“I love you more, baby.”
“Impossible. Now go and do you're work, so we can start our evening together.”
“I won’t be long.”
Dominick left to take care of his business. I decided to take the tray and head out to the kitchen. I placed it on the counter and walked over to the sectional. I grabbed the throw and laid down. It was snowing and it looked so beautiful and so quiet on the backdrop of the potted trees outside. Dominick still had the tiny white Christmas lights on them. The patio looked magically. I began to close my eyes and drift off when I heard the doorbell.
Tommy’s voice traveled across the foyer and into the kitchen. He was talking with Joseph.
I turned to look at him. He was all smiles.
“Hey, baby. Heard you were sentenced to a month’s bed rest. Thought I’d stop in to see how you were handling it.”
“It’s only been a couple of hours, Tommy. Check back with me in a week.”I smirked.
“You’ll do fine. How’s Kane handling it?”He arched his eye brow and cocked his head in a curious expression.
“He’s fine. I think he’s more preoccupied with his past right now. Plus, he knows that I’ll follow doctor’s orders. I don’t want anything happening to our babies and you know him, he’ll make sure I do as I’m told. Except in this situation, we are in totally agreement.”I placed my hands on my belly and looked down at the small bump in grateful admiration.
“Yeah. I know you will.”
“How was LA?”
“Boring.”
“Wait! Say that again. Did you Tommy Conte just say LA was boring? You love it out there. You drink up the attention of every beach beauty you meet. What’s changed? What’s going on, Tommy?”
I asked because Tommy loved the nightlife and the atmosphere in LA. Now he was bored. Something didn’t add up.
I don’t know, Rain. It wasn’t the same this time. I did the shoot and then one of the girls asked me to meet her for a drink later and I said I would go, but when I got back to my hotel room, I just grabbed dinner and wine from room service, passed out and left to come home this morning.”He seemed awkward.
“You’re not telling me something. Don’t bullshit me, Tommy. Why did you come home so fast? I pressed him.
“I heard about your situation and wanted to be close by.”
“Liar.”I smiled.
“What me? I’m insulted.”Tommy teased.
“You’ll get over it. Wait a minute. There’s only one other reason you would rush back here after knowing I was fine. A girl. Am I getting warmer, baby?”My grin had evil satisfaction written all over it.
“Wrong, smartypants. I came back because I just didn’t want to be out there. I wasn’t into it. That’s all, Rain.”
“Sure, I get it. You hated the hot young leggy women crawling all over you. The killer waves to surf on. The hot winter’s day in sunny California. The great Mexican food and drink. Yeah, makes perfect sense to me.”
“You’re not going to let this go are you?”Tommy was displeased with my prying.
“Not on your life.”I, on the other hand was loving it.
“Yeah, I have someone that I’m meeting this week. I can’t say much more than that. It’s complicated Rain, so don’t push it.”
“You really need to stop dating women you can’t have. What’s the deal with this one? Married?”
“Not exactly.”He wasn't about to give anything away.
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Not.”
“Okay, fine. But don’t coming running to me if you're being chased by her lover with a shotgun. I’m not in any condition to stop him.”
“Rain, it’s not like that. Besides, I know you’d help me even if you were on your deathbed.”He leaned in and kiss my cheek.
“You got that right.”I placed my arms around his neck and hugged him hard.“I love you, Tommy. I just want you to be okay.”
“I am, Rain. Don’t worry about me. Please, you need to take care of yourself.”He looked at me to make sure that I would.
“I promise I’ll take care of myself.”
“If she doesn’t, then the rest of us will make sure she does.”I heard a familiar voice come into the room.
Daniel.
“Hey, Kane. What happened to you? Rain finally kicked your ass?
“No, Tommy. This isn’t Dominick. This is Daniel Rosso. Dominick’s brother.”I wished after Tommy’s statement, I would have mentioned Daniel to Tommy when I had talked to him earlier and the fact that he was Dominick’s twin.
“Holy Shit! I apologize. Except for the missing goatee, you look exactly like Kane.”Tommy was dumbfounded.
“I get that a lot lately.”Daniel grinned.
I giggled.
Tommy and Daniel were talking, when a familiar screeching voice crashed into the room.
Raven.
“Rain, I need you. I have talk to you about something before I fucking bur……….! What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were in LA.”Raven started with me and ended her loud assault with Tommy.
“Nice to see you too, babe. I was in LA, but Rain needed me, so I’m back.”Tommy wasn’t very nice. Raven and Tommy were always friends when we were kids, but not close buddies. Yet there was never any animosity between them. Maybe now that Michael shit all over her and their relationship hung in the balance, she decided all Conte men would get theirs for the time being.
