Chapter Eight
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jax was impatient to take Bree and Sofia to Italy, but he had to get through suit fittings and lawyer meetings and obtaining a marriage license first. Then they had the party and the actual wedding and Bree still had doubts about all of this.
In an effort to dispel some of her misgivings, he took them to Eve’s for dinner.
Bree was suspicious. “When your boss wants to meet you away from the office, they usually hand you a box of your stuff from your desk.”
Eve didn’t fire her. She graciously welcomed her to the family, and they made a plan for Bree to work remotely on a very flexible schedule while she got Sofia settled. Eve also introduced Bree to one of Dom’s sisters, Astrid, and her daughter Jade, who was near Sofia’s age, so Sofia would have a friend at the party.
That didn’t do much to ease Bree’s nerves, but Jax realized she was not only preparing to leave her home country with their daughter inside of a week, but had to attend a formal ball where she would be outed as the mother of his child. Plus, her father couldn’t attend their wedding.
“Did he say when his schedule might open up?” Jax asked her.
“It could be months,” Bree said with an unreadable look on her face. Defensive? He wasn’t sure.
All he knew was that he wanted his ring on her finger. That’s where his real impatience stemmed from. Despite the way Bree gave herself up to him in bed—which was indescribably gratifying—she wore a cloak of reserve throughout the day, one that kept him from fully trusting she would go through with the wedding.
Maybe his failed engagement was undermining his confidence in her, but he was still processing the fact she hadn’t tried harder to bring him into Sofia’s life. Now he had this sense of impending doom as he awaited their wedding day. He wouldn’t relax until his marriage was signed, sealed, and decreed.
First, this damned party.
The reception was being held in the ballroom of the WBE Hallmark property, which was across the street from the Visconti Signature. They got ready in the hotel suite.
Melissa came along to help Bree with her hair and makeup. She was spending the evening here at the hotel, enjoying the amenities until it was time to take Sofia home for a last sleepover with Gigi before they left for Italy. Bree would spend the night here with Jax. Tomorrow, they would all convene at his parents’ home, where the immediate family would witness their nuptials.
“I was thinking to surprise Bree by flying us through DC on our way to Italy,” Jax told Melissa while Bree was in the shower. “Do you have her father’s number?”
Melissa’s expression altered slightly, almost imperceptibly, but he’d seen a similar adjustment on Bree’s face often enough to recognize that Melissa was about to demur in some way.
“I don’t, actually.” She lifted the lid off the plate of chicken fingers she’d ordered for Sofia. “Bree has always managed her communications with him herself.”
Always? “How old was she when you divorced?”
She drew a breath that suggested the mere mention of that time was a firm press on a still tender bruise.
“Eight. Once lawyers were involved, he and I stopped speaking. I can’t say it was my finest hour.” She gathered up Sofia’s flyaway curls in an absent, tender way that made him think she wasn’t fully aware she was doing it. “When Bree told me she was pregnant and intended to raise Sofia alone, I knew I bore a lot of responsibility for that decision. But so does he.”
She lifted her gaze to his, letting him see the fine layer of gritty bitterness along with regret. Remorse. But also, a somber warning.
“She’s seen how badly things can turn. She has a right to be afraid that she’s making a wrong choice.”
“But she doesn’t have a reason . I won’t give her one.”
“You’d better not,” Melissa said pleasantly, still twirling Sofia’s hair around her fingers. “I’ve learned my lesson about offering second and third chances. You won’t get any.”
Like Bree, she was tall but slender, hardly a threat to him, but he took her very seriously. It would be a grave mistake to get on her wrong side.
She cocked her ear. “I think that’s the hair dryer. I’ll go help Mama with her makeup.” She dropped a kiss on Sofia’s crown. “Come in when you’ve finished eating. I’ll do your hair.”
Sofia nodded and Melissa walked away.
Jax wiped Sofia’s fingers a few minutes later and sent her into the bedroom to join the women. Then he showered and dressed in the spare bedroom before moving to the lounge, where he stood at the bar to drink the scotch he poured himself while he reread the press release that had hit the airwaves.
He hated even the blandest mention of himself in these sorts of things. This one glossed over his obliviousness to having a daughter, merely announcing his sharing of a child with Brielle Hughes and their intention to marry in a private ceremony.
They will reside in Naples, Italy, where Jackson Visconti runs the Euro division.
