Page 73 of Doctor Billionaire's Surprise Baby

“Partly. I also need to apologize for how I treated Simone. I’ll talk to her, too, of course.”

She hesitated, looking at me with complete uncertainty in her eyes.

“I want to be a part of your baby’s life. I want to be there as a nonna. I know I don’t deserve it based on how I’ve treated you all those years, but I really want to do better.”

"I have to be honest here, Mom. This is all very surprising and coming out of left field for me."

"I know it is, and I don’t expect any answers right now. I would appreciate it if you’d think about this. I’m still at the same hotel right now and we can talk when you've had time to think about everything."

The front door swung open, and we both looked up to catch a shocked Simone as she saw me and my mother sitting in the living room talking.

“Hi,” she said quietly, unable to hide the stun from her voice. “How is everyone doing?”

Simone slowly walked into the living room, dropping into one of the chairs across from the sofa.

“It turns out my mom stayed behind in Boston for a while. Dad is back in Italy.”

“Simone, I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for how I treated you in Italy. It was completely uncalled for. You are obviously a wonderful person and my son loves you very much. I would love the opportunity to get to know you better. If you’re open to that, of course.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you, Catarina. I really appreciate the apology.”

“Of course. I really mean it, Simone. I’m staying in town for a while and I hope we can spend some time together. Could we meet for lunch one day?”

Simone glanced at me, and I gave a small nod. This whole conversation kept getting stranger and stranger.

“That sounds great. I have a final exam coming up for my class, so I’m going to be busy preparing for the next week or so. But if you’re still in town after that, I’d be happy to meet for lunch.”

“I’ll still be in town. Perhaps longer, if everything works out.”

Simone looked at me again, and I could only shrug. I had no idea what she was thinking or feeling.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to your afternoon. Please be in touch. Both of you.”

Mamma stood up and gave a round of stiff, uncomfortable hugs. But at least she was trying.

“Okay, what the hell was that?” Simone asked as soon as the front door closed.

“I have no idea,” I said, dropping back onto the couch and rubbing the back of my neck. “She apologized for how she’s treated me and said she wanted to be a part of the baby’s life.”

“What doyouwant?”

“I don’t know, honestly. She made it clear she was only speaking for herself and my dad was not involved in her being here today. It almost sounded like she was leaving my dad, but she didn’t say that. I told her I’d think about everything she said.”

“Wow, that’s a lot.”

“Yeah. That should be my family’s motto.”

We sat in stunned silence for a few long minutes.

“I’m sorry, Simone. You don’t need to be dealing with all of this right now. You have enough on your plate. Please know that you don’t have to meet her for lunch if you don’t want to.”

“No, I will. After my final, I’ll call her and we’ll meet.”

I dropped my head back on the cushion and closed my eyes.

“I was reading on a news site that it’s predicted my dad will lose the mayoral election. People have found out about some of his… less savory actions and aren’t happy. It could honestly be the end of his political career. He should face legal consequences, but that’s unlikely.”

“What does that mean for him and your family?”

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