Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

F our weeks later

Vincenzo

I watched Jenna as she shifted nervously on the couch. Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, and I could see the anxiety brewing in their depths. She was nervous and to be honest, so was I.

Today was the day Bella was coming home from her program abroad and we were going to tell her about us, which was something we both were extremely anxious about. My daughter was fiercely protective, and the thought of explaining all this to her was daunting, but I couldn't keep something as important as Jenna from her for very long.

We weren't that kind of family.

I walked over and sat beside Jenna, taking her hand in mine.

"We need to tell her together," I said softly, squeezing her hand. "She deserves to hear it from both of us."

"I know, but I'm scared, Vincenzo. I'm afraid she'll hate me," Jenna nodded, biting her lip and looking down at her fingers as they intertwined with mine.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"Bella can be pretty intense sometimes, but she loves you. We just need to be honest and hope she understands. That's the most we can hope for. She might be mad at first, but I know her. She's a good egg."

She gave a small, nervous laugh.

"Easy for you to say. You're her dad. She can't stay mad at you forever," she said, her nervousness making her voice tremble the slightest bit.

I cupped her cheek, forcing her to meet my gaze.

"She'll come around eventually. She's going to have to, but until then, we'll get through this together, alright?"

"Alright. Together," she agreed, but her voice still quivered anyway despite my assurance.

The sound of the front door opening made us both jump. Bella's voice rang out from the hallway, cheerful and light and my heart dropped out from its rightful place in my chest.

"Dad! I'm home!" she called out.

Jenna's grip tightened on my hand, and I could feel her pulse racing. I squeezed back, offering her my silent reassurance before I let go of her hand.

"Stay calm," I whispered to her. "I'll handle this."

Bella walked into the living room, her face lighting up when she saw us.

"Hey there, sweetheart!" I exclaimed. She grinned and I gathered her up in his arms. When she was done, Bella stood up and gave her a hug too.

"Hey, you two! What's going on?" Bella grinned wider, looking between the both of us.

"Hey, sweetheart," I greeted, standing up. "We need to talk to you about something."

Bella's smile faltered, and she glanced between us, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What is it? You both look like you've seen a ghost or worse, pineapple on pizza."

Jenna stood up, her hand still in mine. "Bella, there's something we need to tell you. It's… it's important."

Bella crossed her arms, her expression wary as she looked between the two of us.

"Okay, but I have something to tell you first and you can't be mad…" she began, her eyes pleading, but before either of us could say anything, she took a deep breath and blurted out, "I'm dating Damon."

I stared at her, taken aback. Damon was her bodyguard, a man I had trusted with her life for years. To say that this was unexpected was an understatement. A soft gasp escaped me, but I forced my mouth closed and swallowed hard before I dared say anything.

"You're dating Damon?" I repeated, trying to wrap my head around the idea. "How long has this been going on?"

"A few months," Bella admitted, looking a bit sheepish. "I know it's a lot to take in, but… I love him, Dad. He's good to me. He treats me well. I promise."

I swallowed hard, trying to take in what she just told me as calmly as possible while also knowing that I had a bombshell of my own to drop too.

Keep calm. You can ream Damon a new asshole later when your daughter isn't around.

"Sweetie, that's… that's exciting," I blinked, going through a range of emotions in a fraction of a second, ultimately deciding that being calm and understanding was the best route since I still needed to tell her about me and Jenna.

Bella's eyes widened in surprise, and she was dumbstruck for a brief moment before she spoke again, turning more suspicious by the second. "Wait. You're not mad? You're supposed to be mad. Who even are you? What's the catch?"

"You're my princess, sweetheart. As long as he treats you well and makes you happy, I'm okay with it," I laughed, shaking my head.

I was going to kill him. I mean, not like officially, but metaphorically. That was my little girl.

"Thanks, Dad. That means a lot," Bella said with a grin, her relief written all over her face. The suspicious glint in her eyes hadn't completely faded away yet though as she glanced between the two of us. "So, what do you have to tell me, Dad?"

"Actually," Jenna interjected, glancing at me nervously. "There's something we need to tell you."

Bella looked between us, her curiosity clearly piqued. "What is it?"

I took a deep breath, deciding to just rip the Band-Aid off. The longer I waited, the madder Bella was going to get.

Here goes nothing…

"I'm dating someone too," I began nonchalantly.

"It's okay that you're dating again. I've been expecting that for some time now," she smiled, her eyes holding mine, soft and sweet and everything my daughter always was, big heart and all.

"It's Jenna," I blurted out.

Bella's face went through a series of emotions—shock, confusion, and finally, a sort of resigned annoyance. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she said anything at all.

"Wait, what? I don't think I heard you right… Did you say Jenna?" she finally managed.

I nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed under her intense scrutiny. I'd always held Bella in high regard and her opinions were important to me, so I prayed that this would go as well or at least better than I feared.

"Yes. I fell in love with her, Bella. I couldn't help it."

For a moment, Bella just stared at us, her expression unreadable. Then she let out a long, clearly aggravated sigh.

"Dad, you're seriously dating my best friend? This is ridiculous," she whined, flopping down onto the couch and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

She wasn't happy.