All innocuous details that still felt like a spotlight burning into a deeply personal place, leaving him raw with exposure. He wanted to shield himself, but also Bree and especially Sofia. Every moment he spent with Sofia unraveled the careful structures he had assembled around his heart. He was committed to protecting her with every breath in him, but in moments like this, when they were on display next to him, he had to wonder if he was up to the task.
Would he be able to give them a safe, happy life? Or would he only draw them into the rain of judgment and fire the way he had with his parents and siblings?
“My turn!” he heard Sofia sing out from down the hall.
“Your turn,” Melissa echoed with amusement. “Come sit here.”
He heard a rustle of silk and turned his head to see Bree had come into the lounge.
The vision she made arrested him. He may have even stopped breathing as he took in the way her hair held the glamorous retro wave of a silent film star. Her makeup was subtle, but her thick lashes emphasized her eyes and the aqua color of her irises was so deep and wide, they threatened to drown him.
With a self-conscious bite of her ruby-red lips, she gave a slow pirouette. The skirt of royal blue satin flared. It was topped by a sequined, sleeveless bodice that shimmered. It dipped in the back and left her arms and upper chest and shoulders bare.
“Your mother picked it.” She gently pressed against the skirt as she faced him again, looking down to the closed-toe stiletto that peeped from beneath the hem. “She said the whole family is wearing blue except Dom and Eve.” Her gaze slid over his dark blue tuxedo which perfectly matched her gown.
“You look beautiful. Perfect.”
One of us.
He had to swallow because his voice was not entirely steady.
“So do you. I mean you look very handsome.” She set her hand against her stomach. “I know Eve and Dom are the stars, but I’m nervous. Did the announcement go out?”
“Yes.” The wheels were in motion.
“And?”
“No reactions yet.”
She nodded, frowning in consternation, then she touched her earlobe. “You said not to put on jewelry, but Mom brought me some earrings. Should I get them?”
“No, I bought some for you.” Not that she needed adornment, but the blue sapphire studs, each stone haloed by white diamonds, would suit her. A matching pendant was affixed to a dark blue velvet choker that he helped her put on.
“I don’t know what to say.” She looked at herself in the mirror behind the bar.
“Say you’ll marry me.” He opened the ring box, discovering that he was uncharacteristically nervous.
She gasped as she looked at it, hands tucking beneath her chin as though she was afraid to touch it.
He’d seen the ring many times. It had been as much a part of his grandmother as her ever-present smile and her iron-gray hair. He’d seen the ring as recently as this morning, when he’d picked it up after it had been sized and freshly polished. It was genuinely beautiful. Even the goldsmith had been charmed by the delicate filigree that elevated and supported the diamond. She’d praised the skill and care taken by its maker.
But as Jax showed it to Bree, it seemed to sparkle even brighter and feel heavier in his hand. It was more substantial than a simple piece of jewelry. It wasn’t merely a symbol to indicate their promise to marry, it was weighted with the years it had already endured. With the thousands and thousands of moments it had witnessed. It spoke of longevity and heritage and familial lines.
Paloma hadn’t worn this ring. She’d dropped the one he’d given her into the Hudson. In this moment, he couldn’t be more glad about that loss.
Bree was the woman he wanted to marry. His breath backed up in his lungs as he waited for her to agree.
“Your grandmother wore this?” she asked in hushed awe.
“She never took it off. That’s why it was nearly worn through.” Jax showed her how the repair of the band had been disguised with a continuation of the engraved design.
Nonna Maria had thrown over the man she was supposed to marry—a Blackwood—so she could run off with Aldo, the man she really loved.
They had all adored her, but Jax had had a special relationship with her. After his engagement fell apart, she’d said one morning, I never thought she was right for you . You cared for her. I could see that. And you wanted to do your duty by joining the two families, but she is not the reason your heart is broken.
He had all but forgotten that conversation until this moment. His scalp tightened, as he remembered the rest of what she’d said.
You and Eve are like me. You need love. When you find your match, you’ll give her my ring because you can’t imagine anyone else could wear it.
That wasn’t how it was with him and Bree, he told himself. Nonna had been overlooking how following her heart had started the feud with the Blackwoods. He was making a practical choice. He had to.
He turned his mind from acknowledging the weeks and months and years of having his eye caught by chestnut hair, of glancing at posters in banks. He ignored the fact that he had asked his parents for this ring within twelve hours of seeing Bree again.
But his voice wasn’t entirely steady as he asked again, “Will you? Marry me?”
Her gaze searched his and her lips quivered as she tried to find words.
