Momentum (16 page)

Marco eyes stung with unshed tears, but he let out a breath and said, “After this is over we need to talk about what we’re going to do.”

“Don’t concern yourself with that now.” Paolo squeezed again and then released his grip. “Do you want some coffee or dinner? You haven’t eaten.”

“Neither have you. Probably none of us has.”

“I will go speak with Conner and Jessica and Brady and Leah and see if they’re hungry. We can tell the other guys they can go and we’ll update them when we hear word.”

Marco ran a weary hand over his face. “Yes. They have to travel tomorrow. So do you.”

“No,
amico
. I’m staying here with you.”

“You don’t—”

Paolo waved him off. “I’m not going to leave while you’re going through all this.”

He nodded. Paolo was only twenty-three. When had he become an adult? Of course, now that their father had cut Marco and most likely Paolo off, he’d have to be an adult. They would need to find housing for the off-season, a trailer to travel in and so many other things.

But right now I need Natalie to live.

Marco told Paolo he was going to take a short walk and left his brother to talk to the group assembled at the hospital. He found himself in the hospital’s chapel. It was dimly lit and quiet, and Marco sat in one of the pews. His head bowed, he clasped his hands.

“
Dio
, I know I have not always acted as you would prefer me to. But I need something from you now.
Prego,
I need you to help Natalie. I haven’t even known her that long but I love her. I do. I will do anything to make her happy.” He paused and took a deep breath. Raising his eyes heavenward, he said, “I feel so helpless. There is nothing I can do for her. So please, help her.” He left the chapel and made his way back to the waiting room. Everyone was still there.

“They won’t leave,” Paolo told him, and Marco’s face must’ve registered surprise because Paolo chuckled. “That’s the same reaction I had.”

Garret stepped forward. “We’re a family. Yes, we’ll have to go on to the next event tomorrow, but for tonight, we’re here for you.”

The others in the group nodded and Marco felt tears welling up again. He’d had no idea that falling in love would make him so emotional, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

Conner spoke up. “I talked to the nurse. We can order in some food so everyone can eat.”

“Thank you. I’ll give you a credit card.” Conner started to argue, but Marco continued. “You all have been a far better family than most of my actual family has been to me. And you’re all here because of me, so I’m not going to let you all pay.” He reached into his wallet and extracted a card. “Please.”

Conner nodded and took the card, then he and Jessica pulled up a local restaurant’s takeout menu on Jess’ phone and everyone gathered around to place their orders.

“You need to eat too,” Paolo said.

“Later.”

Leah turned to him. “We’ll get you something. You have to eat so you can be strong and alert for Natalie.”

“All right,” he answered, feeling one corner of his mouth kick up. “I am afraid not to say ‘yes’ to you.”

Rolling her eyes, she said, “Yes. The figure skater is so scary.”

As the others moved away, Brady remained and Marco slid a wary look at the other man. He knew Brady thought he was a playboy. At least now he hopefully believed Marco wasn’t after Leah.

“I want to say something,” Brady began. Marco waited and Brady continued. “I was wrong about you. I heard all that shit this afternoon with your uncle and that girl, and Paolo mentioned your uncle told you your father would cut you off if you didn’t come home, but you didn’t even blink. You stuck to your guns about what you wanted. I can’t help but admire that.”

“Thank you.” Marco blew out a loud breath.

Brady held out his hand. “She’ll be okay, man.”

They shook and Marco nodded. “I hope so.”

The food arrived forty-five minutes later and Marco picked at his plate until Leah and Jessica ganged up on him and made him eat. Everything was just getting cleaned up and it was after midnight when a doctor came through the double doors.

“Is there a Marco D’Allesandro here?”

“That’s me.”

“Ms. Webster is asking for you.”

“How is she?”

The doctor paused. “Normally we’re not supposed to give out information to anyone who isn’t family, but Natalie indicated she has no next of kin and authorized me to speak with you.”

Marco wondered if she wasn’t in contact with her mother anymore. Otherwise her saying she had no next of kin had been on purpose. He followed the man to a spot a little bit away from the group.

“Will she be okay?”

