Page 53 of Hidden Heir, Italian Wife

“Jax!” she answered with surprise. “Is everything okay?”

“We’re fine. I promise. But Bree’s had some news that upset her.” He explained about the wedding.

“God, I hate him,” Melissa spat with true vehemence. “He’s such a cold bastard. The ways he hurts her and thinks it doesn’t matter. He does it to hurtme. If I could divorce him a thousand times over, I would. If I could go back in time, I never would have told him I was pregnant. He would have had nothing to do with her.Nothing.” She took a shaken breath, gathering her composure. “Do you want me to come?”

“I actually wondered if you would take Sofia for a week. We never got a honeymoon and I threw Bree into the deep end when we got here. She could use a break. If we stay here, she’ll go to work tomorrow and pretend she’s fine. She’s not.” She was deeply hurt and deserved some time to heal.

“Of course I’ll take her! We’d love that.”

They worked out a few details and he called Nico, then Eve. He didn’t tell them why he wanted the time and they didn’t ask.

Then he called one of their Caribbean properties to book a villa.

When he finally headed to bed, he found Sofia snuggled up against Bree. Their daughter was more settled these days, not coming in very often. He wouldn’t have put it past Bree to have brought her in here herself, purely out of a desire for comfort, but he didn’t mind. There was something reassuring in falling asleep with both of them in the bed where he knew they were completely safe.

He would bet his entire fortune that Bree had never been welcome to sleep with her own father.

Jax couldn’t think too hard about that man or he’d keep himself awake plotting murders.

He undressed to his briefs and slid in, reaching out his hand so it rested on Bree’s hip, sheltering their daughter between them.

But as he was drifting off, Melissa’s voice kept echoing in his head.

If I could go back in time, I never would have told him I was pregnant.

CHAPTER TWELVE

When Jax toldBree over breakfast what he had arranged, she cringed inwardly with embarrassment. She was already mortified at her behavior last night, acting like Sofia, throwing her toys and having a meltdown, needing to be bathed and put to bed.

She’d never been so happy as when Sofia had crept in, though.

“Where’s Papà?” she had whispered.

“He’ll be here soon.” Bree had pulled her little body into her own like a treasured teddy bear.

“A vacation isn’t necessary,” she insisted now. “It would look awful. I don’t want the rest of the team thinking I can just drop out on a whim and go on vacation because I’m married to Eve’s brother.”

“You can, though,” he drawled. “We can make it a working vacation if you want, and take a few calls, but we haven’t had time for just the two of us.”

That was true. They had their unstructured Sundays, but Sofia was always a part of those days. She had put in the hours at work, too, arranging her own schedule to suit the time change.

“I’ve never been away from her that long,” was her final, weak protest.

His mouth twitched. “We’ll cut things short if we miss her too much.”

It turned into a long day of travel. They flew fourteen hours to Virginia Beach, where Sofia happily waved them off, excited to stay with Gigi in her new apartment. Then they climbed aboard the plane for another nine hours to the Visconti property in Saint Martin, arriving at midnight local time.

“Technically this resort is in my purview, since it’s governed by France,” Jax mentioned as they were shown to their two-story villa by a very anxious night manager.

“Is the Dutch side not in your purview?” she asked with false innocence.

“You know damned well WBE has their own resort there.”

Bree tucked her smirk into her shoulder and allowed the young man to give them a tour of the interior with its pristine white walls and splashes of colorful cushions. The ground floor held a kitchen, two lounges, a small office, and a dining area. Several pairs of doors opened to the shaded patio and the infinity pool that sat placid and glowing at their feet.

“We could have brought Sofia,” she murmured when she saw the four bedrooms upstairs. Each had a balcony, but the primary bedroom had a wraparound terrace with views of moonlight on the calm water of the western side of the island.

They had eaten on the plane, but hadn’t slept much, so they went straight to bed.

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