Page 139 of Mafia And Maid

“Rosa?”

I try to swallow the knot in my throat. “I heard it all,” I croak.

“What?”

“I heard everything you and your brothers said in the office.”

“You did? Look, um, it was an accident…”

“An accident?” I choke out a bitter laugh, though nothing about this is remotely funny. It’s absurd, ridiculous. How can someone be with one woman, but at the same time fall into another woman’s arms and accidentally create life? Triplets, no less.

Triplets.

The thought twists in my stomach like a knife. I feel sick. Nausea churns inside me. I thought I knew him. I thought we were solid, that our relationship was something real, something worth holding onto.

His brow crinkles as he looks at me, and he’s silent for several, long seconds. “What exactly did you hear?” he asks.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping. The door was ajar—Marco was yelling, and it was impossible not to hear it. Please don’t pretend. I know that you’ve been seeing someone else.” My voice cracks. “And I know that she’s pregnant now.”

“You think I got someone pregnant? But I haven’t—”

“You’ve gotten Felicity pregnant!” I practically yell. “With triplets. Please don’t lie to me. I thought I meant something to you! But now I know you’ve been seeing someone else…” To my mortification, I can hear the sob in my voice.

I pull away from him and sink down onto the bed once more as the strength ebbs from my knees.

He kneels in front of me, cupping my face in his hands. “Rosa, I don’t know what you think you heard. But let me explain.”

“There’s nothing you can say—”

“Mrs. Giordano came over today because she’s found out that Felicity, her dog, is pregnant by Mr. Fluffy.”

I blink once. Twice. Three times. “W-what?” I stutter.

He nods. “Alessio and I had lunch at their home a couple of months ago as we had some business to talk over with Amadeo Giordano. And I had Mr. F with me because I was supposed to take him to the vet afterward.”

“But it sounded like… Marco said she was furious…”

“Felicity is Mrs. Giordano’s pride and joy. I think she loves the dog more than she loves her own children. You see, Mrs. Giordano breeds dogs, and she thinks we’ve ruined her plans for Felicity to have purebred puppies with her next litter.”

“You mean…?”

Camillo starts chuckling. “Yeah. And Marco’s blaming me because he reckons that I should have been keeping an eye on Mr. F.”

I can only stare openmouthed at Camillo whose chuckle has turned into a full belly laugh. And I find my own lips tugging up into a grin, and soon, I’m clutching my stomach as my laughter hurts my sides.

As our laughter finally subsides, I let Camillo take me in his arms and kiss me. And I let him comfort me.

And although I believe his explanation and can see how I completely misconstrued the situation, I still have the foreboding that something bad is going to happen between us. It’s almost like a premonition…

CHAPTER 35

ROSA

The conversation around me is light and airy. Plans to take the kids out to the park after breakfast are being made, but I’m only half listening.

The last few weeks have turned everything inside out and upside down, leaving the ground beneath my feet unsteady and unsure.

“What do you think, Rosa?” Cate’s smile startles me back into the conversation.