Patriot and his Secret Baby (The Rossi Family Mafia Book 1) (11 page)

“I was … really scared. My sister messed this all up. She told you before I had the chance to.”

“Ha! I thought your sister was just trying to throw lies at you.”

I wrapped my arms around his middle. He was so warm, like my own personal furnace in the cold night. We stayed like that for a long time, enjoying the touch of each other. I felt so supported and peaceful about the pregnancy. After a long time of feeling stressed, letting the truth out was like a breath of fresh air.
 

“Here. I’ll call us a car,” Lance finally said, detaching himself from me momentarily. I lifted my head and he planted a firm kiss on my lips. It was heaven.

When the kiss ended, he was able to pull up an app on his phone and get a car headed our way. The night air had gotten much colder than it had been earlier in the evening, and my teeth were chattering.
 

Lance hugged me again, squeezing me around the shoulders to warm me. As we waited something pushed me to start talking once more.

“I’m so happy you want to be part of this,” I motioned to my stomach. “But my family cannot know about this baby at ALL.”

Lance grasped my shoulders and leaned back to look at me.

“What do you mean?”

“If my family
―
if they found out I had a child out of wedlock … they’d kill you.”
 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t
―
" The look on my face stopped him mid-sentence. He cleared his throat. “So what?”

“So what? You do know you have to be alive to be a father to this baby, yes? You said yes. You aren’t getting out that easy.”

Lance chuckled at that and brought me close. “Then let’s run away together, make a new life for ourselves.”

A sigh escaped my lips. “That WOULD be nice, wouldn’t it?” Venom filled each syllable. When he tilted his head inquisitively I let my fingers pinch the bridge of my nose.

“That was my plan before we got pregnant. I was going to use the money from my aunt’s will to go to New York City. Maybe buy a small condo, settle down. But
―
"

“You can’t have a child out of wedlock.” His eyes widened as he realized it.

“Exactly.”

“Well, that does make this more complicated, huh?”

Lights appeared down the road and the sound of gravel against tire broke the night air. A sleek, black car pulled up to us. Before I could say anything, Lance opened the door to let me in the back seat. He kissed the top of my head as I passed him and I blushed. We had never kissed in front of any people
―
that I knew of. After the stunt we pulled in the parking lot, I thought it was possible that anyone could have seen us.
 

“I’ll take you back to your house,” Lance said, entering my address into his phone. I nodded, wanting so much to talk more about our future, the baby, what he was thinking
―
but I was too uncomfortable talking abut such things in front of our driver. From what I knew about my Father’s business, you never knew who were friends or foe.
 

We watched the city lights stream past. Though I was nervous to talk about my pregnancy while someone else could hear, I allowed myself the luxury of holding Lance’s hand.
 

We twisted through the city and came upon a large park. It was beautiful at night. The trees swayed slightly in the breeze, and in the middle of the green lawn was a lovely fountain. The water reflected the lights that shone up. Light danced and played against the white stone.

Lance looked out my window and squeezed my hand. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “It is.”

Something jolted Lance upright, making me jump in my seat. He leaned forward in the car and grasped the back of the driver’s chair.
 

“Stop the car!” he exclaimed. I was thinking there was some sort of emergency. I looked around for any sign of danger, but there was none. The driver grunted in reply, perturbed by the sudden outburst, but he turned the steering wheel to the right. We came to a stop at the curb.
 

Lance flew out of the car and ran around to open my door. I gave him a weird look.

“What’s happening?”

“You’ll see!” He told me, taking my hand and leading me around toward the park.
 

Since it was late at night and we had driven to a better part of the city, there weren’t many people around. There was one other couple on the other side of the park who were walking in the opposite direction.
 

The place was ours.
 

“Come on,” Lance told me, pulling me up toward the fountain. I resisted a bit, but he eventually was able to pull me up with him toward the edge of the water. Crossing my arms, I waited for his explanation.
 

