Page 87 of Baby for my Daddy's Best Friend

Will this recording be enough?

28

ENZO

“What’sthisaboutnow?”

Valentino leads me into the living room, which has been transformed into a makeshift conference room.

“You’ll know in a minute.”

Inside, Alessio and Luciana are waiting.

I’m surprised to see them.

“When did you guys fly in from the States?” My gaze darts between the two of them. “It’s the middle of the semester.”

“Quick weekend trip.” Alessio grins.

“It was an emergency.” Luciana sighs, her tone much more serious, “Dad, we’re really worried about you. Consider this an intervention.”

I blink, twice. “Intervention?I’m not sure I’m following here.”

Luciana exchanges a worried look with Valentino. “Dad, just because we haven’t been here to see for ourselves doesn’t mean we don’t know what’s going on.”

“Valentino has been giving us all the updates,” Alessio chimes in. “You’re in rough shape.”

I begin to shake my head. “This is unnecessary. I’m the same as I’ve always been.”

“Right,” Luciana mutters. “That is why you lost about ten pounds and look like you haven’t slept a full night in months.”

“Hey. You know we are in the middle of pursuing a case with Silvano. The stress has just rubbed off on me.”

“We would believe you…” Alessio raises his eyebrow. “If we didn’t know you. You’ve always been amazing at separating work from your personal life. This isn’t about work.”

I don’t have anything to say in response. My children are more perceptive than I’ve ever given them credit for.

“Dad, I told both Alessio and Valentino about what you feel for Quinn.” Luciana’s voice softens. “I just can’t believe you’re still torturing yourself by staying away from her, even now.”

I search Alessio and Valentino’s faces for signs of disapproval. But there are none. Instead, they seem to be quite concerned for me.

“Even if Luciana hadn’t told me anything, I would have figured something was wrong myself,” Valentino quips. “You’ve been a shell of yourself these last few months. It’s like your mind is always elsewhere.”

“The last time we saw you like this was when…” Luciana hesitates “When Mom passed.”

“Listen, you guys. I appreciate the concern, I truly do, but this feels a bit excessive.” I frown, trying to avoid the topic. “I know perfectly well how to take care of myself.”

“You always told us that we should not be ashamed of admitting when we were in a tough spot,” Alessio says. “Why is it so hard for you to take your own advice? Anyone can see that this is beyond business.”

I’m quiet.

It’s impossible to argue with them.

My attempts at hiding my pain from the world have not been as successful as I thought. These last few months have passed like a blur. Every day was a monotonous copy of the other—wake up, work, sleep.

The spark that only Quinn brought out inside of me has faded entirely. There hasn’t been a single day when I haven’t thought of her. She has permanent residence inside my head, even though we haven’t had contact for months now.

I take a seat and let out a deep breath.

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