Page 22 of Matteo

His jaw clenches. “It wasn’t true, not a word. He was breaking you down, so you’d be grateful for him, which is complete bullshit. You are a woman anyone would be proud to have by their side. You’re stubborn, intelligent, and street-smart. You also have the kind of integrity that’s getting harder to find. A good mother who cares more for her daughter’s safety and health than your own. You aren’t perfect, none of us are. You need to learn not to diminish your accomplishments and yourself. Be proud of who you are—how Layla would be proud of you if she had a say.”

I blink back tears. Layla is concerned and reaches for me. I take her from Matteo, and she buries her face in my breasts. “You don’t know me. I met you a day ago, and I’ve been asleep for most of it?—”

“While you were running a fever and barely able to stand, you told me that you could take care of yourself. You gave in to letting someone help you only when it became clear you could not take care of your daughter. You weren’t willing to hand over your problems and let someone else handle them the way so many would, and frankly, there’s no shame in doing so. The way you aren’t willing to lie to my family when it would benefit you and Layla, I know enough.” He’s firm.

I’m blushing at the way he talks about me. No one has ever said anything like it before. “What do you mean when you said lying would benefit me and Layla?”

“As my girlfriend, the vehicle I’ll buy you would be much nicer than the safe and serviceable SUV or minivan you’ll use to run errands in. Also, you’d go shopping for nicer clothes for you and Layla. I’d also be making calls to find the best nanny for Layla. Now, I’ll only be looking at getting her in with the nursery school?—”

“You’re buying me a car? And more shopping, are you nuts? Why in the world would you hire me a nanny?” It finally hits me, nicer clothes than what I have now—which were already some of the nicest I’ve ever had. “You’re rich. Like rich, rich.”

The exhale thing that’s almost a laugh. He nods. “I’m rich, rich. My grandfather founded a construction company in Mexico City. Once he emigrated to the United States, he opened an office in Dallas. It took off. He shut down his other offices to focus on growing it. Within a decade, he became a citizen and a multimillionaire with offices in Austin, El Paso, and Houston. That was more than forty years ago. Now, the Castillo Company is in Los Angeles and Phoenix. They recently shut down their Miami and New Orleans offices because my older brother was tired of working sixty hours a week. He wanted to devote more time to his family.”

He shrugs like it’s not a huge fucking deal. “There were some issues when my father and his brother took over after my grandfather retired. My father and uncle fucked up big time, and the company was in freefall. My older brother Rafe walked out of high school and into board rooms. Rafe and my grandfather managed to right the ship, and now the company is worth billions.”

“Billions?” I can barely get the word out.

“Yes. While I have nothing to do with the company, the earnings from it gave me the means to make my own money. The monthly allowance I received while I was in college was more than I needed, so I used the remaining money to invest in the market, medical technology, and companies that needed money they couldn’t always get through typical investors. I rarely lost any—I usually made it back overwhelmingly. Once I started receiving money from the family trust, I could invest more and get a higher return.

I hold Layla tighter to me, needing her against me because I feel like I’m in a dream. This can’t be real. I’m sitting in the home of a billionaire who asked me to be his housekeeper and pretend to be his girlfriend to keep his family from throwing women at him. “You wanted me to pretend to be the girlfriend of a billionaire? Me? I’m no one—nothing compared to you.”

His jaw goes hard, and the air around him has me sitting up straighter, preparing for something I can’t define. “I’m aware your soon-to-be ex-husband said horrible things to you in order to keep you from believing in yourself enough to think you could do better than him. However, I’m going to warn you that I do not like, nor will I stand to hear you say such things about yourself. You are not nothing. You are not no one. Everyone has an intrinsic value to the world and others all their own. You are worth far more…”

I watch as his hand covers his mouth. I want desperately to know what he was going to say. He shakes his head. “Please. If not for yourself, then for Layla. Do not put yourself down that way. Do you think Layla is nothing?”

