Page 70 of Lorenzo & Lily

She bit her lip, and nodded. “Okay.”

“I see it won’t be, but I’ll make it so.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then nose, then brushed her lips with his.

“You’ll walk in on my arms, both you and Liliana. Wear something a little dressy to dinner, and make sure Liliana’s wearing the same. Will you be able to make do, since some of your things are still packed?”

No!“I can handle it,” she lied; she couldn’t handle any of this, but she’d find something to wear.

“Good. Do you need help with Liliana? I’d like to help, if you don’t mind.”

Liliana.Focus on Liliana. “Of course you can help.”

Why wouldn’t her heart stop beating so furiously? “I’ll, er, take care of her bath when she wakes up and start getting her dressed, and you can help with some of her accessories and things. I’ll lay them all out for you to make it easier.”

Easy. Was anything about this situation easy?

“Will she be comfortable with me? I don’t want her to feel uneasy.”

God, Lorenzo.He was such a good father. She’d always known he would be. If only they hadn’t lost these years.

If only.

If only.

She cupped his cheeks, and his hands covered hers. “I know that it’s only been one day, but she’s already accepted you. Some children are like that, and Liliana’s one of them. She knows I trust you.”

“But you don’t trust me. At least, you didn’t admit it until today.”

“I wasn’t sure if I trusted you withme, but I trusted you with her.” When he’d promised not to take Liliana away from her, no matter what, she’d decided to trust him with their child. She realized that’s when she had started trusting him with her heart, too.

She only hoped he never went back on his promise.

“Lily.”

“Why are you so nervous about meeting my family?”

“Who wouldn’t be nervous about meeting…”

Her boyfriend’s family? The family of her child’s father? The family of her long-lost love? What the hell did she call Lorenzo?

“…er, your family?”

“Lily.”

“Not to mention your parents are a king and queen. Who wouldn’t be nervous about meeting a king and queen?”

“Lily.”

She couldn’t stop babbling. “I mean, I know I wasn’t born Vallerian and, technically, I’m not officially Vallerian. I mean, I’ve started my citizenship paperwork. I started that after Liliana was born here, to ensure she would be raised here and not deported simply because I wasn’t a citizen–”

He gripped her shoulders. “Lily, for fuck’s sake.”

She sucked in a breath. “I’m fine. It’s fine.”

“It’s fucking not. Why won’t you talk to me?”

“Another time, please?” she begged. “We can talk more another time.”

He looked at her for a few moments, then nodded. He must have realized she was barely hanging on by a thread. “All right. Do you need anyone to help you get dressed?”

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