I’m torn between running away and pulling him closer.
“Do you two know each other?” Anna asks, looking back and forth between us.
“Not really.” Sylvester’s response is more of a growl than an answer.
I force my face to stay neutral, hiding the shock and hurt.
“Sylvester used to do business with my dad back in Sicily,” I explain, trying to sound casual. “How do you two know each other?”
“Anastasia Carmichael Ferraro Morretti,” Anna says, as if she’s introducing herself all over again. “Quite a mouthful.”
“Cousins,” Sylvester grumbles, earning a glare from Anna.
“I actually came out here to tell you we’re closed for the night. I’ve sent the staff home, so I’ll be here when you’re ready to leave,” I say, trying to sound calm despite the panic rising in me about Noah being home alone.
“Where’s Noah?” Sylvester asks, as if he can read my mind.
“Noah?” Anna echoes.
“Her son.”
“Oh, Allie, I completely forgot. You shouldn’t be working nights with a nine-year-old at home.”
“It’s okay, really,” I assure her with a smile. Anna is genuinely a good person.
“I’ll stay in the suite, Sly. That way you won’t have to drive me home at this hour,” Anna suggests.
I glance between the two cousins, but neither of them offers any explanation.
Anna says goodnight and takes Sylvester’s arm, leading him toward the elevators.
I can’t bear to watch Sylvester leave, so I focus on clearing their plates and head back to the kitchen, determined to clean up quickly.
I’ve thought about him so many times over the past two years. In some of my daydreams, I tell him everything. In others, I run away again.
I sigh. Of course, I’ve thought about him in other ways too. He’s the only man who’s ever truly captured my attention, not just with his looks, but with his personality too.
After loading the plates into the dishwasher, I turn my attention to the stainless steel countertops.
“Why?”
I jump at the sound of Sylvester’s voice behind me, letting out a small squeal.
“Sylvester, you scared me,” I say, my hand over my heart, slipping back into my native Italian.
“Why?” He repeats the question in Italian. “I’ve gone over it again and again in my head, but I just don’t understand.” His voice is almost desperate. “Why did you leave?”
“Sylvester, please…”
He takes a step toward me, and I suddenly realize how much he’s changed in the past two years.
The emotions that were in his eyes just moments ago are gone, replaced by a cold, hard stare.
I gasp as he takes another step, then another, until he has me pinned against the countertop.
I try to push him away, but he grabs my hands in one of his, twisting them painfully.
“Sylvester, you’re hurting me.”
“Just like you hurt me, Alexandria. Now, answer my question.”
His voice is a low growl, and I realize I’m seeing Sylvester the mobster, not the Sylvester I spent nearly two months with.
“Noah’s father,” I whisper, tears streaming down my face. “Please, just let me go.”
Sylvester freezes at the sight of my tears. He releases my hands, only to pull me against his chest.
“Damn, I’ve missed you.” He holds me tight, breathing in my scent.
“I need to get home to Noah.” I try to pull away, but he holds me tighter.
“Tell me you missed me,” he demands, showing no signs of letting me go.
I sigh and relax into his arms. “Every day,” I whisper.
He holds me silently for a few more seconds before pulling back.
“Let’s get you home.”
I take his hand without a second thought, and he leads me to the garage.
“Keys?” he asks, holding out his hand. I hand them over without hesitation. “Where do you live?”
“Down on Providence, in the brownstone.”
“Fancy.”
“Christian.” I shrug, and he nods.
We get into my modest family car.
I’m surprised to see Sylvester looking comfortable behind the wheel, as if he belongs there, rather than in a black SUV or sports car, which is where I’d expect him to be.
“Tell me about Noah’s father,” he commands as we pull out of the hotel garage.
“Don’t do this.”
“I want to know about the man who made you leave me.”
“I didn’t just leave you, Sylvester. I left everything. I ran for a reason.”
“So tell me the reason,” he insists.
“I had a one-night stand in a New York club on New Year’s Eve. The guy left before I woke up. He didn’t leave a name or any way to contact him, and to be honest, I didn’t either.
“I didn’t want anything more at the time, and clearly, neither did he. But about two months later, I found out I was pregnant. Noah is my world. I protect him at all costs.”
“What made you look for his dad? Noah told me his father was dead.”
“That’s the story I’ve always told him. It’s better than saying your mother is a whore.” I sigh.
“He came into the restaurant. I saw him before he saw me and recognized him right away. One of the waitresses told me his name, and I panicked.”
I let a moment of silence pass, and Sylvester growls.
“What’s his name?”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
I press my lips together, shaking my head. Sylvester growls lowly beside me.
“Two years, Allie. That jerk took two years from us. I could’ve just killed him and been done with it.”
“No killing. No talk of killing. Don’t make me jump out of this moving car,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Where’d you go?” he asks, his voice soft, curiosity coloring his tone.
