Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
He laughed when I gave him an example. “This is gonna be fun!”
“I hope so,” I laughed. “Don’t go too far, though, okay?”
“Yep. Got it!” He ran to the middle of the backyard with his bag, dropping down on the grass with his legs crossed, tongue stuck out as he carefully wrote out his clues.
I smiled to myself as I hid the small treasures around the backyard, including several plastic, wooden, and inflatable dinosaurs. I wrote clues that would require him to think critically, count steps, and observe the world around him.
We exchanged clues and spent the next hour traipsing around the property to uncover treasures. At some point, I realized that it was too quiet for an excited little boy who radiated noise and laughter. “Mattie?” I called out, scanning the area in all directions. He wasn’t there.
I retraced the path of my clues, my heart banging around too fast, until I spotted him under the giant oak tree, curled up and sleeping peacefully.
I stood there for a long moment and watched his chest rise and fall, the afternoon light dappling his hair. Careful not to wake him, I crouched and brushed a leaf from his hair.
That was when I knew with startling clarity that I was already in too deep, and it had nothing to do with Enzo. Oh no, it was the smaller DeRossi who’d pulled me in and wrapped me around his finger.
Lifting him carefully, I let his small weight settle against me as I carried him back inside.
Enzo stood there at the top of the steps, his expression going from alert to soft in the blink of an eye. He took in the sight of Mattie in my arms, and his expression shifted to something I couldn’t quite figure out, which served as a perfect and much-needed reminder that I didn’t know him anymore. He looked like my Enzo, but he wasn’t.
“He wore himself out,” I whispered, stepping around him without touching him.
“He does that,” Enzo replied with a smile.
The next minute unfolded in an alternate reality where Enzo and I moved instinctively, as if we’d done this dance hundreds of times before. He opened the door while I laid Mattie down on his bed and tucked his dinosaur-themed blanket around him.
I watched him.
Enzo watched him too.
It was a picture of familial bliss that was a total lie.
“Thank you,” Enzo broke the silence, his voice ragged and raw.
“Of course,” I said softly as our eyes met. For a split second, something passed between us, unspoken and intense. But before either of us could recognize it or put a name to it, I stepped back, breaking the spell. “I, uh, should go work on tomorrow’s lesson plan.”
Something that looked a hell of a lot like disappointment flashed in his green eyes, but it vanished so fast I wasn’t sure that’s what I’d seen at all. “Right. Good idea.”
I nodded and turned quickly, rushing from Mattie’s room while my heart thudded wildly against my ribs.
This is temporary, I reminded myself.
They don’t belong to me.
This was a temporary job. Thirty days—I hoped—and then I’d be back in my office where I belonged and where the world made sense.
Where heartbreak wasn’t staring me in the face.
The sizzle was there, but it was fleeting, not something to risk more pain for.
Chapter 8
Enzo
“Where is Matteo?” I left my office expecting to hear his loud, familiar giggles, but the house was eerily quiet. I made my way to the kitchen and stopped abruptly when I spotted Ren at the kitchen table alone, reading a book.
She didn’t even look up when she answered. “Asleep. Again. He woke up hungry and I made him a sandwich and a fruit salad, which he gobbled up. And then he promptly fell back to sleep.” Finally, she tore her gaze from the book and looked at me. “He said you’d come say good night when you were done.” Her jaw tightened imperceptibly, the way it always did when she wanted to say something but held it back.
I stared back for several seconds before turning on my heels and heading up to Matteo’s room. The soft glow from his nightlight bathed the room in golden light, making my boy look like an angel as he slept with Leo tucked under one arm, the other cradling his head. I bent over and brushed a kiss against his forehead and pulled the blanket up just a little.
These moments were the ones I cherished, the soft moments of parenthood that went largely unnoticed. These were the moments I would fiercely protect with the full power of the DeRossi Organization. Another minute passed as I watched Matteo sleep peacefully, completely oblivious to the danger that lurked in the distance.
The way it should be.
I placed one hand over my heart and backed out of the room, pulling the door half-closed before I turned and made my way back to the kitchen. Ren sat in the same spot, her eyes still glued to her e-reader, pretending she didn’t see me standing there. “Is there enough for me?” I asked, knowing damn well there was. Tonight, I just felt like pushing her.