Page 105 of Love Her

“Ah. Yes. When you were supposed to just be keepingher busy.Not trying to figure out how you could get into her pants.”

“For what it’s worth, she started it.”

“That’s worth precisely nothing,” Nero snapped—and Rio knocked outside.

“Boss?” he asked, without opening the door.

“I’m handling it!” Nero shouted, then turned toward me. “I trusted you with her, bestiola! Because she’s the most important thing I have!”

“And you did the right thing—because she’s the most important thing I have, too,” I said, as emphatically as I could, willing him to understand. “And I will never, ever, let anyone hurt her, Nero. Not even herself. Not ever again.”

He inhaled and exhaled slowly. “And—what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Is my daughter just some convenient rebound? After the pain of losing Isabelle and your son?”

I bolted to standing, like I’d been a compressed spring. “What—the fuck. How come everyone knew I was going to have a son but me?” I rushed up on Nero. “How the fuck did you know? Did Enzo tell you?”

“No,” he snapped. “I paid him to run an NIPT.”

“What the fuck is that?” I said, chest heaving, curling my hands into and out of fists.

“The blood test they can do before the ultrasounds.”

“Why?”

“Because!” Nero shouted, rising up before sinking back. “Because you’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a son. And if my son was going to have a son, then—I’m the kind of man who wants to know things early. So I can prepare.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I whispered, not sure whether I was going to cry or punch him. But the appropriate thing was to refocus. “I’m here because I love you, dammit,” I said, at much louder volume. “So stop making this hard on me and say yes. Because Lia already has, and this shit here is perfunctory!”

I knew there were angry tears shimmering in my eyes, as I saw Nero take out his bony hand, and offer it over to me. “All right. She’s yours. But if you hurt her, ever, if you make her cry, ever, if you cheat on her, ever, I will crawl out of my grave to kill you, do you understand me?”

“I do,” I whispered, going to my knees, taking his hand to my lips so I could kiss his ring, and then taking a moment to staythere, head bowed, forehead pressed against his knuckles—and Nero brought his other hand out to ruffle through my hair.

“You’ve always been a good kid, Rhaim. Violent as fuck, and smart as fuck, but loyal,” he said, as I began to look up. “And if you treat her half as well as you’ve treated me—and put up with me, occasionally—she’ll die happy.”

“And…you?” I asked, with the last of the air in my chest.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding firmly. “This works for me. I’ll die happy too.”

I rose up in a daze and checked my phone. It was ten after two.

I had plenty of time to go meet Lia.

“Well?” Nero demanded of me. “Go tell her!” he said, shooing me away.

64

LIA

Ipulled out my phone to get the code for the building—and then another for the elevator—until I got out on Isabelle’s floor, for the third and final one, which let me into her apartment again.

The bar stool was akimbo—there were still sheets we’d fucked in on the bed—and soon I’d get to be with Rhaim.

Every. Single. Night.

And for as long as I wanted to.

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