“Just hear me out.” Lance said. “In your auntie’s will, it stated that you couldn’t HAVE a child out of wedlock.”

“Yes, but in order to receive the money, I have to take a pregnancy test if I’m not married.”

“So, what if you were married?”

My breath caught in my chest. “What?”

Before I could think, Lance was on his knee before the fountain. I covered my mouth with my hands in shock. We had known each other for six years, yes, but it was all too fast for me. The world around me spun and I wasn’t sure I could see straight.
 

“Rosabella,” he showed me that same stupid grin that I had seen when we first met. “I don’t have a ring. But …” he reached down toward the end of his shirt, tearing at the edge of it to rip the fabric into a long, slender piece. “I hope this will do.”

He looked up at me expectantly, then motioned for me to give him my hand. I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it and gave in. He took my slender hand, tying a knot on my ring finger with the fabric. It was large and looked ridiculous, I couldn’t help but laugh at it. Then I met his eyes.

“Will you marry me?”

My mouth was like a muppet with no voice actor. I opened and closed it, but no sound came out. I could feel the redness in my face as the time went on and on. Lance didn’t look worried in the least, kneeling with an amused look on his face as he waited for my reply.

Finally, words returned.

“This is crazy! You’re crazy! It’s not like we know each other that well, really.” I turned, trying to list off every excuse I could why we shouldn’t.
 

“I haven’t heard a ‘no’ yet,” Lance replied.

A sigh escaped me and I tried to collect my thoughts. “Alright. Here’s the thing. You were a total asshole to me in high school. I’m fine with us being co-parents, but I’m not so sure we should be married ….”

“Buuuuut
―
" Lance said, reading my facial expressions perfectly.
 

“But … it would mean a lot to me to get out of Jersey and get my own place. That money will help all of us, including the baby. I’ll agree to it now, so we can get the money from the will. We can get an annulment once he
―
or she
―
is born. Got it?”
 

“So is that a yes?” His face had brightened. I looked down at my goofy improvised ring and the face that looked so eager below me.
 

“Yes, but not forever. You’re a cool guy Lance. You’re good … GREAT in bed, but I don’t know if I want you to be my husband.”

“Such a romantic,” he said, getting up from his knee. With one quick movement he grabbed me, scooping me up in his arms. Oh goodness, he was charming. We were all giggles and fun now, but I was still worried that I was making a mistake.

But as he twirled me around the fountain, I tried to enjoy the gentle evening air.
 

No matter what happened, I had this moment.

Well, I was an engaged man.
 

That wasn’t what I was expecting after less than a month back home, but fuck it. You only live once. If I was going to be a father, I was going to do it right. Our plan was to have a quick wedding, leave town once we got the money, wait out the pregnancy and then get married again in front of our families. The hope was that once there was a baby involved, that her father wouldn’t crucify me, or whatever Mafia bosses do.

I had dropped Rosabella back at her house that night. She still had that unsure look about her, but so would I if I had agreed to marry me. Before she left the car, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back and smiled bashfully, but left me without so much as a peck on the cheek.

I had gotten cocky. Kissing her in front of her parent’s house, most likely with security watching, probably wasn’t the smartest thing. I wanted it anyway. Ever since I got down on one knee I wanted to take her, fuck her, and throw her around a proper bed.

We had been sneaking around for too long and I wanted to have a real relationship. However, Rosa felt differently. I watched her go, slipping into the front door with only a small glance back at me. Once she was gone, I closed the door to the car and took a seat next to the driver.
 

“Hermann and Son’s Auto Repair.”

Luca had paid me handsomely for the return of his car at the club. While I had been away from Rosa, we had gone off to inspect the repair and he had seemed more than happy. Luckily, he didn’t notice anything off about the back seats. When I had returned to my Dad’s repair shop, I deposited the cash in the safe that was bolted to the ground in the back office.
 

