Chapter Sixteen

The two pink lines stare up at me from the bathroom counter.

I instinctively touch my belly with one hand, and look at myself in the mirror. Luca has spoiled me so much lately, and he doesn't even know yet that he's about to become a father.

I can only imagine how happy our life is going to be together, just the three of us. I will help him make the business his, just as he wants it to be, and in return, I'll be the one who gets to fall asleep next to Luca Baldini each night.

Putting the pregnancy test in my bag, I walk out of the bathroom and find my father sitting at the kitchen counter reading the newspaper.

"Morning, Daddy," I say, pouring us both a cup of coffee and sitting down opposite him.

It's not often that he's even at home during the morning hours, so it's good to see him taking a bit of a break. Plus, I haven't had any time to let him in on what's been happening since the flower delivery, and I feel like so much has changed for the better since then.

"Morning, Em. How'd you sleep?" He puts the newspaper down to chat and I know this is the best time to catch him up on everything with Luca.

"Not too bad." This was the first night I had slept at home in a while, and it almost felt strange. Being in Luca's bed—whether at his bachelor pad or in Mexico—is what feels right now.

Hopefully, this little bean inside of me will mean that I get to sleep in Luca's bed every night, forever. Soon.

"You weren't out with Luca last night?" My dad raises his eyebrows, obviously prying about whether or not I've screwed that up already. He's used to me screwing up, apparently, but he's clueless as to how much work I've put into this plan, and how long I've worked on making sure it doesn't fail.

"Luca had some business to handle. We've spent so much time together, Dad, last night we just both had our own stuff to attend to." I actually had nothing to attend to, but I did take the time to book a wax, a haircut, and a mani-pedi appointment.

"Mm-hm." His tone is almost condescending, and it annoys me to no end. I decide to let him in on (almost) everything that's been going on.

"Actually, Daddy, things between Luca and I are getting quite serious. And it's good news for you too. Luca managed to secure the product from the Mexicans, and it's already the hottest product on the streets. He hasn't even gotten the shipment yet. He"s just sent out some samples at the family"s clubs. That means that once it arrives, you could possibly get involved and distribute to your clients too."

My father's clients include all of the rich men and women that frequent the golf clubs and hotels that he owns. An extra side income is always a welcome thought to him, and this kind of thing is easy to sell.

"Well, as long as you keep up your own work, Emelia," my father replies, insinuating that it's just a matter of time before this whole thing implodes on me.

But this time he's wrong. Things with Luca are different. They're real.

"Dad, trust me, this is the endgame. Luca and I have gotten much closer since I went with him to Mexico. He took me to Paris for dinner the other night. And that new black Bentley in the driveway? It's my present from Luca."

My father looks only slightly impressed, so I figure I may as well lay all of my cards on the table.

"Besides," I put the pregnancy test on the kitchen counter between us. "You're about to be a grandad, and Luca is going to be a father. I'm carrying his firstborn child. There's not much more serious than that."

My father looks at the test, then up at me, and back at the test. "Congratulations, Pumpkin," he says, using a nickname that he hasn't used for years now.

I can tell the thought of binding our families by blood excites him, he's not good at hiding that. This will also be the first grandchild on my side, which is a big deal. "I guess you really have secured a position beside Luca in the future, then. A pregnancy is a big step in any relationship."

"You're pregnant?" I jump at the sound of a third voice coming from behind me.

Turning around, I see Grazia standing in my kitchen. Fuck. "How the hell are you about to have my brother's baby if you only went to Mexico with him for BUSINESS?"

She's already being loud, but the last word comes out almost as a shriek.

"Grazia, how—how long have you been standing there?" I cough out of surprise, and grab the test to put it back in my bag. That's not the wisest move, though, because clearly she's already heard me announce that I'm carrying her future niece or nephew.

Actually, I thought she'd be happier. Sure, our teenage pact had been no brother-fucking, ever, but we're adults now. Me raising a Baldini would make her and I true family, something we'd always fantasized about when we were younger.

"I asked Grazia to come over here to work out some details for the investor"s event our families are putting on next week," my father says to me. He glances back and forth between us with a strained look on this face. "Clearly I should have told you about my invite sooner."

"What the fuck, Emelia? You went to Mexico and seduced my brother so that you could carry his baby? So, what, your stinky-ass family could be bound to our bloodline?"

