Page 41 of Omega in Hiding
Alessio grits his teeth, looking uneasy. “No, Paolo wouldn’t do that.” He turns to me. “Right?”
When I don’t respond, Dario looks to the ceiling. “Jesus, Paolo. If he’s pregnant Valentino will lose hismind.”
“He’s not pregnant,” I grate out.
“How would you know that?” Dario demands.
“I just do.”
Alessio grimaces. “Is he on the pill?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Both Alessio and Dario bug their eyes and squawk,“What?”
“He… he can’t have kids.” I feel guilty sharing Connor’s personal secret, until I remember he bailed on me without so much as a word. Do I really owe him my loyalty?
Alessio asks, “What do you mean he can’t have kids?”
I give a tired sigh. “He was born with a birth defect that prevents him from conceiving.”
“Really?” Alessio knits his brows.
“Yes.” I nod. “That’s what he told me.”
Dario slumps with relief. “You better hope that’s true.”
“Why would he lie about that?” I grate.
“Who knows?” Dario shrugs. “Maybe he wanted to get pregnant by one of the Syracuse men so he could blackmail you or get a big payout of some kind.”
I scowl. “Connor isn’t like that. He’d never do that.”
Alessio says, “Are you sure you know what he’s capable of, Connor?”
“Yes,” I snap.
Alessio says pointedly, “Did you ever think he’d sneak out of the house without any warning?”
My face warms because he makes a good point. “No,” I’m forced to confess.
“Then we can’t be sure what he’d do.” Alessio’s expression is almost pitying, which only embarrasses me more. He probably thinks I’m a complete fool.
Maybe I am.
I sigh. “Perhaps I don’t know Connor as well as I thought I did, but he wasn’t lying about the baby thing. I… I don’t know why he left, but I don’t believe he lied to me about his birth defect. He almost cried when he told me about it. He really wants kids, but he can’t have them. That’s why he’s a manny. So he can be around children.”
“I see.” Alessio nods, his expression more empathetic than earlier. “There was a kind of sadness about him. I have to agree with you, Paolo, I don’t think he’d lie about something like that.”
Dario still looks skeptical. “We can’t be sure of that.”
I clear my throat. “Why don’t we ask him why he left?”
“Ask him?” Dario scowls.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “Do you guys have his cell number or his home address? I could go talk to him.”
“Why would we need to talk to him?” Dario’s scowl deepens.