“The, um…” She cleared her throat. “The press release said I would, didn’t it?”
Every muscle in his body tensed. “You can still refuse.”
“No, I… I agree we should marry.” She tentatively placed her trembling fingers in his palm. “For Sofia’s sake. I’m her mother and you’re her father. We should try to make a life together. Just promise me that… That if you decide you don’t want me anymore, you’ll tell me. Don’t cheat. And promise you’ll never walk out on her .”
“Those are very easy promises to make,” he said with a thrum of sincerity that had its roots deep in his soul. He threaded the ring onto her left hand and something within him came to rest.
It looked perfect on her. The size and shape and intricacy suited her graceful fingers. It looked as though it belonged there. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her polished fingernails. Her eyes glossed and her lashes fluttered.
“I wish you could have met her,” he said, meaning it.
Her mouth trembled. “Me, too.”
“Mama, look! I’m a princess, too.”
“Sofia, wait—! Sorry.” Melissa hurried up behind her, abashed at the interruption.
Sofia stopped, adorable in a dark blue velvet dress with its tulle skirt that faded to a lighter blue at the hem. Melissa had styled her dark hair in ringlets that framed her round cheeks and big, innocent eyes. She looked like a cherub from an old-world painting.
“It’s okay. We have to go. Fashionably late is for the bride and groom.”
They obligingly waited for Melissa to snap a quick photo, then he escorted his fiancée and daughter across the street, chest so full of pride, his shirt buttons should have burst.
***
Bree’s stomach was nothing but butterflies as they entered the ballroom. She kept touching the ring, wondering, Am I really doing this?
Jax introduced her to some of his cousins and other relatives who had already heard the news of his secret child. They were curious, but welcoming.
Then he brought them to a table where they were seated with Dom’s sister, Astrid, whom Bree had met the other day. Astrid’s husband, Jevaun, was very easygoing, and their children drew Sofia into the adjoining room, where nannies were on hand to amuse young children with puzzles, games, and other toys.
There was a certain tension in the air, but Astrid assured Bree it was very much about the fact that prior to Dom and Eve’s marriage, a Blackwood wouldn’t have been caught dead in a room with one Visconti let alone all of them. The feeling was very mutual so everyone was walking around like cats on a floor full of tacks.
Eve and Dom arrived looking positively incandescent. They thanked everyone for coming. Romeo Visconti stood to welcome Dom to the family. Dom’s mother welcomed Eve. Dinner was served, wine flowed, and the guests began to relax.
Bree was aware of some stares and tried to ignore it. Word was getting around so curiosity was to be expected.
There were more speeches after dinner, then Dom drew Eve to the dance floor.
After the parents joined them, Jax stood to invite Bree. Nico and Christo were already there with Dom’s unmarried sisters. Astrid and Jevaun came and the children all stood at the edge of the dance floor to watch.
Bree’s mother would never, ever, have encouraged Bree to enter the beauty pageant circuit, but she always credited the years she’d spent doing it as a terrific finishing school. She had taught Bree everything she learned, including how to waltz.
Jax made dancing with him easy, of course. He smoothly guided her around the floor and switched to a livelier pace when the music changed, twirling her out and bringing her back so she laughed with surprise.
At that point, she glanced to be sure Sofia was still holding the hand of Astrid’s daughter and realized an older woman at a table behind Sofia was talking behind her hand while staring derisively at Bree, then sending a disparaging look at Sofia.
Bree’s enjoyment of the moment drained away. Thankfully, the music changed again and Eve invited the children onto the dance floor.
After that, it became a party. The children had no concept of feuds. Their antics ensured everyone was laughing if not dancing along with them.
Bree tried to let go of her unease, telling herself she had imagined the stranger’s nasty look. Even if it was real, what did she care? People had strong feelings about all sorts of things, including children born out of wedlock. She couldn’t let it get to her.
An hour later, Melissa collected Sofia. Bree and Jax stepped out to hug Sofia good night, promising to see her in the morning.
As they came back into the ballroom, Bree caught that same woman giving her a sneering look.
She didn’t say anything to Jax, but the whole time they were mingling their way around the room, Bree felt the small arrows of denigration and disgust hitting her. She knew she wasn’t imagining it. She’d been raised with these sorts of undercurrents of being seen only because she was not wanted to be seen.
Jax felt it, too. Any degree of warmth in him had drained away. His voice became terse. His hand in her back was hard, no longer warm and caressing the way it had been earlier in the evening.