"Fuck you, Grazia. My family is no lower than yours, and I didn't seduce your brother, thank you very much! If anything…" I decide to stop. Neither my father nor Luca's sister needs any idea of just how much Luca and I had mutually seduced each other.

"You're a bitch, Emelia! For our entire lives and friendship, you have promised me that you wouldn't go after my brother! Was the whole reason that you were ever even my friend just so that you could eventually have my brother's bastard baby?"

"This is not a bastard baby!" I scream at her, my emotions taking over.

This baby was a creation of love. Sure, some of our sexual encounters had been more about lust and power, but there had been just as much softness and care when we were together.

Grazia turns and runs out of the house, leaving my father and I staring at each other. I take a breath, feeling my cheeks burning from the exchange. And then it hits me—Grazia knows about the baby before Luca.

She also now believes that I've done nothing but use her brother for his sperm. And while that may have been the plan at the start, everything that Luca and I have built between us now has changed it all.

"Emelia… go after her," my father says sternly. "You cannot afford for her to get to Luca before you tell him."

"I—I…Okay, I will." I grab my new car's keys and slip on sandals at the door. I drive to the Baldini mansion, sure that this is where Grazia has gone because it's her safe place.

I burst through the grand front door, a pawn in the game of Clue yet again working my way out of trouble. My eyes quickly finding Grazia standing in the living room, searching for a number on her phone. Anguish and anger paint her tear-streaked face.

I know I have to act swiftly to salvage the thread holding Luca and I together. If Grazia gets to him first, who knows what she'll tell him. I still don't know how much of my conversation with my father she actually heard.

"Grazia, please just stop and listen to me," I beg her, my voice tinged with desperation.

She and I have been friends forever, I know that if I can just get her to have a bit of sympathy for my situation, I can diffuse the anger and buy myself time. But I also know that messing with her brother was one of her hard boundaries, and I've crossed it…many times over.

Moving toward her, I take her phone from her quivering hands. The weight of the revelation presses heavily on me, and I feel a lump forming in my throat.

"My brother needs to know that you"re about to blackmail him for the next eighteen years!" Grazia"s voice wavers as she tries to reclaim her phone, but I instinctively step away, creating a physical and emotional distance between us.

"I never meant for it to come to this," I confess, my eyes welling with tears. "You have to understand, Grazia." What had started as a plan, a calculated move, evolved into something more. But Grazia hardly knows the journey that my mind has been on in the past couple of months.

"Luca and I... our connection is stronger now. I don't want to see him hurt. I want to help him succeed. And this baby won't mess any of that up."

Grazia"s anger seems to momentarily soften, replaced by a mix of confusion and hurt. I take a deep breath, the weight of my words hanging in the air.

"I care about your brother, Grazia. And I care about you! We've been friends for most of our lives. None of that had anything to do with your brother. This has all been a roller coaster since Ginny died and all I was trying to do was be there for the whole family, but I knew Luca would take it the hardest, and Ginny even mentioned him in the letter she left me."

The mention of her grandmother seems to hit a nerve with Grazia, but she's listening to me, so I continue. "We just happened to find a connection that became more intimate. It"s not just about a child or some grand scheme of mine. The plan, if there ever was one, got lost along the way. Please, let me explain."

Grazia, though still visibly upset, seems to relent slightly.

"Explain, then," she demands, her eyes searching mine for sincerity.

"I thought it was a transaction, a simple arrangement," I begin, the words tumbling out in haste. "But, Grazia, something changed between Luca and I when we were in Mexico, and these weeks after. Our connection became real. He's opened up to me and the lines have blurred. I never meant to hurt him, or you, like this."

Grazia"s expression softens ever so slightly, a flicker of understanding breaking through the storm of emotions.

"You"re telling me you fell in love with my brother?"

"Yes," I nod, tears streaming down my face now, too.

"I didn"t plan for it, but it happened. I love Luca, and I never wanted any of this to jeopardize what we have as friends."

Grazia, seems to absorb my words but she still looks at me as if I've just committed a heinous crime. "Luca needs to know, Emelia. You can"t keep this from him."

"I know," I sigh. "But let me explain it to him. I"ll make things right, Grazia, I promise."

Just as we both let out deep sighs of emotion-filled breaths, I hear the door open and see Luca walk in. Grazia and I freeze, surprised by his sudden appearance. I'm sure the scene he's just walked into has shocked him too.

"What's going on here?" he asks.