Playing in the kitchen with Maria has been a good distraction from the emotional afternoon. Alone in my dark room, I replay the events of the day.
The panic attack that came on as soon as my feet touched the property I spent the first eighteen years of my life on. The comfort of Stone’s arms around me. His calming voice.
He stopped my panic attack from completely taking over. There was no judgment or disappointment in his eyes. His only concern had been to help me. Sure, he can be an arrogant asshole, but he has a heart. A heart he likes to keep hidden, but it’s there.
When he took my hand in his, I nearly fainted. Not from the panic attack. Not from the fear of facing my father. But from the show of affection. At the time, I didn’t know why he worked so hard to put on a stoic persona, why he hid his heart from the world.
Now I know.
Having his fingers threaded through mine as I faced my father for the first time in eight years gave me the strength I needed to stand tall. To not quiver in his presence. Men like Lorenzo find joy in making others weak.
Seeing him for the first time brought so many emotions. This afternoon, I hadn’t had the time or luxury to process them. I had to stay alert, stay calm for Stone. Play my part.
It isn’t like I expected Lorenzo to show some sort of fatherly love toward me. He never showed it while I was living in his home, why would he now? His face filled with rage when he realized he had been fooled by me and by Stone. He was furious that I’d hidden from him and married without his permission. That I hadn’t married Antonio.
That I had married Stone Parlatore. The brother of a little girl he had raped and killed.
The son of a woman he had raped and killed.
The son of a man he had shot in front of his family because he had threatened to expose the entire operation.
Tears flow down my cheeks, making a puddle on my pillow.
Lorenzo Parisi robbed me of a childhood and stripped a bright, healthy future away from my mother, but we still have our lives.
Stone had everyone he loved taken from him. Brutally.
I can’t get his family back, but I can help with the demons inside.
***
I wake early. The sunhasn’t fully risen, but sleep is not happening. I change into shorts, a sports bra, and tank top, then lace up my sneakers. A morning run will clear my head and wake me up.
As I walk down the hall to the kitchen, I notice a faint light from under the door to Stone’s study. I knock and he barks, “What?”
I open the door and am not surprised to see him seated behind his desk in the mostly dark room, dressed in a black polo shirt and what I assume to be black dress pants.
“Vampires get cranky when the sun rises, don’t they?”
There is just enough light to see his gaze travel from my legs up to my breasts, then back down my legs again.
“Busy?” I go to the window and push open the drapes then turn on two lamps.
“Yes.”
“You’re looking a bit pale. Sunlight and a run will do you good. Go change, and I’ll meet you outside.”
I don’t know where this confidence comes from. Stone reclines in his chair and props his ankle across his knee. I’ve never seen him in such a casual pose before. I like it.
“I’ve already showered and dressed for the day.”
“Yeah, well, you sit around too much. Exercise is important.” By the shape of his thighs, and the muscle in his arms, it’s obvious he spends plenty of time exercising. Still. He needs me to push him. He may not realize it now. Eventually, he will.
“I don’t want to run.”
“Well, I’m feeling a little sluggish this morning. I need to run, and I’ll run faster if you’re next to me, or rather ahead of me, without a shirt on.”
Well, hell. I hadn’t planned on flirting with him this morning. Or ever.