It was probably prudent to go home, but I knew I couldn’t sleep. Instead, I focused on the mess around the shop. Well, it COULD use a deep cleaning. So, instead of going home and getting some shut eye, I turned the volume up on the old radio and got to work.
 

The next I knew, it was dawn. I was in the middle of organizing the wrenches in a more efficient way when I heard the garage door open. Sunlight streamed into the shop and made my eyes hurt. I squinted, shading my face from the sun.
 

“Oh good, you’re here,” the voice made my blood run cold. Rosa’s bitch of a sister stood before me, her hair disheveled and looking like she’d been up all night like I had. Her stockings were torn, one of her heels was broken, and mascara was smeared across her face. I was a statue, wondering if she was like a T-Rex and could only see me if I moved.

I wasn’t so lucky. She wobbled forward, almost falling all over my perfectly organized toolbox.
 

“I’m sorry ma’am, we aren’t open yet. Please come back at 9.” I snatched my things away from her reach. She rolled her eyes at me and sniffed, then rubbed her nose. I was starting to expect how she had been up all night.
 

“My brother told me you fix our cars here for free.” Her voice was like nails over a chalkboard.

“No. No, I definitely don’t do work for free.”

She waved her hand at me. “Yeah, whatever, talk to Luca. I need my car fixed.” She stepped aside and pointed down the driveway. Around thirty feet away, located in a ditch across from the shop, was another damn Italian car. This one was white, and had obviously been in a fender bender.
 

“Jesus Fucking Christ,” I swore, holding my head in my hands. Not another one.
 

“I need this as soon as possible.” She pointed once more at the car a few feet away. Leaning against his own, less expensive car, was the bro Regina had been hanging around last night. He nodded in a “I’ll fuck you up if you don’t” sort of way and I just waved back.
 

“Also,” Regina went on, “I need you to not tell ANYONE about this. NOT A SOUL. I’m already on probation and I can’t be having the cops let my daddy know about this. Also, especially don’t tell that cunt you knocked up.”

“You mean your sister?”
 

“She’s no sister of mine anymore. Like, I don’t hang out with hoes like her. Fuckin’ trash.”

I tried not to laugh at the irony, but I didn’t want to be part of anymore drama. “Fine. Leave the car. I’ll fix it. Just go.”

“Don’t need to get all catty home boy. I’m out.”

She turned on her good heel to leave, wobbling down the driveway toward her sort-of beau. Before she got in his car she yelled out across the way toward me.

“Also if you fuck anything up, I’ll tell my Daddy you fucked my sister!”

I nodded, eyes wide and smile forced. I couldn’t believe Rosabella came from the same stock as Regina.
 

Finally, the man put the car into reverse and sped down the driveway toward the main road and out of sight.
 

After a few minutes of processing the train wreck I had just been a part of, I walked up to the car that was partially parked in a ditch. It looked like a fender bender, nothing too serious. Thankfully driving into the ditch hadn’t hurt the car from what I gleaned. It wasn’t too complicated of a job, and would probably take a day or two to fix.
 

I turned on the phone and called my Dad, I’d need help getting the damned car out of the ditch with our tow truck. So much for goddamned sleep.
 

I didn’t know what was happening to me.
Nausea, maybe. Whether it was, from the engagement or the baby growing in my belly, I didn’t know. I walked around my house like I was floating through a dream. The art on the walls that I passed in the hall, the furniture, my family, looked like they were from another world. My focus was shot. Sleep came in spurts.
 

What had I done?

My family was starting to notice my change in personality. The shy, but upbeat girl they were used to had turned into a ghost.
 

“Rosa, what’s wrong dear?” My father had asked two days after the engagement. We were sitting around the wooden breakfast nook as a family for Sunday brunch. I had been poking at my eggs, mostly moving them around my plate.
 

I jolted up straight. “Oh, nothing. Just tired,” I replied. My father didn’t badger me anymore, but from the look he gave me, he wasn’t buying it.