Page 10 of Hot Momosa

“You’re right.” Dahlia sighed.

The hell she is.

“Thanks, Ma. Really. But we are both adults.”

“At least one of you is acting like it.” Evelyn gave me a weary smile before rejoining the party.

“She hasn’t changed at all.” Dahlia grinned.

“Nope.” I slid onto a barstool. “The Marchionnis are known for our stubbornness.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement.” She leaned her hip against the island.

I had a million things I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t have time to get into any of them. Stuart would be down any second to whisk her away. Rather than launching into a lengthy explanation of the past, or my thoughts on our future, I went with the blunt truth. “I’m not going to give up on us, Dahl.”

Her eyes widened. “But we agreed it’s over. It’s time to move on.”

“No, babe. You said that. I never agreed.” My palms itched to touch her, but I knew better than to push my luck.

She rubbed her right temple again. “Leo…”

“When the shit went down with Joe and Rebecca, we agreed to be friends until things settled. But the plan was always to end up together.” I waited until she met my gaze. “That’s all I’m asking for.”

“To end up together?” She arched an eyebrow.

“I’m willing to take it slow, but yes. The end goal is the same… For me, anyway.”

“You can’t blame everything on what happened to Joe and Rebecca. We’d snuck around for months before they died.” Dahlia pointed to the sliding glass doors. “We’ve lied to our friends and families for years. Why? Because my father was a lawmaker and yours was a criminal. Joe’s death didn’t change anything. It only solidified our excuses.”

“No more lies. No more sneaking around.” I wanted to argue about her revising our history, but there was no point. She was mostly right. We’d tried to have our cake and eat it too for so long the icing was covered with mold.

Dahlia shook her head. “Did you hear what those reporters said to me?”

I’d heard every disgusting word. Part of me wanted to cut their tongues out of their filthy mouths, but the saner part had other ideas. “We can get out in front of this. Come clean about Gunnar. Give them a juicy story of college sweethearts reuniting and defying the odds. We can turn this around.”

She stared with an odd mixture of curiosity and horror, as if I’d asked her to hack off every other toe. “You can’t be serious.”

I rested my elbows on the island and clasped my hands. “I’m dead serious. I want you and my son in my life.”

She winced. Not exactly the reaction I’d hoped for.

I’m screwing this up. Time to change the subject. An argument is the last thing either of us needs.

“The reporters… Is that what Maggie meant earlier when she said ‘more of the same?’”

“Yes and no.” Dahlia rubbed her temples again. This time she did it hard enough to leave red marks on her pale skin.

“Talk to me.” I took a step in her direction, but she held up her hands.

“Since my dad’s campaign kicked into high gear, my personal life has been national news. The media attention has made things difficult.” Her voice cracked.

My mind immediately went to Harrison-fucking-Meriwether. “Difficult how?”

Stuart walked into the kitchen, took one look at us, and frowned. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“Give us a few minutes,” I said without bothering to turn my head in his direction. I never should have allowed so many months to pass without speaking to her. Once upon a time, I’d known every detail of her life, but now…now I had no clue what was really going on.

Dahlia sighed. “No, it’s okay. I really should get home.”

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