Chapter 36
I looked at my baby, and he was the spitting image of his father.
They say newborns don't look like anyone, but Matteo was different.
When he opened his eyes, I could see he truly was a younger version of Mattia.
His eyes were a gorgeous blue—I know that can change as he grows, but in that moment, they were the most beautiful blue.
“Hi, my son. I've waited so long for this moment, to hold you in my arms.”
“Girl, he’s beautiful—and the spitting image of his father, right?”
“Seriously, the moment Mattia sees him, he’ll know right away this is his son.”
“I don’t want to think about that, at least not right now. I just want to enjoy my son as much as possible.”
And that’s exactly what I did. We were all smitten with Matteo.
He was such a calm baby—he only cried when he was dirty or wanted to nurse.
Those first few days after we were discharged from the hospital, he stayed with me in my room.
He was like clockwork for nursing, waking up exactly every three hours.
That continued until he hit two months, when I moved him to his nursery.
“Honey, don’t you think it’s time to move him to his crib? After all, he’s outgrowing this bassinet, and you have the baby monitor—if he cries, you’ll hear him.”
“Mom, he’s only two months old. The bassinet will still work for a good while.”
“I don’t think so, sis. Matteo is huge—he’s almost outgrown it already.”
She was right—either we’d bought one that was too small, or he was just that big.
We laughed at my sister’s comment. Matteo was a very healthy baby, already quite chubby.
I was breastfeeding him exclusively, and my mom was the one taking care of my meals, always saying the food she made was great for my milk supply.
Carter and Samantha always came to visit us, and they always brought a gift.
There was no more room for anything in his nursery, so I called them out on it.
Their response? I should let them spoil their godson.
But it seemed to work, because on their last visit, they came empty-handed, and I had to laugh.
“Finally you listened to me, huh?”
“Don’t think you’ve won the battle. Just wait until he grows a little more.”
I watch the love my friends have for my son and wonder if Mattia will love him the same way when he finds out about him.
I still haven’t heard anything about Mattia, and no one has said when he’ll return.
I try not to dwell on it, because as my mom said, stress dries up your milk, so I stay as calm as possible.
“Girl, when are you going back to work?”
“I have to go back next month.”
“No, you can stay home a little longer. And when you do come back, I’ll set up a room where you can bring Matteo to the office.”
“How would I bring him? I have to go out to the job sites for post-project work.”
“That’s what godparents are for.”
“You guys are angels in my life.” I hug them both, then add, “Now tell me, what’s going on between you two?”
“We’re just friends, nothing serious,” Sam says.
“And you think I was born yesterday? Come on, spill it—you live together, you show up to work and leave at the same time.” They look at each other and finally confess.
“We’re seeing each other, but it’s nothing serious.”
“Because you don’t want it to be, right?”
“And have everyone say I seduced the boss? No, I’d rather keep things the way they are.”
“Girl, quit being silly. If you two like each other, why not make it official?”
“We’re fine the way we are.”
“There’s no point, Emma. Sam is stubborn—you know her better than I do. But anyway, I came here today to ask you something.”
“What? Did something happen?”
“Everything’s fine. Here’s the thing: Nicola is renovating his office in Italy, and he wants you on the project. I explained your situation and that you can’t travel right now. Sam and I were going to go, but he wants you. So, would you take on the job?”
“Carter, Matteo is too young to travel, and there’s the passport issue too.”
“Nicola said he’ll wait as long as it takes. I just need to know—will you accept?”
“Maybe when he’s around five months old. It won’t be easy traveling with him, but at least he’ll be a little bigger.”
“We’ll come with you to give you all the support you need, and Nicola’s sending a private jet to pick you up, so you can travel in comfort.”
“Well, if that’s how it’ll be, then yes, I accept.”
“I’ll let him know tomorrow. In the meantime, take good care of our little guy.”
After a while, they say goodbye and leave. Soon I’ll be going back to work, and there’s nothing better than another project abroad. Now that I have a son, I need to think about his future, so whatever I can do to advance my career and grow, I’ll do it.
Matteo is already four months old—time has flown by.
He’s a beautiful boy with very fair skin, light hair, and eyes even bluer than before.
Every day he looks more like his father, both in appearance and temperament.
He was so good-natured when he was born, but as he’s grown, his mood has changed right along with him. I laugh to myself thinking about it.
Today is our meeting to kick off Nicola’s new office project, so I’m leaving the house with Matteo.
He’s quiet in his car seat. Carter came to pick us up.
When I walk out the door, I see Frank across the street.
A shudder runs through me when I notice the hatred in his gaze.
My friend gets out of the car to help me and notices when I freeze, staring into the distance.
He takes Matteo from me and follows my gaze—that’s when Frank turns his back and walks away.
“He’s still stalking you?”
“Actually, I hadn’t seen him in a long time—not since my pregnancy.”
“We need to report him to the police. Now that you have Matteo, you have to be extra careful.”
“I’ll think about it. Come on, or we’ll be late for the meeting.”
We arrive at the company and call Nicola.
Our meeting is online, and we decide everything.
I’ll go to Italy in two weeks and stay until everything is finished there.
Samantha and Carter will come with me to help, so I can be more at ease.
Meanwhile, I’m organizing everything here so I don’t leave anything unfinished.
I got Matteo’s passport—he looked adorable in the photo—and once everything is set, we confirm with Nicola, who sends his jet to pick us up.
We arrive in Italy and book an Airbnb since it would be easier with a baby. The house is quite large. We settle in, set up my son’s portable crib in my room, and organize all his little clothes in a dresser after wiping everything down with alcohol. Finally, we’re all set.
I arranged to go to Nicola’s company today, so I nursed Matteo, put him down to sleep, and Carter and I headed over.
I asked Sam to call me if my son woke up.
We arrive and our client greets us warmly—he was becoming a friend too.
We discuss the project; I look at the entire office floor and the other one he just bought to expand his company.
After taking all my notes, we say goodbye and are leaving when I see Mattia coming in with Owen.
He stares at me for a long moment. I leave without saying goodbye.
Why didn’t he stay in Brazil a little longer? !
“Are you going to tell him?”
“I know I have to tell him, and I will. I just haven’t figured out how yet.”
“I think the sooner, the better.”
That thought keeps hammering away in my head the entire way back. Even if I don’t tell him, if he sees Matteo, he’ll figure out right away that he’s his son. I just wish I knew what he would do next, since when he found out I was pregnant, I never got the chance to explain myself.