"Yeah. I know it's a lot to take in, but—" I nodded again, bracing myself for the worst.

"Do you love her?" Bella cut in, her tone softer but still serious.

"Yes," I said firmly. "I love her very much."

Bella looked at Jenna, her eyes searching. "And you? You love my dad?"

Jenna nodded, her voice steady. "I do, Bella. More than anything."

A small smile tugged at Bella's lips.

"Well, this is definitely more than a little bit weird. But… if you both love each other, I guess I can work my way around to being happy for you maybe eventually."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "Thank you, Bella. That means a lot."

She raised an eyebrow, her expression turning playful, "But don't think you're off the hook. I'm going to be grumpy about this for days to come and you can't even be mad about it," she said, a smirk lighting up her face.

"We wouldn't expect anything less," I chuckled, feeling a whole lot better about the situation already.

Bella sighed dramatically, shaking her head and shooting Jenna a pointed stare.

"Seriously, Jenna? My dad? I mean, I know he's got that whole brooding, mysterious thing going on, but couldn't you have picked someone a little less… I don't know, not related to me?" Bella whined.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "It's not like we planned this."

She rolled her eyes with the dramatic flair that only my twenty-year-old daughter was capable of.

"Yeah, yeah. Just promise me you won't get all mushy and romantic in front of me. I don't need to see that," she teased.

"Deal," Jenna said with a blush, but she smiled anyway.

Bella walked over and hugged me tightly. "I just want you to be happy. Both of you."

As Bella pulled away, she looked at Jenna with a teasing glint in her eye. "But seriously, if you ever break my dad's heart, I'm coming for you. Got it?"

Jenna laughed, nodding. "Got it."

"Same goes for you, Dad. You better not hurt my best friend," Bella said pointedly, shooting me a firm look and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"I won't," I grinned.

"Pinky promise?" she asked, holding out her pinky and I hooked my pinky with hers.

"Pinky promise," I vowed.

Bella nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Good. Now that we've got all of that settled, I'm starving. What's for dinner?"

"How about we order something?" Jenna suggested.

Bella grinned, her mood lifting. "Pizza?"

"Pizza sounds perfect," I agreed, reaching for my phone. As I dialed the number and put in the order, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. The hardest part was over, and Bella's acceptance, even with the bit of ball busting only she was capable of, was more than I could have hoped for.

"So, Damon," I said, leaning back in my chair. "He's treating you well?"

Keep calm. You can have a talk with him later.

Bella nodded enthusiastically. "He's amazing, Dad. He's strong, protective, and he really cares about me. Plus, he's got that whole bad boy thing going on, which is kinda hot."

Okay, maybe a strongly worded talk…

Jenna laughed, nudging Bella playfully. "I can see the appeal."

I grimaced and Bella laughed. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she turned to me.

"And you, Dad? How's it going with Jenna? Anything I should know about?"

I felt a blush creep up my neck as I glanced at Jenna, who was smiling shyly. "I think we're still figuring things out."

I wasn't about to tell her all the dirty things I'd been up to with her best friend. Some things needed to remain secret, including the fact that Jenna's bottom cheeks were bright red beneath her jeans and my fingers were coated with her arousal because she'd needed a bit of stress relief before Bella had come home.

Jenna nodded, her hand finding mine. "We're taking it one day at a time."

Bella rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You two are so cute, it's almost disgusting."

"Almost?" I teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, it's totally disgusting," she laughed. "But in a good way," she added with a wink.

After a little while, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of our dinner. I got up to get the pizza, and as I returned with the boxes, I couldn't help but feel grateful for this moment.

Jenna and I had been so worried about how Bella would take it, that it felt good to finally have it off my chest. My daughter was important to me, and I didn't want to keep something this big and this special a secret for very long.

We dug into the pizza like we hadn't eaten in days, and when we were done, we cleaned up and settled back into the living room.

Bella stretched out on the couch, her eyes drooping with exhaustion. "I think I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day. The jet lag is rough…"

"Goodnight, Bella," I said, giving her a hug. "Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Jenna," she said, hugging Jenna tightly. "Thanks for being honest with me. It means a lot."

"Of course," Jenna replied, her voice soft. "We love you, Bella."

Bella smiled, a genuine, heartfelt smile. "I love you guys too. Now go get some rest yourselves. You look exhausted."

As Bella headed upstairs, I turned to Jenna, pulling her into my arms. "We did it," I murmured, kissing her forehead.

"We did," she agreed, resting her head against my chest. "I was so nervous, but it all worked out."

I held her close, feeling her body warm against mine. "We're going to be okay, Jenna. All of us."

She looked up at me, her eyes soft.

"I know. As long as we're all together, everything is going to be alright."

Her phone beeped and she pulled it out of her pocket and tapped the screen. She giggled and turned the phone toward me so that I could see.

It was a text from Bella.

Sigh. You dirty little slut.

"If only she knew how dirty of a slut you can be, baby girl," I growled, and she blushed hard.

"Only for you," she smirked, her gaze smoldering with heat.

"That's right," I grinned. "Now head upstairs to our bedroom. When I get up there, you better be completely bare for me."

"Yes, sir."