We all own it equally. It’s just as much mine as it is yours.”That’s a story for another time, but basically a few years ago, we all kicked in money and bought a bigger house in the Hamptons that we could grow into.“I have every right to bring him with me and I’m not going to let you sit here and slam the door on my happiness.”

“You will tear this family apart, Bianca. End it. Now!” With each word, his voice was more gravelly, more harsh, his words cutting deeper than any knife could.

I felt my bottom lip start to tremble. I was getting emotional, not just because he was practically yelling at me for choosing to be with Knox, but because this was an emotional rollercoaster that I was sick and tired of being on.

These arguments were sucking the life out of me, and I was done. Done having the same conversation over and over again.

My eyes as big as saucers, I directed all my pent-up anger at him. “I will not end it.”

“This is not up for discussion. You are not a child anymore, Bianca. I mean it, this is over. You are coming back home and going to get your life back on track. This has gone on for far too long!”

“But Daddy, I love him!”

* * *

Knox

I couldn’t stop the larger than life, blinding smile that spread across my face.

Bianca Morelli loved me.

She loved me.

We had never brought up the L-word. But hearing it fall from her beautiful lips made my heart clench in my chest. You wouldn’t know this, but to be loved by Bianca Morelli was like having your heart and your soul lit up from within.

I didn’t give a shit that Angelo was present when she proclaimed her love for the first time. And I certainly didn’t care that I was going to do the same, that we would forever share this moment with the one person who refused to see that it was happening whether he cared for it or not. Because nothing in this world would have stopped me from telling her I felt the exact same way.

I brushed my hand on top of her arm to got her attention. Her eyes connected with mine instantly. “I love you, too.”

Her brows perked up and I could tell she was biting the inside of her cheek, clearly trying her best not to shed any more tears. “Really? Because I know I said it and you probably feel like you have to say it now, too, but you don’t. Seriously, I’m okay with it if you need more time.”

I don’t need any more time.“Absolutely I mean it. I love you, Bianca.”

Her cheeks were glistening, but I knew the tears sliding down her face in this moment were happy ones. And that was all that mattered—-that Bianca was happy.

Which was why I wasn’t going to sit back any longer and watch Angelo make her cry, make her feel bad for falling in love with me. I’d bit my tongue until now because I’d known this was something Bianca had to do on her own. I never doubted for a second that she could stand up to her father. She’d done it once before, after all. I just wished she hadn’t had to do it again.

So as much as I wanted to cherish this moment with Bianca, I had to make sure Angelo knew whereIstood on this topic.

Angelo cleared his throat, making Bianca and I break eye contact. “As sweet as this is, I came here to eat, not lose my appetite.”

Bianca turned and ran a hand through her hair as she tried to gain her composure.

I turned all my attention to Angelo now, my eyes ablaze with the heat of a thousand suns for the way he’d been treating his daughter. “I don’t like seeing Bianca unhappy.”

Even as the words left my mouth I knew that was an understatement, quite possibly the biggest understatement of the century. I couldn’t stomach seeing Bianca anything but her usual happy, bubbly self. I hated it when someone made her sad or upset. Frankly, it made me want to crack their skull, but I’d settle for having my fist collide with their face. Although, this situation with Angelo was different. If I had it my way, Angelo Morelli would be my father-in-law one day, so you could see how my impulses wouldn’t necessarily help the situation.

Angelo leaned back in his chair, squared his shoulders and drew his brows together. “Not wanting to see her unhappy might be the one thing we can agree on.”

Maybe we’re making some progress.“Which is why you should know I would never do anything to hurt your daughter.” I’d rather suffer a slow, painful death. Just the thought of inflicting pain on her made me physically ill. True, I wasn’t perfect, and I feared one day I might screw up and hurt her unintentionally—that was part of being in a relationship. That I could handle, although I would grovel a shit ton. But to intentionally do it? No, I could never.

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