The question is painful as she gives me kisses in the wet way she does with her whole mouth open on my jaw. I fight not to squeeze her to me. All I can do is shake my head.

“You don’t know me.” It comes out of me in a tight whisper—not because my throat hurts, but because the words hurt.

“I know all I need to know. But I would love it if you told me more.” It’s a gentle invitation.

Once I do, he’ll understand and…agree? I shake my head to clear it. “My father used to beat my mother, me, and my two older brothers the same way Danny did to me. To escape any way she could, Mom got addicted to drugs. She overdosed when I was fourteen. I promised myself that I would never be with someone like that. But I did the exact same thing, down to a man who would hit a baby. The day I left him, he was going to hit her. It’s why I left with barely any money and no plan.”

“That was brave of you. I wondered what led you to be all alone with a baby. You got out before she experienced what you did. And she’ll never know that because of you. It must have been hard to lose your mother so young when you needed her most. She must have been in a lot of pain. My hope is you’ll tell me your father suffered for the pain he caused everyone.”

My chest twists at the sincere sympathy in his eyes as they meet mine. There’s not an ounce of disgust—how Danny reacted when I told him. “I don’t know if he did later. He just walked out after they took her away in the ambulance and never came back. My older brothers left, too. They didn’t even tell me goodbye. I’m not sure where they are. I went into a group home.”

I cringe at the memories of that place. “When I was eighteen, I left. Even though I hadn’t graduated high school yet and could stay until I did. I found a roommate desperate for my rent money.”

Her kindness was something I badly needed. When she married and moved to Florida three years ago, I missed her and still do.

“Danny was a regular at the restaurant I waitressed at. I was twenty-three and had no interest in men. All I heard from them was that I was too fat to be appealing. Most men looked through me as if they were afraid treating me like a human being would cause me to fall in love with them and become some sort of stalker or something. So, I avoided men entirely. My focus was on school and trying to find a way out of waitressing. Danny was persistent. I was flattered. He was forty-two, had a good job he’d been at for years, and owned his own house. While he was no cover model or anything, he wasn’t ugly. And more than a few times, he said he didn’t usually like women who were as big as I was. But there was something different about me. It made me feel like I was special to him.”

“Nineteen years older than you?” He hisses the words in barely contained anger. “The fucker was too old for you. He counted on your youth and inexperience. As far as your weight, that’s complete bullshit. I can’t answer for other men, but you are extremely attractive.”

I blush when he says I’m attractive while my stomach flips a dozen times. He’s just being nice…right? Stop it. Focus. He doesn’t need to worry about some lovesick idiot in his house.

“He lied a lot. It turned out he didn’t own the house, he rented it. Stupidly, I was flattered by the lie—thinking it was because he wanted to impress me. Almost a year after our first date, I got pregnant. Then I had a miscarriage. I’d only known for two weeks and was only ten weeks in, but I was torn up over it.”

“I’m sorry.” The words are hushed.

“Thanks,” I mumble. Even now, a pang of sadness hits me. “It was the first time he yelled at me. I needed to shut up and stop crying. I didn’t take it in, not really. In the moment, I welcomed it. I didn’t want to keep crying. He said he was sorry. Then he promised we would have another baby when the time was right.”

“You didn’t deserve it.” Is muttered low between gritted teeth. “Promising to have another baby to replace the one you lost is bullshit. There is no replacing what was lost. Not in your heart or in your mind. You are allowed to feel your pain and express it the way you need to.”

I swallow a lump at his understanding. “Then my roommate told me she was moving out of state. Danny figured I might as well move in with him. I was on the pill by his demand. For over a year, things were great. Well, now I can see it wasn’t really. He put me down a lot and would say it was a joke. If I said anything, he told me that I was too sensitive. Then he would say he loved me like it was supposed to make it all better.”

Looking back now, the number of red flags is almost overwhelming. How could I have not seen them? Layla waves her hand as gibberish comes out of her. Almost like she’s speaking for me.

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