“I already know that. I know that I could never compete with his kid.”
“It’s not just his kid. If the two of you were to have kids, he would feel the same exact way. There is nothing that can come between what he feels for her, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t love you fiercely.”
“So, where does that leave me? I need to give in to his demands because it’s them against me?”
“No, you need to talk to him calmly and try and see things from his perspective. Imagine if he knew he was going out on a job that he knew he wouldn’t come back from. Wouldn’t you want to know?”
I stared at her for a moment, sure that she was talking about someone else right now. She slapped her forehead and shook her head.
“Sorry, damn pregnancy brain.”
“Thank God. I was thinking there was something seriously wrong with you.”
“Look, just talk it out with him. He’s just worried about losing you.”
“That’s why he’s pushing me away?”
“No, that’s why he went to the spa. Of course, you idiot!”
“Stop yelling at me. Fine, I get it. I’m being selfish and I need to think about this from his perspective.”
“Not just his perspective. You need to think of this from your perspective as a potential family. Once you’re in, you’re in. It’s like the mafia. You don’t keep secrets unless you want to end up with a horse head in your bed.”
“I don’t think that’s accurate.”
“It doesn’t matter. You don’t mess with the mob.”
“I’m not in the mob.”
“But you’re part of Reed Security. Ooh! Knight is like Luca Brasi and Cap is Don Corleone!”
“Reese…” I shook my head, not even knowing where to go with that.
“Just think about it, okay?” She let her jaw fall open and brushed her hand against her jaw. “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
“What?”
“A man who is not a father to his children can never be a real man.”
I stared at her in confusion. “Are you…are you trying to say that Rocco is a real man because of how he treats his daughter? Because I already knew that.”
“Great men are not born great, they grow great…”
“Okay, you’re just talking out of your ass now.”
I stood to leave, but she stopped me one last time, and this time, it caught my attention.
“You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret. And then when you do, it has to sound like a ‘yes’. Or you have to make them say ‘no’. You have to take time and trouble.”
I sank back down on the couch and tried to figure out what she was saying. “So, you’re saying that I have to say ‘yes’ to Rocco on this, but really say ‘no’?”
“Hell, I don’t know. I didn’t understand half of those movies, but the quotes sounded really good.”
I had never known Reese to ever watch a movie like The Godfather, so why was she watching it all the sudden? Or was she?
“You didn’t actually watch the movie, did you?”
“What? Yes, I did!”
“You didn’t,” I said in mock horror, pointing my finger at her like the villain. “You went online and memorized all the quotes so that it sounds like you’ve watched the movies!”
“Well, they were long and dark. It was hard to watch. Besides, I didn’t realize there would be so much killing in the movie.”
“It’s a movie about gangsters.”
“Well, I didn’t know that when I rented it. I saw the title and I thought it would be like a weird Cinderella story.”
The door opened suddenly and there was Rocco, staring intently at me, making me squirm in my seat. He still looked angry, but it was a smoldering kind of angry that made me think we might still have something to work through. Reese quickly stood and gave me one last glance.
“The lawyer with the briefcase can steal more money than the man with the gun.”
She ran out the door before I even had time to think over what she said. Not that there was much point. She didn’t even have any context for anything she was saying. I stood slowly and shoved my hands into my back pockets, not really sure what to do or say right now.
“Where’s Evie?”
“Training.”
I nodded. “Badass.”
A small smile tilted his lips before it became awkward again.
“I’m sorry-” we both started at the same time.
God, this was so painfully awkward, mostly because I had never apologized for pretty much anything in my life, and trying now was like trying to swim when you’d never been in water.
He slowly walked toward me, stopping just an arm’s length from me. I wanted him to grab me and tell me that it would all be alright, but I wasn’t sure what he was thinking right now.
“I’m sorry I pressured you. I know that in the end, this is your decision. I shouldn’t have walked away from you just because you didn’t want the test. Whatever you decide, I’m all in. I could never walk away from you and be happy. You’re it for me.”
I shrugged. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you out.”
He smirked a little. “That’s it?”
“Well, I’m a woman. I’m not going to admit to everything I did wrong.”
He stepped forward and slid his arm around my waist, pulling me in closer to him. “That’s the thing, you’re not like every other woman. You’re exactly what I’ve been waiting for. Tell me that you’re staying with me, that you won’t walk away because I was a demanding asshole.”
