Page 61 of Hidden Rocco
She elbowed his arm playfully. “Good, because I want to fly you to Florida. It will be much faster to head back to the hotel and grab my plane logs so we can go to the airport.”
She’d mentioned that before. He cringed as he should have thought about her wants. “You’re able to fly?”
Mica sipped her coffee. “I didn't need my medication this morning, which was pretty stressful, and I’m eager to soar again. It will be great, with you there, just in case.”
The butterflies weren’t just near the tree or bench where they sat. They were inside his gut. He put the paper cup down so he wouldn't crush it and held his hands between his knees. “Why do you think you love me?”
She shrugged, finished her sip and gave him a small smile. “No one else makes me stop to see the beautiful butterflies. You make me appreciate the small things. You make me see that there are good men in the world.”
And he loved her too. Perhaps it was wrong not to tell her. He’d never be able to offer her cash, but he could be himself with her, forever, if she wanted that.
His heart expanded as he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some man with more money than you?”
Her nose wrinkled. “I want someone who sees the real me and thinks of me and Jacob as family.”
Until he’d met both of them, he'd never had a real family to compare them to. His father beat him and his mother, and then Roger took over once their father left and Harry did whatever Roger wanted.
Mica was strong, beautiful and unafraid of anything.
She had his heart. He picked up his coffee. “Then let’s head back to the ski resort.”
She stood and hugged Jacob, holding Rocco’s gaze. “We’ll fly tomorrow. Tonight, we’ll drink in celebration of survival.”
“Sounds perfect.” His heart lifted.
Once they were alone and Jacob was asleep, he’d offer her his heart. It was all he had but maybe it was enough.
Chapter 18
Mica parked her car in the same place she’d peeled off from two days ago.
The police sirens replayed in her mind as she recalled Rocco being taken from her. Since then, he’d had his record expunged and they’d stopped Ali’s brother from taking Jacob.
Now they were each truly free.
Mica needed to find a way to live without Rocco—she was sure that when they’d stopped to see the butterflies he was going to tell her to go on without him, but then he’d changed his mind, probably deciding that it would be kinder/safer to break it off here at the chalet.
She had no argument that might work.
If he didn’t want to stay and didn’t love her, then she’d have to move past her broken heart. But how?
Love was supposed to be a two-way street and when she pushed she usually lost out on love. She needed to learn to not demand love like she ordered everything else in her life.
But giving up was hard.
Rocco grabbed the bag and she took her son out of his car seat. As they headed toward the chalet, she took out her keys and her phone that she’d turned off after they’d left the police station, to hide her location.
She hadn’t bothered to turn it on so she pressed the button and immediately saw multiple messages.
She handed Rocco the key for him to open the door. “My phone apparently was ringing off the hook. Can you put Jacob down? I’ll be right behind you. If he falls asleep, get the wine and the glasses?”
“Of course.” He reached for Jacob.
Part of her wanted to go on her tiptoes and kiss him, but he didn’t love her. She'd opened herself up to him and been rebuffed multiple times.
She ignored that impulse and massaged her temple as she headed up the stairs to her suite.
Her secretary could handle most of the business messages she’d heard, but she needed to be alone and her heart craved peace.