“Natalie’s been through a lot tonight, but I think she will be much better in a few days. The head wounds are superficial—not serious, but they still bled a lot. She’s got a mild concussion, which may give her headaches, some nausea or dizziness, and two of her ribs are bruised, but not cracked or broken. She said she tried to protect herself like she would if she was riding a bull or a bronc, and honestly, I think that’s the reason the news isn’t worse. We’ll keep her here overnight, but after that, as long as she takes it easy for the next week or two there’s no reason to be worried.”

“She will be with me and I’ll make sure she rests.”

“All right. I’ll write up the discharge instructions and give them to you now so you can take her home in the morning.”

Marco thanked the doctor and then, after briefly relaying the information to everybody, he was led through the double doors into the treatment area. The doctor indicated a curtained-off area and Marco slid the curtain aside. There, looking so small in the bed, was Natalie. A large bruise marred the top of her cheek near her eye, and there was a bandage above that. Her midsection was also bandaged up. He swallowed thickly and approached the bed.

“
Cara
,” he whispered, reaching to run his fingertips down the uninjured side of her face.

Natalie’s eyes drifted open. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

“They said I can leave tomorrow.” She bit her lip and he had to force himself not to lean down and lick over the damage.

“If you can travel you’re coming with Paolo and me.”

“I—”

Marco sighed. He should’ve known this wasn’t going to be easy. “The guy got your purse,
cara
. You don’t have a license, credit cards and whatever else was in there.”

“My suitcase! Where’s my suitcase?”

“It’s right here under the bed. I’ll take it and keep it with me until you get out.” She nodded slowly and he continued. “I told my uncle I wasn’t coming home. He said
mio
padre
would cut off my money, but I figured that was coming. I told him I had my own bank account.” His lips twitched as he remembered the look on his uncle’s face. “I have put my winnings in it for the entire time I’ve been on the tour. There is plenty there for my brother and I.” Marco paused and took a deep breath. “And you.”

“I appreciate that, but how can I ever repay you? It doesn’t look as if I can try out. He said no strenuous stuff for at least six to eight weeks, and I’m guessing riding a bull would be considered strenuous. I have nothing, Marco. All the cash I had left was in that purse.” Her eyes bugged out. “Oh my God, Marco, your room key was in there!”

“Shhhh,” he cooed. “The electronic keys don’t have numbers on them, remember?” She sank into the bed again and he said, “
Cara
, you don’t have to do anything. You can travel with us and I’ll take care of everything. I will take care of you. All I want is for you to be with me.”

He’d meant it to ease her mind, but her eyes closed as a couple of tears leaked out. Marco didn’t say anything. Finally, she opened her eyes and raised her gaze to his. “Don’t do this to me,” Natalie whispered. “You’re making me helpless.
I’m
all I have left, and you’re taking that away.”

“Cara—”

“I know, Marco, I know. You’re just trying to be protective. You’re trying to make it easier. I get that. But do you understand what I’m saying? I haven’t known you long enough to put my entire life in your hands.”

“I do understand, but I want you with me. I am in love with you,
tesora
. I’ve never been in love before and I don’t know the first thing about how I’m supposed to behave. I am also sure I don’t want to let you go, especially when I know you don’t have money to live on. It would kill me. I just can’t.” His voice broke and he cleared his throat. “Don’t ask me to turn my back on you. I can’t. I told you I wouldn’t leave you, and I’m not going to.” It was the longest, most impassioned speech he’d ever given a woman, and his heart pounded as he waited for her reaction.

She was silent for several moments and Marco could swear he lived and died a thousand times before she met his gaze. “I wasn’t looking for love when I came on tour. But all of this tonight, it scared me. I don’t want to be alone, but right now I can’t contribute anything. That makes me feel useless. I have to do something.”

“You contribute just by being with me, being someone I can laugh with, someone I can make love to each night. Don’t you see how important you are to me?”

Natalie reached her hand out, and he took it, squeezing it gently before lowering his head to feather his lips over her knuckles.

“But I need to be more than just your girlfriend. I
do
understand what you’re saying. It’s all just happening so fast.”

“I know,
cara
, and I will admit it scares me too. But if I let you go I could not live with myself. Please, please let me take care of you. If you want to figure out something to do once you feel better I’ll do everything I can to make your wishes come true.”

She sighed and he thought she was going to refuse. He swallowed around a lump and willed himself not to cry no matter what she said.

