Page 41 of Omega in Hiding

Alessio grits his teeth, looking uneasy. “No, Paolo wouldn’t do that.” He turns to me. “Right?”

When I don’t respond, Dario looks to the ceiling. “Jesus, Paolo. If he’s pregnant Valentino will lose hismind.”

“He’s not pregnant,” I grate out.

“How would you know that?” Dario demands.

“I just do.”

Alessio grimaces. “Is he on the pill?”

I shake my head. “No.”

Both Alessio and Dario bug their eyes and squawk,“What?”

“He… he can’t have kids.” I feel guilty sharing Connor’s personal secret, until I remember he bailed on me without so much as a word. Do I really owe him my loyalty?

Alessio asks, “What do you mean he can’t have kids?”

I give a tired sigh. “He was born with a birth defect that prevents him from conceiving.”

“Really?” Alessio knits his brows.

“Yes.” I nod. “That’s what he told me.”

Dario slumps with relief. “You better hope that’s true.”

“Why would he lie about that?” I grate.

“Who knows?” Dario shrugs. “Maybe he wanted to get pregnant by one of the Syracuse men so he could blackmail you or get a big payout of some kind.”

I scowl. “Connor isn’t like that. He’d never do that.”

Alessio says, “Are you sure you know what he’s capable of, Connor?”

“Yes,” I snap.

Alessio says pointedly, “Did you ever think he’d sneak out of the house without any warning?”

My face warms because he makes a good point. “No,” I’m forced to confess.

“Then we can’t be sure what he’d do.” Alessio’s expression is almost pitying, which only embarrasses me more. He probably thinks I’m a complete fool.

Maybe I am.

I sigh. “Perhaps I don’t know Connor as well as I thought I did, but he wasn’t lying about the baby thing. I… I don’t know why he left, but I don’t believe he lied to me about his birth defect. He almost cried when he told me about it. He really wants kids, but he can’t have them. That’s why he’s a manny. So he can be around children.”

“I see.” Alessio nods, his expression more empathetic than earlier. “There was a kind of sadness about him. I have to agree with you, Paolo, I don’t think he’d lie about something like that.”

Dario still looks skeptical. “We can’t be sure of that.”

I clear my throat. “Why don’t we ask him why he left?”

“Ask him?” Dario scowls.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “Do you guys have his cell number or his home address? I could go talk to him.”

“Why would we need to talk to him?” Dario’s scowl deepens.

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