Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Gigi
I do as Rush instructed. I take a quick shower. I wish it could have been longer, but I don’t like leaving Emma alone for too long, even though she’s nearly four.
I change into comfortable clothes, and then I watch her play before I make dinner.
Inside, I feel hollowed out.
There is a part of me that is so relieved the secrets are out, I don’t have to keep them anymore. And after all the fear and crying, I’m emotionally spent.
But there is one small voice that keeps chiming in: what next?
What if Rush doesn’t want to be with me? He outright promised to keep us safe, even after he fired me, and I am so grateful.
But I know that he is the man for me. He’s the perfect combination of dominant and gentle that I need to feel safe and happy, all the while being more…stimulated than I’ve been.
But he knows I lied to him and I wouldn’t blame him if that meant that he doesn’t want to be with me anymore.
Dinner is a simple chicken dish, I don’t have the energy for more, and Emma and I sit down to eat, her full of babble about her beautiful new toys.
I look over at the doll kitchen, a reminder that Rush had been attempting to contribute not just to my life, but to my daughter’s as well.
With a sigh, I stab my fork into my chicken, having no real appetite. I know I should eat, but I can’t drum up any excitement.
I know I’ll feel better once Rush comes back.
If he comes back.
He said he would. But I have no idea what might have been happening in the lobby that all the brothers went down, or what Rush is doing now.
My phone rings from the pocket of my hoodie. I pull it out, Erika’s name on the screen.
Shit. I completely forgot I was supposed to cover her phone.
I pick it up in a rush of breath. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
I pull the phone from my ear and look down at the screen. “Your dinner with your brother?”
“Oh that. The whole office is still shut down, and the elevators are still locked, the doors all nonfunctional.”
“Really?” I freaked out thinking that Vigo was trying to take Emma. But when Killian showed up with her, I just assumed I’d been wrong. That some random thing had happened and I’d let my imagination run away with me.
Rush and his brothers were so busy asking me questions, I didn’t ask any of my own. I sigh. So like me. “Do you know why?”
Erika blows out a breath. “I have an idea, but I need you to listen first…”
Something in her tone makes me stand. Emma happily eats her chicken and broccoli as I start pacing the living room. “What is it?”
She sighs again. “I have a couple of things I need to get off my chest.”
My heart starts pounding against my ribs. It’s been a day, and I’m not sure how much more capacity I have for crazy. “What is it?”
“My name isn’t really Erika.”
I blink several times. “Erika is your new identity?”
“That’s right.” I hear her draw in a shaky breath. “My brother made sure I got a new name, and a shiny new life. Including this job. Just like I asked him to help you.”
This is all making sense and the tension in my chest unwinds. “I understand. You had to protect yourself.”
“And you,” she says softly.
“I know. I so appreciate how you took us in, helped me get a new name. Move here.”
“I mean, I went to that meeting, the one where we met, already knowing who you were, Gigi.”
I’m so confused, I don’t even know where to begin. The only word that comes out is, “What?”
“My name is Vittoria Andriani.”
I choke, my brain seriously unable to keep up. “But that’s my last name too…”
“I know. Your father and my father were brothers.”
I don’t even realize I’m going down until my butt lands on the floor. “You’re my cousin?”
“My brother…he did some work for Vigo. He saw you. Recognized you. But he wasn’t powerful enough to take on Vigo, so he sent me to help you instead.”
My hand comes to my mouth. I don’t know whether to be angry or grateful. Erika lied to me in order to help me.
And me? I lied to Rush. Lied and lied. I squeeze my eyes shut. “Who is your brother?”
“Matteo Andriani. You met him this morning.”
Met him this morning? I met city inspectors and… “Snake tattoo on his neck?”
“That’s the guy.”
I shake my head. No wonder he was so interested in me. He’s my cousin and the reason I’m here. I look over at Emma.
Matteo Andriani is the reason Emma and I are tucked in this building. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Is our friendship…is it real?”
“Of course it’s real!” she cries into the phone. “You’re my best friend, my cousin, and the closest thing to a sister I will ever have. Please tell me you forgive me.”
I draw in a jagged breath. “Of course I forgive you. I love you.”
She gives a small, almost-choking laugh. “Thank goodness. At this point, I’d die without you.”
Emma finishes eating and jumps down from the table, running past me and over to her dolls. Normally, I’d make her ask first but I can’t today. So l let her start playing with her doll kitchen.
“Same,” I murmur. Maybe I should be upset with Erika, but all I can feel is grateful. And honestly, happy that I have family and they were looking out for me. I have been so alone. “What happened that the building locked down?”
“Vigo happened,” Erika says. “Apparently he went ape in the lobby.”
My heart starts hammering in my chest. “Shit.”
