“When you made that remark about the rooftop the other day, I didn’t want to believe it. Are you telling me you two only met that night? That you—”
“I am not discussing our private life with you,” Angelo said firmly, pointing a finger in warning. He personally didn’t care one iota. His sense of modesty was very low. Pia, however? “Do you understand how sensitive your sister is? How shy? How smart? Don’t stand here and act concerned about her when she’s out there earning doctorates two years before you did and you can’t even be bothered to show up and give her a round of applause.”
Rico lost some of his bluster. He sent a disgruntled look toward Cesar.
“Poppy wanted to organize something. Lily got sick and it slipped our mind.”
“Sorcha called Mother to set up a lunch. You’d think she pitched overthrowing the government.” Cesar straightened off his desk and sighed. He folded his arms as he regarded Angelo. “I’m smart enough to know how smart my sister is, yes. I’ve asked her to join our research team several times. She’s always preferred fieldwork and biology, but I hoped once the baby was born, she might finally consider my offer more seriously.”
“Did you get her pregnant on purpose?” Rico demanded.
“Wow.” Angelo tilted him an affronted glare. “Delightful as Pia’s family has turned out to be, no, I didn’t resort to time-tested methods to become a member. You could bowl tenpins with those balls, asking a question like that when you didn’t plan your family.”
Rico narrowed his eyes while Cesar deadpanned, “I’ve seen them. Five pins, tops.”
Madre de Dios.
“I married Pia because we’re expecting a baby. Because I want to be a better father than I had.” Angelo had briefly lost sight of that, but never would again. “I’m staying married to her because I’m in love with her. That means, for her sake, we’re going to learn to play nice.” He drew a small circle in the air. “I thought cleaning up my mess with my brothers was a good start. Now, you have a pleasant evening, gentlemen. Convey my regards to your infinitely more charming wives.”
“Same,” Rico shot at his back.
Angelo had texted Pia while he was on the island, telling her the security team had deemed it safe to move back into her home. He checked there first, but the housekeeper said she had packed a bag and left instructions to ready the house for sale.
Angelo reversed that order and presumed Pia had decided to stay at her mother’s.
He went there and was informed that Pia had left two days ago for her own house. When he expressed his dissatisfaction with that information, he was forced to wait twenty minutes before La Reina deigned to see him.
He gave her the report he’d given her sons. “Aside from lingering speculation in the press, which should die off fairly quickly, this should all be over.”
“Thank you for informing me.” With a smile of pressed civility, she rose.
“Your staff tells me Pia isn’t here,” he said, preventing her from leaving. “She’s not in her home and not answering my texts.”
“That’s to be expected.”
“What do you mean?” Angelo bristled, suspecting she was deliberately punishing him, but he couldn’t read anything malicious in her expression. No enjoyment of his frustration, only a vague puzzlement with his continued presence.
“I mean that she does this. She travels out of range, thereby taking a few days to respond to messages. It’s something you should expect of her as common behavior.”
“So you don’t know where she went? Aren’t you concerned?”
“She’s a grown adult. She makes her own schedule.”
“She’s pregnant.”
“She’s not foolish.” Her mouth twitched slightly as if she heard the irony in her own words, given her daughter’s choice in husband. “Do you have reason to believe there would be a medical issue?”
“No, but...” Angelo clenched his teeth, wondering how Pia had withstood a lifetime of this stonewalling. “Did she—” He could barely bring himself to ask. “Is she avoiding me? Seeking a legal separation?”
La Reina frowned. “I should think you’d be the first to know that, not me.”
“So she didn’t say anything like that to you?”
La Reina rang for her assistant and asked with exaggerated patience, “Do we know where my daughte
r is?”
Clearly “we” didn’t.