“You needed him? What? Dominick’s not enough for you these days?”She turned her anger on me.
“You didn’t just say that to me did you? Because if you did and if you meant it, you can get the fuck out now. I’m tired Raven and I’m in no mode for your childish behavior. You're not happy so no one can be happy either? Get over yourself and grow up. If you're having issues we’ll talk about and we’ll fix it, but not if you're going to act like a baby. I have enough of that with Dominick. I cant deal with anymore bullshit.”I was cold.
“I’m sorry. You know I’m sorry, but I do need to talk with you.”She settled down.
“That’s better, but can we do this tomorrow. I don’t feel well right now.”I had a headache. I hoped my blood pressure wasn’t high.
“Well, baby; if you would just do what you’re told when I ask you to, then you wouldn’t be feeling like this, now would you?”A familiar voice spoke up.
Oh Shit!
I turned my focus from Raven to the man standing behind Daniel.
Dominick.
He held his cell phone up between his two fingers. He admired it and then looked at me with a crooked grin.
“That tracking device still works wonders. How do you think I look after you when we aren’t together.”He was almost proud of himself.
“You can’t be fucking serious?”I felt my blood begin to boil.
“Dead serious.”His voice was dark.
“So, you're monitoring her from another room. That’s sick.”Raven added.
“I’m making sure she’s okay. Do you have a problem with that?”Dominick stared at Raven.
“She’s not a child, damn it.”Raven was protective, too. And she wouldn’t let this rest.
Daniel spun around in his chair to meet Dominick’s glare that was directed at my sister. I think he was wondering what his brother’s next move would be. Tommy just leaned on the kitchen island and crossed his arms and grinned. He was just going to sit back and enjoy the show.
I decided to get away from the situation. I got up to leave. I kissed Tommy on his cheek. He grinned. I kissed Raven as well. She looked confused. I walked passed Daniel and touched his shoulder. Then I reached my impossible man.
“Lose that monitor you have on me. It’s the last time I’m going to mention this.”As I walked out of the room I turned to say one more thing.“Have a good evening everybody.”
As I left the room I heard Daniel address Dominick.
“Would you two like some privacy?”Daniel asked.
“Yeah, that would be g
ood.”Dominick said.
I heard the voices in the kitchen talking. It sounded much more civilized. Then I heard those same voices fade and the front door close.
Dominick returned to our room and leaned in the doorway. He was anticipating a fight, but I was in no position to argue. Not because Dominick was right, but because our babies deserved better. I needed to be calm and let all of it go for once. It wouldn’t always be this easy, but I loved him and his crazy over protective behavior was part of who he was.
“You know I don’t want to you leave me.”He was assuming I would.
“You make me so angry.”I smirked.
Dominick’s jaw tightened into a shy grin. He got his way….again. Dominick came forward and knelt down in front of me. He took my hands in his. He looked down and examined them. He let out a big sigh.
“I can’t get through this without you, baby. Nor do I want to. Any of this. Learning about my parent’s true identity, getting to know Daniel, being a dad. I need you, Rain. I’m sorry about the monitoring device.”He said without looking at me.
I leaned forward and took his face in my hands. Then I placed a gently kiss on his lips. I lingered there briefly.
“You’re not going to have to do this without me.”I whispered across his lips.
Dominick looked into my eyes and a small smile played on his face. His eyes became brighter and sense of relief appeared in his expression.
“So you haven’t eaten and all of that drama before shouldn’t have occurred. I explained to our guests that it will not happen again, while you’re pregnant. That goes for you getting involved when they ask you to.”He waited for my response.
“You’re right it won’t happen again. That’s why I left the room. I knew you’d handle it for me. I didn’t like putting you in that position, but honestly I just didn’t feel like dealing with it at that point. You know me. I love my sister and I hate the fact the her and Mike are having issues, but she just doesn’t give it a rest. I really want to talk to Mike to see what’s going on.” I explained to Dominick.
“Listen Rain, I don’t want you to get all worked up with the problems that clearly Raven and Michael need to address with each other. It seems to me if she spent less time over planning that perfect wedding of hers, she’d have more time for her fiancé. I know you love them, but they need to work this out on their own.”
“I just want to hear Mike’s side. He’s the one that keeps Raven sane. Well, as sane as Raven can be. I just need to know what happened.”I smiled innocently.
“You’re not giving up on this, are you?”Dominick was frustrated.
“No, I can’t. Raven would do the same for me. We’re twins. We know when each other is hurting. We know when something isn’t right. Please try to understand?”I pleaded with him.
“Okay, but I want you to take it easy. Besides, I have to understand. I’m a new found twin now too and I think I need to find out more about my brother.”He stated.
“That’s great. I’m happy for you.”
