Page 25 of Offside Rule

She giggled, pointing at the door. “He just came out of your room.” Giulia placed a finger to her lips, as if we were sharing a secret. “Nonna and I caught him.” She burst out laughing, clutching her little belly.

My eyes almost flew out of my head. It was one thing if my mother had found out, but her and my daughter at the same time? That was a total mess. I sucked in a deep breath, and paced around the room.

“Come on!” Giulia grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my room.

How was I going to explain this? I had acted like a horny teenager with no sense of respect. Sure, I had planned to tell her at some point, but now? After one month?

That’s a hell of a lot sooner than I had anticipated.

I followed my little one, and wrenched a hand through my hair.

Shit. Shit.

“Oh, you’re up,” my mother said, throwing me a smile I didn't recognize. I wasn't sure if it was genuine, or if it was hiding something else.

Xavier was seated at the table, an apologetic look on his face as he lowered his gaze to his fingers. I sighed and shook my head, hoping he’d understand that it wasn't his fault. It was mine. I was the one who had insisted he not stay at a hotel.

I dragged his football shirt over me, his smell still fresh. Since I had agreed to be his girlfriend, I had needed something that smelled of him to sleep. At this point, it was becoming an addiction, but I was knee deep in this and couldn’t seem to care.

“Thank you for offering to cook breakfast for us, but I have a flight to catch,” Xavier announced, and started to get up from the table.

My mamma glared at him over her shoulder while still cutting some mortadella. “Sit down, young man.”

Xavier’s expression turned to stone. “Yes, ma’am.” And just like that, he sat back down.

I would’ve been amused by the situation if I’d had any concept of what my mother was planning. Truth was, I had noidea. Was she going to lecture us? Was she going to list all the reasons why we shouldn't do this?

Giulia and I sat at the table as my mother placed the food in front of us. I caught Xavier’s eye, and his lips mouthed “I’m sorry.”

I smiled, because he was still cute despite the feeling of being in an interrogation room.

My eyes swept over to my daughter, who dragged herself closer to Xavier. She raised her nose in the air as she analyzed him from the corner of her eye. To my surprise, she wasn’t being judgy, but she was definitely letting him know who was in charge in this house.

I almost let out a laugh when Xavier glanced at her with the shakiest smile ever. This couldn’t be anything short of weird for him. It was the first time he’d met my daughter, and I knew both of us would’ve liked this to happen differently.

“So, Xavier,” my mother stressed his name. “Did you have a great night's sleep?” she asked, stuffing some food into her mouth. Giulia followed suit, leaving Xavier and me as the only ones not eating.

He looked at me before speaking. “Y-yes?”

“Yes, or no?” my mother pushed.

“Yes.”

“Good,” she nodded, then took her time swallowing her bite.

“Mamma, he needs to go. We can do this another time,” I pressed. I didn't want to be the reason he missed his flight. He had to catch up with his training.

It would be ironic if my attempt at saving him money was the reason he would lose it.

My mother raised her hand in the air, quieting me.

The attitude? Oh my god. What has gotten into her?

“Look, I knew about you long before you showed up to my flower shop. I certainly knew when you started”—she searched for the right words—“spending the night here.”

She knew? Did my mother work for the FBI or something? I thought we had been careful, and had pulled it off smoothly this entire time.

It seems I couldn’t be more wrong.

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