Page 229 of When We Fall: Part One
“Do you promise?” She stared him down. She’d grown brave. I reached for her hand and held it, not wanting my father to get upset and shit to hit the fan.
“I swear it,bel fiore,” he whispered.
“And you never lie. Just… twist the truth a bit.”
He smirked at her. “You are so very smart.” His eyes twinkled as he stared back at her. “Alessandro, bring her here more often. I do love the conversation. She is both beautiful and brave.”
Rosalie flushed at his words, making him smile.
“I will bring her if she wants to come,” I said.
“Good.”
Alessio came back. “It’s set. They’re awaiting their arrival.”
“Perfect. Alessandro, Alessio will send along the address. Jenny will treat you right. She adores fashion.”
“Thank you, Father. This means a lot to us,” I said, getting to my feet and taking Rosalie’s hand.
He stood and hugged me before going to Rosalie. He pulled her into his arms and whispered something I couldn’t hear. She smiled as he released her, but didn’t say anything.
We left after that.
I asked her what he’d told her when we got into the car.
She stared out the passenger window as I pulled out of the gated drive and turned onto the main road.
“LeeLee? What did he say?” I asked again.
“He said he thinks of me as his daughter,” she whispered. “And that I’m his family now. I will want for nothing.”
I swallowed thickly. “He likes you.”
“I like him too,” she whispered before going silent.
I turned the radio on, hoping to make things better. She was clearly deep in thought. I knew what that was like. I was told Matteo De Santis was one way, only to discover he was another.
I had to hand it to my father. He knew what the hell he was doing. Enzo needed to be careful. My father played the game better than he did.
SEVENTY-ONE
ROSALIE
Isat nervously in the restaurant as Anson spoke to Alex. They seemed to be on good terms and acted as if they were close friends. I expected they probably were. Anson seemed to make friends wherever he went. He had that magnetic personality.
The events of the day were overwhelming me. Earlier in the day, with Ani, I only wanted to kiss him, and I hated myself for that. I knew it was wrong. It was killing me inside. This wasn’t doing us any good, but he was one of my best friends. I’d been without him. It was painful, and I was selfish enough to admit I didn’t want to be without him.
I promised myself I wouldn’t keep doing this with him, but here I was. At that moment, all I wanted to do was go home to my guys and remember what life was like before all this awful stuff started happening. I wanted to whisper secrets to Enzo, feed Cole his favorite cake, hold Ethan, and kiss Fox. This night couldn’t end fast enough.
“Rosalie wants to do rock music,” Anson said, breaking into my thoughts. “She has an interesting take on it.”
I blinked, bringing myself back to the conversation.
“I think that would be fantastic. Her voice could sell out stadiums,” Alex said, nodding at me. “Rosalie, I’ll be honest withyou. I didn’t need to come here to see you. Anson sent me a sample, and I was hooked when the first notes came out. We want you at Trackmaster. I’m prepared to offer you a contract with us here and now.” He leaned down, pulled out a folder, and slid it across the table at me.
I swallowed and looked at Anson, who widened his eyes and nodded for me to look at it.
I opened the folder with shaky fingers and stared at the contract. All the zeros on the page made me shake harder.
