Page 30 of Playboy Billionaire's Secret Baby

“That is just your silly pride talking,” Elio declares dismissively. “I don’t think youreallyfeel that way. If you like someone, nothing will get in your way.”

Urgh, he might be right about that, but I’m not going to dive deep into that argument. That isn’t what we’re here to talk about. I need to get to the crux of it.

“Anyway, the boy’s age… it kinda makes me wonder… is he mine?” My heart races. “I’ve done the math, and it’s for sure a possibility.”

It’s the way Lexi reacted as well. She didn’t give me any answer. It was definitely strange. It could be simply because she doesn’t want to tell me everything, especially if it’s a part of her life that’s none of my business, but I don’t think that’s the case. Deep in my gut, I feel like I have a son I never knew about.

“How does that make you feel?” Elio asks with caution to his tone. “Like, do youfeelanything about the child being yours? Especially if you aren’t sure?”

I press my hand to my stomach, which has been flip flopping like crazy ever since the first time I started to suspect that the kid might be mine. I try to seek out the way I’m feeling, but I honestly can’t work it out. I’m just a mess.

“I don’t know,” I admit honestly. “I guess because I’m not sure. I have no answers. I’m very confused.” I look at each of my brothers in turn, hoping that one of them will know what to say. They were both there for me when I lost my fiancée and unborn child, so I’m sure they are aware of how hard this is for me, more than anyone else. “I don’t know what to feel.”

Vincenzo clucks his tongue thoughtfully. “Why do you think you haven’t been told about the boy? That’s what makes me think he might not be yours.”

“I’ve thought about that as well,” I agree. “But actually, because I have a reputation, I’m sure no woman sees me as a long-term relationship. Because thingsdidstart as a one night stand with Lexi, I probably gave her that impression. Maybe she didn’t tell me because she thought I wouldn’t want to know. In fact, she thought I would reject her.”

Elio has a softer and more trusting nature than Vincenzo, so he nods along, agreeing with what I’m suggesting. But Vincenzo frowns at me like I’m losing my damn mind. He is more for the tough-love approach, so I brace myself as best I can for what’s coming next.

“I think you need to stop romanticizing this relationship,” he commands. “You’re only going to end up getting hurt if you believe this boy is yours, only for the truth to turn out to be different.”

He’s right, of course, but I truly can’t shake off the feeling that there is more to know. I just don’t know how to approach this topic of conversation without pushing Lexi away again. She’s trying to protect her son, doing her best to look after him like she has been doing for a long time now. Ever since he’s been alive, and I have to respect that. But I still need answers. I think I deserve that much.

“What do I do?” I ask both my brothers in turn. “I have to speak to Lexi, right? I need to talk with her somehow. The only problem is, we can’t seem to communicate with one another without arguing. It always gets really heated between us.”

“Huh, well that’s because she’s been keeping things from you,” Vincenzo says and sneers. “I’m telling you, this woman is no good for you. You should keep away! Far away before she does something to really cause issues for you. You don’t want that…”

“But what if the child does turn out to be his?” Elio jumps in. “Frederico can’t walk away from a child that’s his. You can’t recommend that, Vincenzo.”

Vincenzo offers a shrug. “I don’t know. If it were me, I would run for the freakin’ hills. I don’t need all this complication in my life. It seems nuts to me.”

Elio smiles and opines, “Well, I think you should speak to Lexi; whatever happens, you need closure. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life wondering ‘what if?’.”

Now that’s true. I will spend the rest of my life wondering about the boy if I don’t find out the truth once and for all. I just need to find the right way to ask, without it becoming heated. I don’t know how Lexi and I will be able to make that happen, but we should try. We need to find a way to be adults with one another, for the boy’s sake.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I mutter, almost to myself, and pretty much under my breath. “I don’t know. It’s all a bit messy at the moment. I can’t think of the last time my life has been so messy.”

That isn’t true. We all know when I was last this mixed up, but we don’t want to bring up Marianne. She’s in my mind, though, and she has been through all of this. I can’t even consider falling in love with another woman without thinking about my ex and what could have been.

But the accident happened. She was taken away from me. There isn’t anything I can do to change the past. All I can do is keep looking forward, and I know Marianne would want me to find out if that boy is mine. She would be telling me not to be so dumb because, of course, he is. He looks just like me, and the timing is too perfect.

This conversation might be a little more confusing than it is helpful because my brothers both have different opinions, but I’ve cleared out my brain a little. If I can call Lexi and arrange a meeting, we can try again and do so properly. Elio and Vincenzo can tell me what they think I should do, but ultimately this is my life, and I have to keep going.

We will never know if we don’t give it a go.

“This could be really good for you,” Elio declares kindly. “I always thought that once the right woman comes along, you will find inner peace. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you with any sense of calm.”

No way I can answer that without getting all emotional, and this has already been a tough conversation. I don’t want to make it worse. I can’t imagine Vincenzo handling much more of this, anyway. He’s made his feelings very clear, so we need to be done.

“Mmm, yeah, thanks,” I mutter to Elio. “I appreciate it. Everything, you know?”

“Let me know how it goes. Or anything I can do.”

My brothers get back to work, leaving me stewing in my feelings. I don’t know if our talk has cleared anything up for me… all I know is that I really need to reach out to Lexi. I can’t let the disaster of Alex and Allegra’s party to be the place of our last talk.

I could message Allegra and ask for advice. I know she’s Lexi’s friend more than mine, and her loyalties will obviously lie with her, but she might be the best person to help me out here. Who knows how to handle this better than Allegra? But I have to consider the possibility that she doesn’t know anything either. Maybe no one knows the whole truth. Even if I don’t, I’m only suspicious. But the more I think about that boy and remember his face, the more certain I become that he’s mine.

Fuck.my cell phone is in my hand, but I don’t know where to begin. I’m not sure that Lexi will appreciate a text message, and I don’t think I can handle waiting for a response, which means I need to call her. Scary. It takes me a couple of moments to talk myself into it, but eventually, I do. I dial her number and press the phone to my ear. Nerves zig zag through my body, but I keep the phone there, only giving up when the call clicks through to voice mail.

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