The final straw was when Bree stood in the stall of the ladies’ room and heard a woman’s voice over the drifting noise of the party and the handful of voices at the mirrors.
“Thank God Paloma broke her engagement to him. That man is either stupid enough to get himself trapped by a gold digger, or he’s the kind who knocks up a woman and tries to wriggle out of it. Either way, that little nobody is welcome to him. Do you think that little bastard is even his?”
Bree yanked the door open with a bang. The middle-aged woman who’d been casting ugly looks her way all night stood at the mirror. The other women in the room stilled, and one said, “Odelia,” in a tone between shock and caution.
“What?” The older woman lifted her chin, unrepentant. “We’re all thinking it.” She dismissed Bree with a flick of her self-satisfied glance.
No , Bree thought as her heart trembled in her chest. I am not doing this again.
Since it was Eve and Dom’s party, she didn’t grab that woman by the hair and wash her mouth out for the things she’d said about Sofia, but she would not marry a man who would put her in this position of being belittled and disparaged.
When she came out of the powder room, she saw Jax hovering nearby. He hadn’t been farther than arm’s reach all night, she realized. He looked sharply at her as she emerged.
“Is everything all right?”
“No. I’d like to go home. Home. And I won’t marry you,” she added shakily.
She started to remove the ring, but Jax caught her hand before she could. He dragged her close, wrapping his other arm around her. It was almost as though they were waltzing again, but she was trapped in a cage—one she refused to accept.
She pushed at him and flung her head back to glare with outrage.
“Wait,” he commanded, keeping his arm tight around her.
He wasn’t even looking at her! He was staring over her head toward the end of the hallway.
“I’m serious, Jax. I don’t want to make a scene, but I will if I have to.”
“I didn’t want to believe she would go after you,” he bit out. “Not here. But the way she was watching you and followed you the second you left my side…” He clenched his jaw.
She’d never seen anyone so quietly, dangerously incensed. His body was a twisted metal cage wrapped around her. The set of his expression was murderous.
Her own anger bled off in the face of his. “Who is she?”
The angle of his head grew more alert. He narrowed his eyes.
Bree sensed the woman approaching. Instinctually, she leaned into Jax, chin tucked, seeking his protection while bracing for a physical attack.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the woman come even with them. She wore a smirk of dark satisfaction.
“You could have left it alone, but you didn’t,” Jax said with contempt.
A hate-filled light exploded in the woman’s eyes. “ You could have left it alone, but you didn’t.”
Bree didn’t know what was happening, only knew the stakes of the evening. She knew what Eve meant to Jax and splayed her hands on his rib cage.
“Not here, Jax. It’s Eve’s night.”
He was like a pit bull, all straining muscle on the end of a leash, ready to attack and tear apart. She didn’t have the strength to contain him if he chose to.
“If you need to blame me for his actions, blame me. Do not come after my family,” Jax warned wrathfully.
“Odelia.” Dom came up to them and subtly aligned himself next to Jax. “It’s time for you to say good night to my stepmother.”
Odelia swung a disbelieving glare up at Dom. “You have made a mistake, Domenico. He’s a snake. He’ll turn on you when you least expect it.”
“Leave quietly. Don’t make this ugly.”
Odelia stalked away.
Bree might have breathed a little easier at that point, but Jax’s arms were still hard around her, crushing her ribs.
“Brielle, we haven’t danced yet. Will you do me the honor?” Dom asked.
She could feel the volatile energy still bottled within Jax, percolating and ready to explode. She was also aware of people casting looks their way. As subdued as the interaction had been, people had noticed.
“You need to stay a little longer,” Dom added quietly to Jax. “You know you do. Let us dance. You can ask Eve.”
Very slowly, as though his muscles were rusted shut, Jax released Bree and gave a barely perceptible nod.
Stage smile.
She accompanied Dom to the dance floor, where he adeptly guided her around, but she felt stiff and uncoordinated.
“I’m sorry Odelia upset you,” Dom said. “My father seized any means to attack the Viscontis. It resulted in some associations that have run their course. You won’t see her at any future event where I’m present. Evie is very taken with Sofia, by the way. She’s already talking about our spending Christmas in Como and asking you to join us there. She wants to get to know both of you properly.”
He was trying to distract her and ease her unsettled nerves. It didn’t work. Not when Jax swept by with Eve. His expression was still stiff. His sister’s was stark.
“Why do we have to stay longer?” Bree asked Dom.
“To show you won,” he said simply.