“Forfeit it,” I ordered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 36
Addy
It felt strange to know that this was my brother’s house when I’d never been here before. I recognized some of the furniture, and I’d slept in my old bed last night after being discharged, but nothing else was familiar.
The house was a narrow, triple-story townhouse in an urban neighborhood. Each house on the street was painted a different color. Kyle’s was sunshine yellow. I loved it but the place didn’t feel like home to me.
I drifted from room to room in his open living space, aimlessly wandering around trying to formulate a plan. My brother was acting as my sounding board. He sat on his couch with a cup of coffee, a blue pillow in his lap.
His hair stood up at all ends, but he had just rolled out of bed. He had on a pair of pajama pants which happened to match the ones I’d borrowed. Apparently, he’d bought them on a buy one get one free special. Same with our black tees.
Since my hair was also still a mess, we looked more alike than ever. Most of all, both of us had a haunted look in our eyes.
I tossed his phone down next to him with a scowl. “Marco has to be back in Italy by now, but I still can’t get through.”
Kyle bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Then we have to get you to Italy.”
“How?” I threw my arms out to my sides. “I don’t even have my own pajamas. I had to use your phone because I don’t have a charger for mine. My wallet with all my cards in it was in my bag. It’s useless.”
“It’s not,” he insisted, straightening up. “You can reach out to him over the internet.”
“He doesn’t believe in social media.”
He arched a brow at me. “Like, at all?”
I shook my head. “I sent an email to his office account, but he’s got an automatic out-of-office reply on. The only thing I can do is wait until he reaches out to me. I’ll send another email, but that’s the best I can do.”
“It’s not the best I can do.” He raked his hands over his head a few times. “I’ll take out a loan. We’ll buy you a plane ticket and you’ll go back to him.”
“I can’t let you do that.” I dropped into the seat beside his, resting my head on his shoulder and folding a hand over my belly. “We can’t let you do that.”
“Why the hell not? I had a part to play in what happened, sis. You can’t deny it.” Aggravation trembled through him. “It was a big part, too. Let me help you fix it.”
“There’s no guarantee that he’ll take me back even if I go there. What do we do then? I’d be stranded there with no one to help me, and let’s face it, probably without a job.”
“If you want to stay, you have a job with me.” His tone brooked no argument. “But I feel like both you and I owe it to you to see if you can make it right. We owe it to the baby.”
“Wasn’t it you that pointed out he wasn’t exactly excited for this baby?” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from creeping in. “You were right when you said it, so what’s the point?”
“The point is that you were also right when you said the baby would be missing out on knowing the other half of its family and heritage.” He referenced the discussion we’d had into the early hours of this morning. “Vowing to show it pictures and taking virtual tours of Florence isn’t the same thing as knowing it for yourself.”
“If he wants the baby to know it for itself, that’s up to him,” I said sadly. “And I think he’s made his decision known.”
Kyle’s fist tightened in his pillow. “Not this again. It’s been two days, sis. Give the man a fucking minute to get his head straight.”
“He had his minute,” I reminded him. “In fact, he had many minutes. Right after we found out. Don’t those count?”
“Not for something this big.” He let out a giant sigh and sagged back into the couch. “I’m not defending what he did, but—”
A knock sounded at his door, interrupting whatever he had been about to say. I frowned at it, but Kyle pursed his lips. “Damn. I forgot Drew was going to come around today to check up on me. I’ll ask him to come back later. Give me a second.”
He disappeared down the flight of stairs connecting his living area to the street level. I tipped my head back against his couch and closed my eyes, not sure I really wanted to hear what Kyle wanted to say.
I heard his voice, but then another filtered up from below. Marco?
It couldn’t be, but it sure sounded like him. My eyes opened, and when they did, I saw a familiar head of thick brown hair coming up the stairs. The next thing I knew, Marco was there.
I blinked at him, certain he was about to disappear. When he dropped to his haunches in front of me, his soulful brown eyes filled with emotion catching on mine, I knew I wasn’t hallucinating.
Kyle cleared his throat. “I’m just going to step out for a minute. Give you two some space.”
My head snapped in his direction. “You’re wearing your pajamas.”
He barked out a laugh and smirked at me. “My area is filled with millennials. They won’t even notice. I probably won’t even be the only one out there going for a stroll before getting ready for the day. See ya.”
“I like your brother,” Marco said, his soft smooth baritone hitting me like a punch to the heart. My eyes filled with tears and a pained expression ghosted across his face. “I’m sorry. God. I’m really fucking bad at this.”
“No, it’s not that.” I stared at him in wonder. “I just didn’t expect I’d ever hear your voice again. What are