But that’s when the lock clicks on my door. My eyes fly up, the mention of Vigo’s name making me skittish.
He couldn’t get in, could he?
But it’s Rush who opens my door.
He looks like I’ve never seen him in track pants and a sweatshirt. His face is taped up, his eyes are swollen and bruised.
I gasp. “What happened to you?”
“What’s wrong?” Erika asks, even as Rush closes the door.
“Rush just got here and he looks awful,” I say into the phone. “I’ve got to go. I love you.”
“I love you too. Call me later, K?”
“K.” I hang up the phone.
“Who were you talking to?” Rush asks moving to the couch, where he slowly sits with a groan.
“Erika,” I answer, pushing up from the floor to sit next to him.
I start to reach out, wanting to touch him but then stop, not sure if I’m allowed.
He captures my hand and brings my palm to his lips, planting a kiss in the middle. Leaning over, I press my forehead to his shoulder. “What happened?”
But before he can answer, Emma jumps up. “Rush. Look!” She holds up a miniature food accessory. “It’s bread for my dolls!”
He smiles at her and waves her over. “Show me.”
And just like that, she’s climbing onto his lap, pointing out each detail of the plastic bread.
I see his slight wince when she presses on his stomach, but he listens attentively, stroking a hand down her pigtail as she talks.
“All right, M&M,” I finally interrupt. “Time to get your dolls ready for bed.”
“It’s not bedtime,” she wrinkles her nose. And then her eyes light. “But my dolls need a bed!”
“Doll beds?” Rush’s brow furrows. “That would make a good birthday present.”
“Yes!” she cries, sliding back down to the floor and running back over to her new toys.
I turn to him, one of my brows cocking. “Do we need to talk about spoiling children?”
He gives me a slow smile and then brings my hand to his mouth again. “She’s far too cute to deny. Just like her mother.”
“Rush,” I breathe, my chest pressed to his arm. He turns then, capturing my mouth with his.
My eyes flutter closed, as I lean deeper into him. If this kiss means what I hope it does…
“What was Erika calling about?”
I open my eyes again. “All sorts of things. What happened in the lobby?”
“All sorts of things.”
It’s my turn to wrinkle my nose, even as his thumb strokes over the back of my hand. “Erika said that Vigo,” I whisper the name, so Emma doesn’t hear, “was here and he trashed the place.”
“He was. But don’t worry, I’ve got Vigo under control.”
I look at him, my eyes wide. “Rush. You look like…” I don’t want to question him on whether he or Vigo won the fight but…
“Killian did this,” he says with a smile. “He was very angry when I fired you.”
I gasp, both appalled and relieved. “You don’t mean it.”
“He’s very serious about your and Emma’s safety, I can assure you.” He pulls me closer, wrapping an arm around my body. “And I will be fine in a few days. I’ve got five brothers. We might be men now, but sometimes we still resort to fighting out our problems.”
I make this noise in the back of my throat. “I don’t like that I caused this. I deserved to be fired. I…”
“We find all sorts of reasons to punch each other, Gigi. It’s a thing you might need to get used to. I do promise you that not one of my brothers would ever hurt a woman or a child. On that, we are of one mind.”
“I know that. Trust me. But…um…what do you mean, I’m going to have to get used to it?” The blood rushes in my ears as I watch his face, looking for clues.
“I thought this was serious.” His face doesn’t even twitch, giving no indication of how he’s feeling.
“You fired me. I thought…”
“I’ve got a new position in mind for you,” he says as he turns his head to meet my gaze. “Wife.”
My mouth falls open. I rushed into one marriage. It’s what got me here.
He must understand, because he shifts his gaze, looking down at Emma. “Take all the time you need to answer.”
“Rush, it’s just that…” I swallow down a lump. “The way I feel about you is completely different than any other man?—”
“How do you feel about me?”
“I love you,” I whisper softly.
He looks back at me then. “I love you, too.”
I lean close again, lightly pressing my mouth to his. “If I say yes, could we have a long engagement? Really get to know each other?”
He gives me a wide smile. “So you’d wear my ring, but we’d wait to get married? I could live with that.”
“Good.” I don’t want to rush into the marriage part, but I wouldn’t mind knowing that I’m safe in a future with a man who feels like my home.
“One caveat,” he lifts a finger. “If you become pregnant, our baby will not be born out of wedlock.”
“Deal,” I whisper, snuggling down into his side. Because this is so different from my past and this moment has felt so…right.
No secrets. No fear. Just love.
“Is that chicken I smell?” He looks over at the table. “Is that your untouched dinner on the table?”
“Feeding me again?”
“You know it. I like my woman soft.” And he pushes up. “Can I have some too? I’m famished.”
I get up, clearing Emma’s plate and fixing one for Rush. It’s this quiet moment that just feels so…right.