Page 39 of Hello Goodbye Amore

“What?”

“I’m a foreigner, and you’re the Glorioso heir. I’m sure the police would have listened to you and done what your mother wanted. Or at least they would have made trouble for me.” He lifted his gaze from the floor. “So why? You could have had what your mother wanted… at least for now.”

“Why would I do that? I have no proof of anything other than a few old pictures.” He pulled out one of the dining chairs from the small table and sat down. “It wasn’t going to change anything. If I am Ricky’s father, then there are things that will have to be different. If he is my son, then he will inherit everything my family has. It is tradition, and my family is bound by that as much as it is by the law. If he is another man’s child, then….” Antonello tried not to think about that possibility. “The thing is, I want to know, and not just for my family. If I am Ricky’s father, then I want to be part of his life.”

Chase wiped his eyes and shrugged. “So? How wonderful for you. And how does something like that work? Will your family get the happy task of saddling my son with the same kind of duty that they pressed on your shoulders? Will they obsess over him getting married to some suitable Italian girl and having babies to keep the family going? Will they expect Ricky to move here and give up the choices in life that should be his to make? Because I will not have that. Ricky is my son, and he will get to make the choices about his life that he wants. I won’t have him as unhappy as you’ve been.” He shook his head. “No. I think it’s best if he and I leave the country. You can just forget all about me and Ricky. Pretend none of these things happened and go back to the life you had. I’ll do the same.”

“And what? Forget about the last two months, and the way you and Ricky turned my life upside down? I should just forget about the fact that you brought my heart back to life and that because of you, I actually found the courage to tell my parents who I am? Nothing can go back to the way it was. You and Ricky can leave, but I won’t be able to just let go. I might have a son. Do you know how that changes everything?” He found himself on his feet and actually smiling. “Just to think there’s a chance that Ricky could be my son.” Hell, he felt like dancing. “That I could….” He paused because words failed him. “I’ve been so jealous of both of you for weeks because I knew it was unlikely that I would ever have a family of my own like that. And now you tell me that we should go back to the way things were and forget. Can you?”

Chase swallowed, and Antonello knew the doubt he saw in those eyes. “I have to protect Ricky. That’s all that matters. How is he going to feel if he’s torn away from the people he loves? I can’t let that happen to him.”

“I get that. I really do. And I’ve seen how happy he is. I was never that way as a child. My life was too regimented, toodictated for that. And when I got old enough, I was sent away to school.” It was hard for him to imagine a life like the one Ricky had. A childhood filled with love and care rather than lessons from a tutor and a viewing with his parents in the afternoon. It was like he’d been raised in another age, and one he intended to make damned sure didn’t return—not for Ricky.

“So what do we do?” Chase asked. “Your mother is not going to be happy that her initial gambit didn’t work, and I’m sure she will be plotting her next move. Understand that I will not put my family in danger. That will not happen.”

“And I don’t want to see that.” He could only imagine what his mother would try to do. She could be a real tiger when she wanted something. Both his parents carried Medici family blood, his father much more than his mother, but it was she who would have been at home with their machinations.

“But what about what your family wants? What is going to happen when they play the duty card again? No one has tested you or Ricky, but I can already tell that they are going to go to that old playbook again. It worked before.” Hurt flashed in Chase’s eyes.

Antonello knew that Chase was right. His mother had already set the stage, and she would use every weapon at her disposal to get him to do what she thought was best. And he was going to have to choose. “That may be true. But this is different. They are my parents, but Ricky could be my son, and whether they like it or not, he has to come first. And I want to be part of his life.”

Chase nodded slowly. “I get that, but we’re back to the same question. What are we going to do?”

“We?” Antonello asked.

“Yes. Unless I want to quit my job, I’m stuck here for the duration. And as much as my boss is a dick, that isn’t something I’m really interested in at the moment. But I will walk away andtake Ricky back to the US if your parents pull any more of what happened today. And it’s your job to make that clear to both of them.”

“And what about getting some answers?”

“You mean like a DNA test?” Chase asked.

Antonello nodded. “If I’m his father, then we figure out the next step, together. And if I’m not, then all of this goes away. But as long as there is doubt, my family will press for answers and try to spin things the way they want. And even if you leave the country, my parents will follow you—or at least their lawyers will.”

“Is that a threat?” Chase demanded.

“No. It’s just a fact.” He drew closer. “Look at it this way: if Ricky is their grandson, then they are going to want to be part of his life too.”

“Is that only what you want?” Chase asked.

Antonello gently cupped Chase’s cheeks. “No. I want Ricky and you to be part of my life regardless of whether he’s my biological son. Okay? You asked what I wanted, and that’s it. So I don’t quite know what the next steps are for us or how to handle this particular issue, but I know you and I will figure it out.” His phone rang, and he pulled it out. “My mother.”

“Go ahead and talk to her,” Chase said, but Antonello declined the call. “You’re going to have to face her one way or another.”

“Yes.” He checked the time. “But right now I need to get back to the office, and I’m afraid your boss is going to start calling or messaging. And unless you want to explain to the dickhead about Ricky and everything that’s happening, we should return to the office, and after work we can sit down and figure out a plan.”

“Okay.” Chase got his bag just as Ricky and Bianca got back from the park. Chase hugged his son and gave Bianca strictinstructions that she was to keep Ricky inside and to call if anyone came to the house. Then they walked back to the office.

Inside, Antonello went right to his office, where his father waited behind his desk. Antonello closed the doors and stepped up to the desk. “Why are you here?”

“Because your mother is driving me crazy and I needed to get out of the house. You know how she can be when she thinks she isn’t getting what she believes is her due.” He sat back. “I understand you were the one who kept the police from—”

“Taking a little boy away from his dad?” Antonello challenged. “I won’t be part of that under any circumstances. Chase is Ricky’s adopted parent, and he’s Ricky’s mother’s brother. He has cared for him practically since Ricky was a baby, and he’s the only daddy Ricky has known. How would you have felt if it turned out that you weren’t my father and that someone was going to take me away from you?” he asked.

“This isn’t the same thing.”

“And neither is sending the police to kidnap a little boy when we don’t have the facts, so Mother needs to back off. This isn’t any of her business—or yours, for that matter. It’s mine, and I will handle it as I see fit. I will be telling Mother that once I get home.” He had had enough of his parents driving his life and his decisions. It was time he made them on his own.

His father stood and came around the desk, then pulled Antonello into a hug, something they had done maybe half a dozen times in his life. “I’m so proud of the man you’ve become.”

---