Chapter 16 Bella
BELLA
LEO
“Mr. Conti, there’s a woman on the line for you,” my assistant, Katie, says as she stands in the doorway to my office after I hang up with some investors from Australia.
“Who is it?” I rub my eyes after staring at the computer screen for far too long.
“She wouldn’t give her name.” Katie shrugs. “But she said it’s urgent.”
“I’ll take it.” I reach for the phone, seeing the red blinking light for line one. “Please close the door. And, Katie, you can go home. It’s late, and I really appreciate you being here on a Sunday.”
“Thank you, Mr. Conti.” Katie nods and closes the door behind her, giving me privacy.
“Hello,” I say, hoping it’s Daphne.
I’ve been trying to get ahold of her for hours, and she hasn’t returned a single text or phone call. I figured she was busy with her family, but with each hour that ticked by, I’ve become more concerned.
“Leo, we need to talk,” she says, and I can tell there’s something wrong by the tone of her voice. “But not over the phone.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at home.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“I’ll be waiting,” she says before disconnecting the call.
I grab my keys, leaving the rest of the work I had left to do sitting on my desk for tomorrow.
I rush to her place, driving like a crazy person through the streets of Chicago, not giving two fucks about a ticket or my personal safety.
Once there, I slip through the front door of her building as someone walks out instead of using the fire escape.
I knock, trying not to sound too panicked. “Daphne.” When she opens the door, I’m struck by the paleness of her skin. “Are you okay?” I take her hand in mine, noticing the hospital bracelet on her wrist. “What happened?” I ask before she has a chance to answer my previous question.
“I’m fine,” she says and pulls me inside. “Close the door before someone sees you.”
I kick the door closed, not wanting to take my eyes off her. “Why were you in the hospital? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all day.”
She walks toward the couch and collapses. “I need you to not freak out.”
I rush to her side. “What is it?”
She pulls a pillow into her lap and hugs it tightly. “We have a big problem.”
At this point, I’m thinking the worst. Either she’s sick or trying to push me away again. I lift her arm and run my thumb underneath the hospital bracelet on her wrist. “Why were you in the hospital?”
“I passed out.”
“Why? Did they find something wrong?” I ask, feeling like I’ve asked her twenty times in the last minute and she hasn’t bothered to answer.
“There’s no easy way to say this.” She pauses and takes a deep breath as her gaze dips to the pillow.
My heart’s pounding, and I can barely breathe. Daphne’s never been one to beat around the bush, but right now, she can’t seem to get the words out. “Just tell me, Daphne.”
“I’m pregnant,” she blurts out.
My head jerks back. “Say that again?” I’m pretty sure I heard her wrong because I could swear she said she’s pregnant.
She points at me. “You knocked me up.”
“Holy shit. You’re really pregnant?” My mind is fuzzy, and I’m rocked backward. I’m still not sure I heard her right because my heart’s pounding so hard and fast I can barely hear my own thoughts. “You’re sure I’m the father?”
I’m not trying to be an asshole. We’ve slept with each other twice, and the last time was only yesterday. That leaves the plane—where we were so caught up in the moment, we didn’t use protection.
She reaches over and hits my chest with the palm of her hand. “It’s yours, dammit.”
“Mine?” I repeat.
I still can’t process the news.
I’m going to be a father.
There will be a little Leo or maybe a tiny Daphne running around the house, squealing with delight.
“Yeah. I’m pregnant with your kid.”
The news finally starts to sink in.
“We’re having a baby.”
“I’m having a baby,” she tells me and pulls the pillow tighter against her stomach. “Unless you want to…”
“Don’t say it.” I hold up my hand, refusing to let her finish the sentence. “I want it.” There’s no way I’d even think about giving my baby away, or worse, putting an end to the pregnancy. While I’d try to support her if that’s what she decided, I want this baby. Our baby.
She sighs. “How’s this going to work, Leo? Our families hate each other.”
“Our fathers,” I correct her. “That has nothing to do with us. They’ll have to figure out their own shit.” I move closer and pull the pillow away from her. “You’re carrying my child.” Placing my hand over her stomach, I stare into her brown eyes. “Our baby.”
Tears start to stream down her face, and I slide my hands under her legs and pull her into my lap. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She wipes her tears with the back of her hand as she rests her head against my chest.
“We’ll figure it out. We’ll get married and raise the baby right.”
She sits straight up and blinks a few times. “Married? Are you fucking crazy?”
“Listen,” I say, stroking her arms softly, trying to get her to relax. “It makes sense.”
“How does anything make sense?” she snaps.
I pull her back against my chest and stroke her hair. “I can’t have you and my child living somewhere else, and I most certainly don’t want another man to raise my kid as his own.”
“Your asshole is showing, Leo.”
“Stop, Daphne. I’m being serious. Do you like me, at least?”
She peers up at me. “I’ve been falling in love with you, but I’m not ready to talk about marriage. This isn’t the 1950s.”
I place my fingers under her chin, holding her gaze. “I’m falling for you, Daphne Gallo.”
“This is all too soon. Too crazy,” she says and bites her lip as she closes her eyes. “I’m not ready for this.”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever really ready, but we will be.”
“Leo,” she whispers. “We can never get married. We can’t even be seen in public together.”
