Page 91 of Whatever You Need

I quickly removed my hand from Sienna’s. “Don’t look at me like that. I had no idea she was stopping by. I’m just as surprised as you are.”

Sienna smirked. “Is there trouble in paradise already?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Sienna, cut the shit.”

Her shoulders slumped forward. “Please, Marco, I really would like to speak to you alone.”

“Sienna, we have nothing to talk about. Go back to your husband and your children. Be happy. Antonio is a good guy. Your life is there with them.”

Her face paled. “I don’t want to go back to him. That’s what I came here to talk to you about.”

Aside from her physical appearance, this woman bears no resemblance to the woman I knew. The woman I spent years trying to get over.

I studied her with a guarded expression. “If I would have known that you were going to pull a stunt like this, I would have told Antonio the second I got your first letter. How do you think he would feel if he knew that you were begging me to take you back when you were pregnant with his child?”

I should have warned my cousin a long time ago, but I felt like he was getting exactly what he deserved. Now that there was a family with kids hanging in the balance, my perspective has changed.

Her shoulders straightened. “You told me I was the love of your life.”

“Yeah, when I was eighteen and New Kids on the Block had just topped the charts.”

Was she insane?

She shook her head. “No, I know you haven’t had a serious relationship since me. You forget that I’m a part of this family and people talk. You never got over me. I made a mistake. You can’t hold it against me forever. We belong together.”

She didn’t get it, and I wasn’t even sure wanted to. “Sienna, this is crazy talk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know that I want you.”

“No. You want what you can’t have.”

“Enough.” Amelia stalked across the room and lifted Sienna up by her arm. “You’ve overstayed your welcome. It’s time for you to go.”

Sienna tried to pull her arm away, but because she was in a ridiculous pair of heels, she ended up swaying on her feet. Once she found her balance, she glared at Amelia. “Marco and I have history. You’ve only known him for weeks when I have known him for years. Just because you’ve been sleeping in his bed, that doesn’t give you the right to speak for him. You are nothing. You are nobody.”

“You’re right about one thing, what you had is history. It’s in the past.” Amelia sneered. “So, I suggest you buy a new god damned watch and learn how to tell time, because right now, yours is up.”

If it weren’t for my throbbing shoulder, I would jump from the couch and remove her myself. Regardless of my physical limitations, I needed to handle this once and for all.

“Sienna,” I sharpened my tone. “It’s time for you to leave.”

Defeat swam in the depths of her teary brown eyes. “You can’t mean that?”

“I am dead serious. Go back to your life in California, or not. I really don’t give a damn, but there is nothing left for you here.”

“I can’t believe this.” She sniffed.

“Oh, believe it,” my Nonna said from the recliner where she was holding up a cell phone. “I have it all recorded. Now, I just need to figure out how to send this to Antonio. Amelia, what buttons do I push to do that?”

Sienna’s eyes flew around the room in a panic. “You don’t need to do that, Sophia.”

My mother walked over to the door and held it open. “Goodbye, Sienna."

She looked at me one last time. “I will always regret what I did. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would never have cheated on you. You are the best man I have ever known.” She shifted her attention to Amelia. “I hope you realize how lucky you are.”

She took one last glance over her shoulder as my mother ushered her outside.

She stood vigilant by the window and waited for Sienna’s car to drive away. Once she was satisfied that Sienna was indeed gone, she trudged over and plucked the wine bottle out of my Nonna’s hand. “Let’s go. It’s getting past your bedtime.”

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