Twenty-one #2
She laughs, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Why does Willow even care about me?”
“Because she knows you matter. To Amelia and to me.”
That softens her, knocks some of the sharp edges from her expression. “Good. Because I’m crazy about both of you.”
The knot in my chest loosens, and I pull her into a slower, deeper kiss, one that says what I can’t, that she’s already my anchor, the thing I can’t lose.
“After Amelia goes to bed, come over tonight? Stay the night with me,” I murmur against her lips, desperate for her. For us. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
She hesitates, and the pause is a knife. “I shouldn’t. Not if we’re being watched…”
A groan tears out of me. “That fucking bitch.”
“We’ll get through it,” she says gently, steady in a way I don’t deserve. “Just…no overnights for a while.”
The words sting more than they should because I’m terrified she’ll get tired of waiting for me to clean up this mess. That one day she’ll decide the baggage is too much.
“I want to plan a weekend,” I push, clinging to the idea of normalcy. “Just the three of us. Napa?”
“Check with your lawyer.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I just want something normal. You, me, Amelia—no headlines, no court dates. Just…us.”
Her eyes soften again, and it’s the only thing keeping me upright.
“I will,” I promise, kissing her once more, needing to brand this moment into both of us. “I’m having dinner with my family to talk about all of this. I’ll call you after I get home.”
“I’ll be counting the minutes.”
And I know she means it. But as I pull back, all I can think about is whether her patience with this chaos has an expiration date and if I’ll even see it coming.
The second I step into Aunt Rebecca’s house, the smell of garlic and basil wraps around me, rich and familiar. Home. Before I can even take off my coat, Rebecca is there, sweeping Amelia out of my arms like she’s been waiting all day just for this.
“There’s my girl,” she coos, kissing Amelia’s cheek before disappearing into the kitchen. Trixie follows right after, of course, and Gianna drifts along behind them, as if no one can resist Rebecca once she’s in her element. That leaves me with Henry and my brothers.
“You’re late,” Dante says, grinning as he claps my shoulder, his voice carrying that big-brother authority he never really earned but always uses.
“Yeah,” Luca adds. “We were about to send out a search party.”
Ciro leans against the doorway, smirk firmly in place. “Pretty sure Aunt Rebecca was two seconds from calling the cops.”
I shake my head, amused. “I went home for Amelia. Excuse me for having priorities.”
They roll their eyes in perfect unison, but I catch the softening behind it. They get it, even if they won’t say it. Henry chuckles as he gestures toward the family room.
“Are you all like this at work?” he asks, smiling.
We stare at him.
“Like what?” I ask.
“Constantly giving each other grief,” he explains.
“Communication,” Dante says.
“Team-building,” Luca adds.
“Bonding,” Ciro finishes with a wink.
Henry laughs, shaking his head, and I follow them in, carrying the quiet sense that no matter how chaotic they are, I’d take every jab if it means Amelia gets to grow up feeling loved and adored like I did.
We watch a Goldminer’s game on the television and catch up with Henry. He works for Marino Holdings overseeing the construction group.
“Tom said the mine tour went really well with your friends at that jewelry store.”
Dante nods. “They’ve locked down the stones from both pipes. What they don’t want will go to other jewelers who’ve reached out, and we’ll still have the tool manufacturing side for the tool grade stones.”
“Becca and I are so impressed with what you guys did with that mine.” He takes a sip of his beer, and we’re quiet.
When Rebecca calls us to the table, it’s a spread only she could manage—lasagna bubbling in the center, bowls of pasta with two different noodles and sauces, and more bread than any of us need.
Gianna and Trixie are already seated, Amelia happily gnawing a breadstick in her highchair while Rebecca hovers over her like she’s the guest of honor.
I should feel lighter here, surrounded by food and family.
But my chest tightens instead. Because the chaos, loyalty, and the unspoken weight of everyone around this table isn’t just mine anymore.
Ellory stepped into it the second she walked into my office, and I can’t decide if I should’ve warned her or if it’s already too late.
“So,” Rebecca says once we’ve settled, arching a brow, “what’s going on with you? You’ve been running around like a man with secrets.”
“Yeah,” Dante adds, leaning back in his chair. “Spill it before Rebecca wrings it out of you.”
“I’ve hired Colleen Delany,” I say, letting the words drop into the middle of the table. Every head turns toward me. “She’s handling the custody battle with Willow.”
Gianna’s eyes widen. “So it’s really happening.”
I nod. “Willow’s demanding full custody, child support, plus spousal maintenance, though we were never married. And she’s asking for a healthy monthly sum that—” I exhale, jaw tightening. “Let’s just say it’s not a lot of money to me, but it’s way more than she deserves.”
Rebecca bristles instantly, her fork clattering against her plate. “The nerve of that woman. After everything, after walking away from Amelia, she thinks she can waltz back in and name her price?” Her voice is sharp, steel flashing.
“Rebecca,” I caution. “I know. Believe me, I know. But we need to be careful. She’s already got a PI on me. Following me. And Ellory and she probably has Trixie and Amelia covered.”
Trixie nods.
I look at Trixie. “I’m turning the cameras in the house on. They’re not in your room or the bathrooms, but it’s safer that way.”
Trixie nods. “No problem.”
It hits the table like a shot. My brothers go rigid, the unspoken truth passing between us. We’ve always known we had to protect ourselves. And Willow. She’s the kind of woman we always knew was out there but never thought would sink her claws into one of us.
Luca is the first to speak. “She’s dragging Ellory into this?” His voice is incredulous but steady. “That’s low.”
“She’ll drag anyone that spends any time with Amelia,” I say. “She has nothing unless we show her that it’s an unsafe environment. That’s how she plays. The more noise we make, the more ammunition she gets.”
Ciro shakes his head, muttering a curse under his breath.
“Classic forty-niner—show up late, dig for gold, and leave everyone else with the mess. But if she’s got a PI trailing you?
Then we all have to button up. One slip, one headline, and it’s not just custody on the line.
It’s the new business. Everything we’ve worked for could disappear. ”
He’s right, though his words make the knot in my chest tighten.
Dante sets down his glass, voice hardening.
“Then it’s settled. No more picking up random women at bars.
Not until this is over. I don’t care how harmless it feels in the moment, if a PI catches anything that looks messy, it doesn’t just hurt Matteo.
It bleeds into all of us. Into Olivier. Into everything we’re building. ”
Luca nods, firm agreement written all over his face. “We put family first. Always.”
The table quiets, their commitment pressing in heavy but steady. They’ve known this, of course, but hearing it out loud, hearing them align behind me, makes the fight feel less lonely.
Then Rebecca cuts in, softer but still sharp. “When is she coming for dinner?”
I blink. “Who? Willow? Never.”
“Ellory,” she says, matter-of-fact, as though it’s obvious. “If Willow’s going to sic investigators on her, then she deserves to know she has a family at her back. She deserves to see it.”
Her words land like a weight. Because she’s right. Ellory didn’t sign up for this war, but she’s in it now. And the more I keep her separate, the more she’s left standing alone.
“I’ll ask her,” I say, though my voice comes out quieter than I mean. “When the timing’s right.”
Rebecca’s look tells me she’d prefer sooner rather than later. And the worst part is, I’m not sure she’s wrong.
When I finish, Rebecca rests her hand over mine. Her eyes soften in a way that cuts right through me. “You always take on the hard ones, Matteo. Just make sure you’re not carrying more than your share.”
I nod, though the weight sits like stone in my chest. I’ve carried worse, but never with Amelia’s future hanging in the balance. This time, failure isn’t an option.