Page 7 of The Don's Hidden Heir
I couldn’t deny my feelings for Dominic are still as strong as they’ve always been. Still, there is the fear for Lucas’s safety.
Dominic may have lied to me about what he did for a living, but I never, for one second, doubted he loved me. They way he looked at me, the way he was gentle with me, all of that couldn’t have been fake.
He loved me. Maybe not as much as I loved him, still I know that he did, and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. It’s not him I’m afraid of. It’s the pain I’ll see in his eyes if he ever found out I’d kept such a secret from him that frightens me to my bones.
And it’s his enemies who scare me the most.
What if a war broke out? What would they do? Men like the ones in the mafia can hurt women and children without batting their eyelashes.
I never indulged in his world the four months we were together, but I’m not too naïve to be ignorant of the dangers that exist in the mafia. I know the danger, and I don’t think I’m cut out for that.
I wasn’t seven years ago, and I’m still not now.
My voice comes out strangled as I force a reply. “It’s everything that scares me, Moira. Everything.”
The silence that follows is loud and clear.
Moira readjusts her position on the sofa. “Listen, babe. I still think you should give Lucas and Dominic a chance, but I’ll be by your side no matter what decision you make. We will get through this, alright?”
A wobbles my lips. It’s not my brightest, but it’s genuine. “Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you?”
Moira has been my ‘ride or die’ since the first day we met. She’s been the best aunty to Lucas, and the best friend-turned-sister any woman could ever want.
We don’t always have the same opinions, and we fight sometimes. But no matter what happens, we always stand by each other. That is the highlight of our sisterhood.
“You have now,” she says, grinning. “You better treat me right and give me a big salary hike.”
“Oh, right. Did you write the report?”
“Shit.” Her head fall between her shoulder. “Between rocking a guy’s boner at the club and drinking my soul out, I didn’t get the time.” She pinches her nose. “I’ll turn it in tomorrow.”
“You’d better, before I change my mind.”
She laughs. “You wouldn’t dare.”
There’s already a long list of company staff awaiting salary increments, and while I can skip the queue to get Moira to the top of the list, I prefer to follow protocol. Everyone at the company already knows Moira is my best friend, but I’ll never disrespect my other employees by showing favoritism.
She glances around the office. “Where’s Lucas?”
I heave a sigh. “At school. He has a soccer game today and wouldn’t let me come. He insists only dads are allowed there.”
“Makes sense if you ask me. I think it’s time you consider getting him a dad.”
If only it were that easy.
I stretch my legs beneath the table. I’ve been sitting all day and they’re starting to ache. “You say it like I can just order one from Amazon.”
Moira’s eyes crinkle with mischief. “You can order one at a club. Tall, hot, and ready to put a ring on it.”
I want to ask why she doesn’t have a ring on her finger already, considering the club is her second home, but I don’t. Asking will lead to hours of her narrating how she isn’t ready to be cuffed to a man yet. Moira likes to be a free bird, and as she has said so many times, she won’t be settling until she is thirty-five. I envy her sometimes.
“You can find good sex at the club, but not a husband.”And especially not father material.I didn’t keep Lucas’s birth a secret from Dominic for years, just to have a party-dude become his step-father.
She disagrees. “Honey, there are good men everywhere. You just have to find the right one.”
“Hmmm.”
My phone buzzes. When I grab it, there’s a notification from a blog page I follow on Instagram. My heart kickstarts as I read the headline.