“Okay. I have nowhere to go.” She blew out a breath. “Literally. But that’s not why I’m agreeing to this.” Natalie rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. “You’re a good man, Marco. I wasn’t sure of that after I heard you on the phone with your father. But after seeing your uncle today, and hearing how your family is cutting you off just for pursuing your dream. That’s not right. I can’t even imagine my father doing that.” She yawned and he knew he needed to let her rest.

“You go to sleep,
cara
. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about everything tomorrow. We don’t need to register for the next event until six in the evening. The event itself doesn’t start until the next day, and if we miss one, we miss one.” He shrugged. “You are more important. Paolo agrees with me. He told me he’s going to stay with me as long as I need him—as long as we need him.” Marco hauled her suitcase out, doing his damnedest not to look at the now-torn fabric with distaste. “Rest,
amante
. I will sleep here if you want me to.”

“No. I want you to go back to the hotel and get a decent night’s sleep. You need to be on top of your game right now.”

“Are you sure?” At Natalie’s slight nod he continued. “I will be back tomorrow early and Paolo and I will sit with you if they let us.” Natalie nodded, her eyelids already half closed. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “I love you. You are safe. Get some sleep.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, and almost instantly her breathing leveled out and deepened.

Marco went back to the waiting area to find his brother. Paolo stood. “Everyone said to call them if we needed anything. Conner and Brady offered to take me to the event if you wanted or needed to stay here, but I told them where you go, I go.”

“You’re a good brother,
amico
.” He offered a tired smile. “For now let’s go back to the hotel. She won’t be able to leave until tomorrow morning.”

Chapter Nine

Natalie reached out blindly to protect herself. An unfamiliar misshapen man was trying to hurt her, and though she kept shouting “No!” the man just laughed. Then, in the middle of her struggles she heard a familiar voice whispering soothing words. Her forehead wrinkled. Those soothing words weren’t in English. Forcing her eyes open, she saw Marco standing to the side of the bed, looking haggard. Her hand crept over her chest, willing her heart to stop racing.

“I did not mean to scare you,
cara
. I was going to come in and sit until you woke up.”

“I’m awake. They told me early this morning the doctor would be in first thing. Apparently they need beds, so as long as I check out okay he’s going to release me.”

Marco studied her face and she tried not to squirm. She wasn’t used to this kind of undivided attention. It was thrilling and frightening at the same time.

“Were you having a nightmare? You were kind of mumbling and moving around.”

“Yeah. I think it was from last night. You know, like a reenactment?”

Marco’s expression was puzzled and she was too sleepy to explain herself. He sat down and regarded her. “Will you feel up to riding in the car? If not I can see if one of the guys with an RV can take you and then you can lie down and sleep.”

“I’ll be okay. I feel as if a truck ran over me, but as long as they give me some good pills…” Her voice trailed off and she groaned. “How much is this costing you, Marco? I don’t have insurance and I know you’re paying for it.”

“Yes, I am paying for it, and don’t worry about it.”

“But—”

Marco leaned forward in the chair, cutting her off with a slashing motion of his hand. “But nothing. I have plenty of money, even without using my father’s. I was allowing him to pay for stuff for us so I could save my winnings. I had a feeling it would come down to a threat and a withholding of funds until I did what he wanted.” Marco shrugged, but the gesture didn’t manage to look casual. “Maybe it wasn’t right to take his money, but trust me,
cara
, my family can afford it. Last year the company grossed one hundred twenty-five million US dollars and had a profit of nearly thirty million dollars. For one year, Natalie.”

“Oh my God.”

Marco smiled a little at her reaction, and then went on. “And since my family owns the company, along with some related companies, the portion of the profits from all of them that remained with my family—just my
padre
,
madre
, Paolo, my sister Celia and I, was nearly fourteen million US dollars.”

Natalie knew her eyes must be bugging out of her head, but the figures just swam around her brain. Maybe it was the concussion, but had he really said
fourteen-million-dollar
take-home in
one
year? “One year?”

“Yes. Olive oil is a big business.” Now he gave her a full-fledged smile.

“You seem to know an awful lot about it for someone who wants nothing to do with it.”

His gaze turned cold and his tone was flat as he answered her. “
Mio padre
made it a point for me to know. When you hear something over and over it’s hard to forget. I think he was trying to draw me in with the money.”

“He could draw me in with it,” Natalie mumbled.