I pretended to think about it. “I’ll stay with you on one condition.”
He nodded seriously. “Alright, let’s hear your demands.”
“I’ll stay with you if you promise not to hold it against me that I’m a selfish bitch.”
“I don’t know. That’s an awfully big demand.”
“I think you can hack it. And one more thing….”
“One more thing? You said ‘on one condition’. By definition, that means there’s only one demand.”
“I’m a woman. I change my mind easily.”
“I’ll say.”
I swallowed hard as I made my final decision. Once I said this, I knew there was no going back. But I had to be in, all or nothing. “Say you’ll go with me to get the test done.”
Confusion filled his eyes and he shook his head slightly. “No, you didn’t want to know. I don’t want you doing this out of guilt.”
“It’s not out of guilt. I want to do this because…because I’ve only ever done anything for me. But you were right, if we’re going to move forward in this relationship, it has to be about us. You deserve to know what to expect, for you and for Evie. I’m not saying it’ll be easy to go do this, but as long as I have you, I know that it’ll be fine.”
He shook his head slightly, huffing out a soft laugh. “God, you amaze me. Every time I think you’re going to do one thing, you do another.”
“Well, I like to keep it fresh. I can’t be in a stale relationship.”
“Never,” he grinned, leaning in to kiss me. “I have some time before Evie gets home. What do you say we take this into the bedroom?”
“We’re not going to have boring sex, are we?”
“I could be wrong, because I’ve never actually done this before, but I think we’re about to have makeup sex.”
“That could be fun.”
“Something about taking out all that anger and hostility on the other person. I guess it’s supposed to be cathartic.”
“Fine, I’ll do it, but no snuggling afterwards.”
“I would never,” he said with a grin.
“And no shower rights. You have to earn those back.”
“Of course.”
“And I get household rights in the morning.”
“You’ve pretty much had those all along.”
“Well, then by all means-” I didn’t get to finish my sentence as he
slammed his mouth down on mine and swooped me up into his arms. Before I knew it, we were in the bedroom, tearing off each other’s clothes and having the best makeup sex of my life. Well, the only makeup sex, but it was fantastic. I laid there panting next to him and calculating how long it would be until he was ready to go again.
“I give it a solid ten,” Maggie’s voice came over the system.
“Nah. Nine point five. I didn’t see enough of Rocco’s ass,” Cara said.
Rocco went to storm out of bed, but I grinned and placed a hand on his chest. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” I grinned as I threw off the covers and spread my legs wide for them to see.
I heard them screech and started laughing.
“How do you turn off the picture?” Maggie cried.
“I don’t know. This was your stupid idea!”
“Call Knight!” Maggie yelled.
“I’m not calling anyone. Just shut off the damn TV!”
I laughed when they suddenly cut out. Rocco grinned down at me, slowly pulling the covers back up over me.
“What are you doing? They’re gone.”
“Knight records everything.”
Ratings on Amazon help me to spread the word about my books and allow me to keep writing. Please take a moment and write an honest review of this book on Amazon. Watch for upcoming books in the next series, Reed Security.
For The Love Of A Good Woman Series:
Jack: A romantic comedy
Cole: A romantic thriller
Logan: A revenge novel
Drew: A new beginnings romance
Sebastian: A mystery/thriller romance
Sean: A Love Triangle Romance
Ryan: A Contemporary Romance
The Reed Security Series:
Sinner: A Reed Security Romance
Cap: A Reed Security Romance
Cazzo: A Reed Security Romance
Knight: A Reed Security Romance
Irish: A Reed Security Romance
Hunter: A Reed Security Romance
Whiskey: A Reed Security Romance
Lola: A Reed Security Romance
Ice: A Reed Security Romance
Burg: A Reed Security Romance
Gabe: A Reed Security Romance
Jules: A Reed Security Romance
Sniper: A Reed Security Romance
Jackson: A Reed Security Romance
Chance: A Reed Security Romance
Phoenix Rising: A Reed Security Novel
Alec: A Reed Security Romance
Storm: A Reed Security Romance
Wolf: A Reed Security Romance
A Mad Reed Security Christmas
Rocco: A Reed Security Romance
Coop: A Reed Security Romance, April 2020
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Rocco Page 29