“Well, I look at it this way, if I don’t work on my past, then how can I possibly move forward with you and our children. I don’t want all of this bullshit fucking up our future. No matter what the outcome is, good or bad; I need to know. I need to settle this.”
“I understand.”
“I know you do, baby. So I know you’ll get it when I say that I’m going to have dinner with Daniel tonight. You said you wanted to rest, so I asked Anna and Joseph to set up your tray and bring it in when dinner is ready. I’m going to take Daniel out for dinner, so we can speak privately.”
“Be nice, okay?”
“I will. I’ll be on my best behavior. I get that he’s been through a lot.”He was sincere.
Dominick kissed me goodbye and left me in good hands with Anna and Joseph. I really did hope that Daniel could shed enough light on the past, at least his outlook of it, so that Dominick could proceed with sitting down with Joseph and Anna and having a true heart to heart talk. It wasn’t going to be perfect, but it could be better and they could agree to get to know each other in a different light and perhaps work out a way to build on their new relationship.
I was asleep when Dominick finally got in. He explained that he took Daniel to dinner in the city and then he took him to his law firm. He wanted to show him what he had built up over the years.
Daniel and Dominick talked about their lives as children into adulthood. Daniel admitted that he was jealous of Dominick for much of his life because Dominick always had Anna and Joseph with him. Dominick didn’t realize the impact that was placed on Daniel’s day to day life until now. Dominick was at a disadvantage because he didn’t even know Daniel existed.
Daniel on the other hand knew about Dominick and also knew the true story of how Dominick was taken and illegally adopted by their Aunt Elise. It didn’t make it any easier for him. Sure he knew his real parents, but he didn’t get to live with them. Dominick did. Dominick got to grow up with Anna and Dominick by his side. Even though he didn’t know who they really were. They still took part in every aspect of his life.
Once their dinner ended, he called Anna and Joseph. He said that they were bringing home dessert and that he would like to sit down and talk with both of them. Dominick said they sounded cautiously optimistic, but at the same time apprehensive. This was natural, knowing what they had to reveal to Dominick. I’m sure they were afraid of his reaction.
I was hoping that he would hear what happened and make the decision to try. Maybe not immediately, but possibly in time he could form a new bond with them and create a more solid relationship. For Dominick’s sake and the sake of our babies, I hoped that would be the case.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hi, how did it go?”I sat up and stretched.
“The roads are getting icy, so we came home for dessert.”
“And?”Now I was worried.
“And we sat down and talked.”
“And?”
“And, Rain; we decided to talk more and take it slow. We’re going to try to figure this out in time and come to a better understanding.I need to do this my way, baby.”He smiled.
I smiled. “I understand. Oh and by the way, I love you, Mr. K…Control Freak.”
“Very funny.”
Let’s hope Dominick keeps some of this lighthearted mood from the dinner conversation this evening and that they can get past what happen and maybe someday they can become a real family. I know it would be good for Dominick. Actually, it would be good for everyone involved.
****
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
HIS SIDE, HER SIDE & THE TRUTH
The next day Dominick left for the office early. He wanted to get back to me as soon as possible because he knew Anna and Joseph were going to drive Daniel back to the center. He missed several of his classes and couldn’t stay any longer. However, he did promise that he’d be back in March for my photography show. I was glad that at least he and Dominick seemed to be getting along. They sort of balanced each other out as twins. Dominick was high strung with a controlling personality and Daniel was the down to earth, come what may type.
After everyone left I called Michael and asked if he could come by the townhouse today. He was off and said he had free time around noon. He agreed to stop by then. In the meantime, I called Raven. I wanted to hear what she had to say. The truth, not the drama.
“Hello.”Raven answered immediately.
“Hi Raven.”
“Rain? Are you okay? What’s wrong? What’s happened.”She was in crazy mode.
“There’s nothing wrong. I called because everyone is out of the house at the moment and I want to know what’s going on with you. I can’t really talk in front of Dominick. He’ll worry that I’m being stressed out.”
“Maybe he’s right, Rain.”She was trying to avoid the conversation.
“Raven, don’t pull your crap with me. What’s going on?”
“Alright, alright. I’ll tell you. I’m not sure, but I
think Michael’s seeing someone.”Raven stated.
“What? Where are you getting this from? Did you see him out with someone?”I questioned her further.
“No. Not exactly.”She seemed unsure.
“Raven, how can you make a blanketed statement like that and still be unsure? He either cheated on you or he didn’t. Which is it?”I pried further.
“Rain, I don’t know if he cheated, but he isn’t with me anymore. You know what I mean. He isn’t having sex with me. We aren’t intimate.”
Identity: …………..People aren’t always who you believe them to be (Miss Taken Identity Series Book 2) Page 28