“But don’t you see,
cara
? Remember how you told me all you had was you?” Natalie nodded. “All my father is, the whole sum of him, is olive oil. He works and works and works, never taking a day off, never going on holiday, never spending enough time with his family. And for what? Olive oil.” He ran a hand over his face. “I didn’t want to turn into him. I wanted something different, even though I knew it might cost me the relationship with my family. I couldn’t be him.” His gaze beseeched her to understand, and she did understand, at least as much as she was able to.

The tense moment was broken by the appearance of Paolo. He walked into the little cubicle they’d put her in and set a cardboard coffee carrier on her bedside table. “How are you feeling?” He busied himself with giving his brother a cup and then turned back to her. “Probably like you got stomped on by a bull?”

Natalie chuckled. Thank God the headache was mostly gone and she could laugh without feeling as if a million broken shards of glass were scraping her brain. “Yeah, something like that.”

“I got you a coffee too, but I wasn’t sure what you preferred, so it’s black. But,” he reached into the inside pocket of his light jacket, “I got you creamer and sugar.” Paolo blushed as he put them down next to the coffee. “I didn’t have anywhere else to put them.”

“That’s fine, don’t worry about it,” she answered. Paolo seemed like a really nice guy and she looked forward to getting to know Marco’s brother better.

“So,” Paolo began, “have you seen the doctor this morning?”

“No, but earlier they said they were getting everything ready to release me, so I guess that’s something.” She bit her lip as she looked at them. “You guys might miss registration.”

Both men shrugged, but Marco was the one who answered, “There will be other events. It’s more important we make sure you’re all right.”

“But Paolo—”

Paolo broke in. “
Cara
, as I told my brother, I am here to support you. Both of you. Now don’t think any more about it.”

Natalie gave him a tired smile. “All right.”

Marco scooted his chair closer and said, “I told you,
cara
, I am not leaving you. We are not leaving you. So have some coffee, sit back and rest.”

She did, feeling the same odd emotion wash over her. Contentment? Resignation? Natalie wasn’t sure. She did know she was starting to feel clingy. Marco was the only person who really cared about her, but knowing she was doing it and stopping it were two different things. Natalie hated being dependent on anybody else. That’s how it had been on the ranch. She had been completely dependent on her father, thinking everything was all right. Look at what happened there. But if she faced facts, she had no money, no identification and no car. If she wanted to keep traveling with the tour, or really, if she wanted to do anything besides stay here and sleep in the streets, she was going to have to go with Marco.

Natalie was dozing when the doctor came in. When she opened her eyes, he quickly checked them and then stepped back. “I want you to continue to sleep whenever you can. I know you’re going to be traveling, but try to be as comfortable as possible. And no overdoing it. Your concussion is mild, but that doesn’t mean you can go off half-cocked.”

Marco and Paolo looked totally confused, and Natalie found herself smiling a little. What must it be like to be in a country where you’re not a native speaker? All those weird phrases and idioms must sound as if they were total nonsense. Bringing herself back to the conversation, she said, “I’ll take it easy, I promise.”

“Good enough. Mr. D’Allesandro, if you could come with me for a moment.” The doctor and Marco left the room, either to get more instructions or take care of the bill. Natalie didn’t want to think about Marco handing over a credit card, so she cleared her mind before she lost it.

Paolo smiled at her.

“You are a very lucky woman, in more ways than one. My brother, he is a good man. He didn’t deserve the awful things
nostro
padre
said and did. I’m happy he told the old
bastardo
to go to hell.” His cheeks colored and Natalie had to fight to keep a straight face. “I apologize for swearing.” Natalie waved it off. “Let Marco take care of you. That’s what he does, even with me, and I’m only a few years younger. He makes the travel arrangements, asks me if I have all my gear, sees I eat right and makes sure I work out. I know it can be…what is the word…ah…” he shook his head in apparent disgust or frustration, “too much. But he means well.”

“I know he does,” Natalie responded, sighing.

“I understand American women are raised to be independent, and I know you had a hard time when your
padre
passed, but it’s going to take a while for that to sink in with Marco. He’s had twenty-seven years of being told to protect and shelter his woman.” Paolo grinned and Natalie couldn’t help but smile. His face lit up when he smiled. It was kind of adorable. She would bet he found his share of buckle bunnies when he showed those dimples.

