I step back from him. “How the hell do you know that?”
“I know you prefer lilies to roses. I know you’re not a fan of concertos mainly because it was all your father would listen to. I know your brothers were assholes to you. Luca was the worst. I know you like your eggs with enough salt to kill a grown man. I know you, Rory. It’s you that doesn’t know anything about me.”
“How did you find all those things out?”
“I’m a Casella. How do you think?”
“You paid someone to find out for you. Ever heard the term, invasion of privacy?”
“We’re having a child together. I needed to know that you’re not a security risk to me.”
“And am I?”
“Not at all.”
I think again about the conversation I just had with Cara. She’s coming back to the States because of Nico. He’s going to pay for her to go to college. But what if he’s lying about my dogs? What if he’s lying about everything? A man in his position has to be a good liar to get there, right?
I’ll see what Cara tells me after she’s talked to Giovanni. Then I’ll think about what Nico just said to me.
I won’t think about it until then. Won’t think about how excited I got to hear how much he’s attracted me to me, how my heart started to race when I got a vision of the two of us staying married. Having that kind of sex every single day. I can’t think about that. I won’t be able to think about anything else.
“We need to move out,” Nico says while I’m still thinking.
“Sorry, what?”
“If we stay in this house, you will die. We need to move. Now.”
Twenty-Eight
Nico
* * *
Iget some of my people to help Rory pack. She only needs enough things to last until she’s pregnant. Hopefully that’ll be tomorrow night. We’ll know three weeks after that if she’s pregnant. That’s the earliest any test can come back positive.
Three weeks away from here. Not that long. When I come back, I’ll be in charge. It’s a good feeling.
“Why are we leaving?” she asks when she reappears downstairs. “Can you at least tell me that?”
“I told Giovanni I’m marrying you tomorrow. He’s likely to try and prevent that. I’ve moved the wedding venue to play it safe. I’m moving us as well.”
“Where to?”
“I’ve a couple of properties Giovanni doesn’t know about. We’ll use one of them.”
“For how long?”
“By my calculations, it takes twenty-one days from conception to be able to prove it via a doctor’s test.”
“So three weeks, give or take?”
“From tomorrow night.”
“If it works.”
“Exactly.”
“And if it doesn’t?”