I lean forward and press my lips to her forehead. “Let me worry about that, bella.”
She curls her fingers around my shirt and relaxes in my arms. “I don’t have the energy to worry about anything else tonight,” she says softly.
“Just rest. I’m not going anywhere,” I promise.
Minutes later, she’s fast asleep. I kick my feet up, trying to get comfortable. I know I should carry her to bed and leave, but right now, I like having her in my arms way too much to even move.
“Leo,” Daphne whispers, brushing her hand softly against my cheek. “Wake up.”
“What’s wrong?” I grumble with my eyes closed and tighten my arms around her, too comfortable to move.
“You should go. Someone’s going to see your car.”
I open one eye and glance down at her beautiful face. “I parked down the street. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
“I’m not comfortable.”
“With me?”
She shakes her head. “On the couch. I want to sleep in my bed.”
“So do I.” I slide my arms under her legs and lift her into the air as I stand. I’m not going anywhere tonight unless someone drags me out of here. I’m reeling from the news, and I’m sure Daphne’s still in shock too.
I gently place her on the bed and crawl in next to her, curling my body around hers. My hand rests on her stomach, protecting the very spot where our baby’s growing.
I only sleep a few hours and leave a note on my pillow, telling her I need to get some stuff done and to text me when she’s awake. I know I have to find a way to make things right if Daphne and I ever have a chance of being together and keeping our baby safe.
There’s only one person who can help. Someone who knows both players and has a vested interest in bringing peace.
I’m sitting outside Hook & Hustle, waiting for any signs of life and trying to figure out what I’m going to say.
The fiery redhead emerges from the front door, looking every bit like Daphne, only smaller. She looks just as I remember her from when I was a little kid, running around this neighborhood.
I slide out of the front seat and stand in between the car and the driver’s door, not wanting to get too close and scare the shit out of her.
“Mrs. Gallo,” I call out and wave, smiling to put her mind at ease.
Mothers are always the key. Even my hard-ass father always listened to my mother, never wanting to anger her too much.
She stops walking and looks around before her eyes find me. “Yes?”
“I’m Leo.”
She eyes me curiously and takes a step closer but still keeps her distance.
“I’d like to talk to you about Daphne.”
She tilts her head, and her stare intensifies. “Are you the father?” she asks.
I glance around, knowing being on the street and in front of the Gallo bar probably isn’t the safest place for me at the moment. “Can we talk somewhere more private?”
“Answer the question, dear.”
I nod. “I am, Mrs. Gallo.”
She smiles before glancing up at the building behind her. “Come up for a coffee, and we’ll talk.”
I shake my head, knowing I can’t step foot in the Gallo house. “I can’t.”
Her eyebrows draw down. “How about the little bakery down the street?”
“I’ll give you a ride.”
“I’ll walk,” she tells me, knowing better than to get in a car with a stranger.
Ten minutes later, we’re sitting at a table, staring at each other over a fresh cup of coffee and a cannoli. I’ve spilled my guts, telling her about my relationship with her daughter.
“Leo, give her time. She’ll come around,” Mrs. Gallo tells me, but I still haven’t dropped the biggest problem in her lap.
I move the mug around the table and know I have to come clean. “The problem isn’t between Daphne and me, Mrs. Gallo.”
“Oh dear.” Her eyebrows shoot up. “What is it, then?”
“First, I want to say I’m falling in love with your daughter, and I want to do right by her and our baby.”
“Just rip the Band-Aid off and tell me.”
“My last name’s Conti.” I lean back, waiting for her to start yelling or maybe run out of the bakery screaming bloody murder. Worst-case scenario is the little woman is packing heat and decides to end my life right here in the middle of Mazzella’s Bakery.
She blinks a few times and stares at me. “Like Mario Conti?” she asks without moving.
“He’s my father.”
“Oh,” she mumbles and touches the base of her neck, finding the cross hanging from a gold chain. “This is bad.”
“I know.” I run my palms down and back up my jeans. Bad isn’t really the right word for the mess we’ve created.
“What were you two thinking?” She shakes her head.
“We weren’t,” I say honestly. “I never expected to fall in love with your daughter, but here I am. In love, with a baby on the way.”
Mrs. Gallo leans over the table and wraps her hands around her coffee mug. “So, I take it you’re sticking around?”
I nod. “I’ve asked Daphne to marry me.”
Mrs. Gallo glances up toward the ceiling and curses under her breath in Italian. “Did she say yes?”
“She said I was crazy.”
She finally cracks a smile, but it quickly vanishes. “Are you part of your father’s…”
“No, ma’am. I’ve never been part of my father’s business.”
I never would be either. Staying out of the life, his world, was my driving force through college and the reason I worked my ass off to make Excellence the premier hotel chain in the country. I never wanted to be part of his world after seeing the carnage his work caused around the city.
“Well.” She pauses, turning her coffee mug in her hands. “It’s not going to be easy, but here’s what you need to do.”
Mrs. Gallo spends the next hour laying out a plan to help keep Daphne and me both safe. I sit quietly, listening to her talk because she knows both men at the root of the problem. She is wise beyond her years. Daphne’s so much like her mother—strong, funny, and beautiful.
“Can you do that?” she asks as soon as she finishes.
“I’ll do anything for Daphne and to keep my baby safe,” I tell her.