Her smile dimmed. Was Marco really ready to give up that lifestyle? Of course, he hadn’t promised her anything, but she hadn’t noticed him so much as glance at the scantily clothed, embarrassingly obvious buckle bunnies as they trolled through the guys after an event finished.

Marco returned and immediately sat down in the chair, taking her hand. “What,
cara
? Are you not feeling well?”

“Huh?”

“You are pale. Maybe you’re not ready to leave.”

“I am, but could we talk for a minute first?” She turned to Paolo. “Would you mind waiting out in the hall?”

“Not at all,” the younger man said, glancing at Marco before leaving.

Marco reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Before things went further, Natalie took a deep breath.

“I know you haven’t said anything about us staying together past the time I’ll be on tour, but I want you to know you are free to pursue other…women.” She choked on the word but forced it past the lump in her throat. Since when did the thought of having another woman touch Marco make her feel as if she were having a heart attack?

Marco drew back. “Is that what you want? I told you I loved you last night, Natalie. I told you I’ve never been in love before and I don’t take the words lightly. To me, love means we will be together for the future.”

“Okay, but—”

“
Cara
, I want to be your boyfriend. Maybe even more someday.”

Natalie looked away, willing the tears not to slide down her cheeks. “I know about your reputation. I know how popular you are with the ladies.”

He snorted. “Buckle bunnies don’t interest me. Yes, I sometimes slept with them just to have sex, but it never meant anything. As for my reputation, much of it is not true.” Marco picked up her hand and kissed the palm. “Now will you stop worrying and tell me you’d like to be my girlfriend?”

“Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.”

He placed an open-mouthed kiss on the inside of her wrist and then looked up at her. “You’ll let me take care of you?”

“To a certain extent, yes. But as soon as I’m able to I’m going to figure out something to do to make money. I know Jessica feels bad about not working. Maybe we can do something together.”

Grinning, Marco stood and leaned over her bed. Bracing himself on his forearms, he very gently brushed back her hair, placing little butterfly kisses on her forehead and cheek before finally brushing his lips against her mouth. Natalie opened for him, but he only pushed the very tip of his tongue in before retreating again and backing away.

“The doctor said not to overdo it. If you get me going you’ll be overdoing it.”

Natalie smiled. “Did you bring me clothes? They had to cut me out of the ones I was wearing.”

“Yes, I have your whole suitcase. Would you prefer to pick something yourself?”

Natalie smiled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not much of a girly-girl. I’m sure you can be trusted to find me a pair of jeans and a shirt.”

“No panties?” Marco asked, waggling his eyebrows.

“And panties. I still have my sneakers but I’ll need socks.” She reached out and said, “Now help me up.”

Marco put an arm behind her back and assisted her as she slowly came up to a sitting position. “Okay?” When Natalie nodded he said, “I will go get your clothes.”

* * * * *

It didn’t take long to get out of the hospital and on the road. Paolo drove and Marco insisted Natalie lie with her head in his lap so she could sleep. She wasn’t able to really sleep with the road noise and Marco’s distracting touch as he ran his fingers idly through her hair, but even spending a few more hours resting made her feel better. She decided maybe she should let Marco be an overprotective rooster.

When they got near the arena Marco called Conner and asked if it would be possible for him to fill out the registration forms on their behalf in as much as he could so they could catch the tail end of the registration time, and he readily agreed. Marco then asked if Jess could meet Natalie at the door to help her inside while the guys registered, and Natalie grumbled, “I’m not a complete invalid. I can walk by myself.” Marco just slid her a look and hung up.

Paolo parked and the guys rushed inside as Natalie made her way more slowly. Jessica spied her and waved, coming out to the parking lot to meet her. When she reached Natalie, she drew her into a gentle hug. “I’ve been so worried about you—I mean, Conner told me you were okay and everything, but until I saw you myself I wouldn’t believe it.” She paused and took a breath. “Anyway, do you need help with anything?”

“Nope, just walk with me so Marco doesn’t go all psycho caregiver again.”

Jessica giggled. “Deal.”

The brothers were able to register and then they all went straight to the hotel to check in. Marco insisted he and Natalie stay in and order room service, and though Natalie didn’t want to admit it, she was tired and getting some food and then a whole lot of sleep without the incessant hospital or road noises sounded pretty good to her.