Page 9 of A Son Hidden from the Sicilian

Betrayal.

She stood there, daring to look likeshehad been the one betrayed. Still not making a move to get dressed. Still not offering any groveling apologies. Just standing there, far too tempting with her bare legs and feet and big blue eyes full of conflicting emotions—none of them sharp enough.

Brianna had never been much of a sharp edge. It was one of the things that had drawn him to her. That infinite softness.A good thing for a mother to have.

Mother. The mother of his child. A child he did not know. He had his reasons for not rushing off to meet this boy. The one he liked least was the conflicting emotions that threatened to rule him.

He would not meet his son in such a state—no matter how he ached to hold his flesh and blood.

No, he would be in complete control. He would map out every move. By the end of Brianna’s time in Palermo, he would be ready. He would have everything under control.

Including Brianna.

Who still had not moved.

“I don’t understand what you’re doing,” she said at last. “Why... Why aren’t we going to New Jersey right now?”

He looked down at her, shoving the anger down underneath all the ways he’d learned to control it. “You should understand, recognize it, if you are a good enough mother. That now that I know his existence, every step I take will be in making certain my son has the life he deserves. Which, much as I may despise it, involves a mother who is not miserable. You will have your career highlight, Brianna.Icertainly won’t be the one to stop it.” He made a big show of looking at his watch. “Now. Let’s not waste any more time. I believe you have patrons to woo.”

CHAPTER FOUR

BRIANNAWASHARDLYcognizant of getting ready, though that was just what she did. Dressed. Put on makeup and did her hair. On the surface, she looked exactly as she was meant to—the American artist eager to make connections.

But surface hid so much.

She sucked in a slow, long breath, then let it out twice as slowly. Lorenzo sat next to her in the car, a living, breathing rock of absolutely no reaction whatsoever. In the dark of the car, she couldn’t see his eyes, but she imagined the anger still lurked there.

He hadn’t lost his temper. There’d been no threats, not really. He’d laid down the law—his law—sure, but it wasn’t... Maybe he would have become violent if she’d argued, if she’d refused. Maybe he had that in him...

But she was having a harder and harder time believing it. He was a proud man. Sending someone to do his dirty work...it did not fit what she knew of him at all. And even if he was ruthless enough to harm someone else in his business affairs, he would never harm a child.

That much she’d gathered from his choices tonight.

Had she made a mistake two years ago? She closed her eyes. It didn’t matter. She’d acted in her son’s best interest. If that had been a mistake, so be it. Better safe than sorry and Gio’s safety would always trump everything.

She had only a few days to decide what that looked like.

The car rolled up to the beautiful old building the cocktail party would take place in. Beyond it, the sun was setting, lighting up Mount Pellegrino. The city itself beginning to sparkle to life as night began to fall.

Brianna took another deep breath and tried to remind herself that even with this unfortunate turn of events, she should enjoy her time here. Somehow.

She did not look at Lorenzo, knew she would not be able to keep her facade if she did. “I do not think we should enter together,” she said as regally and coolly as she could manage.

He said nothing for a long, stretched-out minute. Then he sighed. As if she was very, very dim. “If you think you are leaving my sight before we leave for America, you are sorely mistaken. I will be by your side through every moment of this party. I have a staff member packing your hotel room for you as we speak. You will be staying at my residence until we leave.”

She whipped her head to face him now, anger overtaking worry. He’d sent staff to packherthings? “It did not occur to you toask?”

“No, it did not. Because there is nothing toaskof you, Brianna. You have done everything the wayyouwanted since you learned ofourson. Now it is my turn to approach things as I want. Luckily, we can both agree to put the child first.”

It was a slapdown that landed because it was true. She had, in fact, chosen everything. She would put Gio first, always. But she didn’t think he got to claim he would too at this point. “You haven’t even asked his name.”

Lorenzo’s expression was hard as granite and betrayed nothing. “I know his name. Where he was born. His height, his weight. I know everything now.”

She swallowed as a strange kind of shame washed over her—when she should beafraidhe could get all that information without her permission. She had nothing to be ashamed of. But knowing this didn’t seem to change the course of her emotions.

“You could have asked,” she pointed out. She might have kept Gio’s existence a secret, but he could have hadsomeunderstanding. He could have come to her with something other than all this controlled anger and self-important orders.

Or so she told herself to keep from crying. Or, worse, begging his forgiveness. When she refused to apologize for what she’d done, because it had been therightthing, even if the stories were wrong.

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