“New York,” I answer, and Sylvester groans. “We stayed with Frankie’s friend, Beth Walker. She’s the CEO of—”
“QB Enterprises.”
Sylvester pulls onto my street and I brace myself for a quick exit. I direct him into the gated community, and he parks in front of my brownstone.
We both get out of the car at the same time, and I’d run if I didn’t need to get my keys from him.
Sylvester holds the keys tightly. I reach out for them. He looks at my hand, then back at me.
“Can I come up and say hi?”
“To who?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“Noah.”
Noah had asked about him on the way home that night, the night they met at the bar.
I told him I liked Sylvester but that he didn’t need to worry. I promised him I’d always be honest if I was going to bring someone new into our lives.
“Why?”
“Because I want to say hi.”
I shake my head, stepping back from him, letting the fog in my mind clear.
I open and close my hand, signaling that I’m still waiting for my keys, but he doesn’t budge.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I’m not letting you run this time, Allie. I just found you again.”
“I’m not worth the trouble, Sylvester. Just let Noah and me live our lives in peace.”
He looks hurt, and I want to take it back.
I want to tell him I’ve missed him. Tell him I think I loved him two years ago and could probably fall for him all over again.
But I don’t.
Instead, I clear my throat and ask for my keys.
He drops them into my hand, and I turn on my heel, walking straight to my door without looking back.
“Goodnight, Alexandria.”
I pause before inserting the key in my front door, fighting the urge to turn back to him, afraid that if I do, my resolve will crumble completely.
“Goodnight, Mr. Ferraro,” I say as confidently as I can before quickly unlocking and opening my door and locking it behind me.
I put my hand over my racing heart, trying to calm my breathing.
“Mama?” Noah’s voice snaps me out of it. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, sweetheart. Why aren’t you in bed?”
“Couldn’t sleep.” He shrugs.
“Come on, I’ll tuck you in.”
I pull out my phone, needing to make one more call before I turn in.
“I found her.” Relief floods my voice as I talk to my oldest brother.
“The Romano girl?” Jonathan asks.
“She’s the new chef at the Carmichael Grand,” I explain, and he laughs.
“So, you’re glad we sent you away?” I can hear his smirk. “What was the problem? Why did she run?”
“She saw the father of her son.”
“That’s it?”
“Noah is the result of a one-night stand. I guess she saw the guy and freaked.”
I pause, my mind racing, just like it has been for the past two years.
“Did you meet her when you came to the restaurant?”
“No. The waitress said she’d be right out, and then about ten minutes later told me there was a family emergency.”
“That was the night she ran.”
“You think she ran because of me?” My brother laughs.
“I don’t know what to think, and now she’s telling me Noah is the result of a one-night stand she had nine years ago.
“Telling me she’s scared of the nameless man she met on New Year’s Eve, nine years ago in—”
“New York.”
I wish we had FaceTimed. I need to see his expression. Well, I don’t need to see it. I can hear that it’s murderous.
“What color are her eyes?”
I furrow my brow, not because I can’t remember her beautiful dark brown eyes but because I’m scared of what my answer will mean.
“Brown.”
“Light or dark?”
“Dark.” My voice is barely a whisper, and I hear a glass smash.
“I’ll be there in eight hours. Get the boy.”
“Wait, what? What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying I have a son.”
Jonathan hangs up before I can fully comprehend his words, and I’m left standing there, still awkwardly holding the phone to my ear.
I don’t sleep. Not a wink. At five in the morning, I’m knocking on Anna’s suite, desperate for her help.
After convincing her I want to do something nice for Alexandria by picking Noah up, she finally agrees to help. Anastasia is, after all, the world’s best hacker.
She can find anyone.
I’m walking through the front gates of the large Las Vegas public school, and my stomach is in knots.
Jonathan is Noah’s father.
My brother slept with the woman of my dreams. No matter how I spin it, it’s not good, and now I’m here picking up Noah.
“No way, this is definitely a kidnapping,” I mumble to myself.
“May I assist you, sir?”
I nearly jump out of my skin when a woman with a professional air and a neat blonde bun greets me.
“I’m looking for Noah Romano.”
“And your relation to him?”
“I’m his uncle, Christian De Luca.” I spit out my name, praying she doesn’t keep up with the tabloids.
She gives me a once-over, and I’m sure my cover’s blown.
“Noah isn’t here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Noah didn’t come to school today. We’ve tried reaching Ms. Romano but haven’t heard back.”
There’s a tremor of worry in her voice, and I know I need to throw her off my trail.
“Ah, Allie must’ve decided to surprise me by keeping him home, and here I am trying to surprise her.” I force a laugh.
Her eyebrows knit together for a moment before she breaks into a smile.
I barely register her words as she sends me on my way.
I rush out of the school and into the waiting SUV.
“Allie, what the hell have you done?”
