Raising His Baby (The Sartoris Book 2)

by Lockwood,Tressie

  Sonya made a small noise of denial. “Girl, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about Romy.”

  Sonya put her feet down and scooted to the end of the couch.

  Shakarri positioned her newborn to nurse. “No, don’t run off. I know we haven’t seen eye-to-eye since you got here.”

  “You mean your husband treats me like I came in with a ransom note, and you back him up.”

  “It wasn’t that serious.”

  Sonya raised her eyebrows.

  “All right, Ezio was that bad, but you have to admit he’s laid off in the last…few days?”

  Sonya couldn’t help but laugh at that. “He might have let me go to the bathroom once or twice without having a bodyguard search me first.”

  “Now you’re being dramatic.” Shakarri grinned. “Ezio takes some getting used to. It’s only because he loves me that I can handle him as well as I do. To be honest, I like how you give him as good as you get. You’re a tiny little tiger roaring as big as you can.”

  “Wow, thanks. You make me sound like a mewling kitten, all pathetic.”

  “You’re far from pathetic.” For a moment Shakarri watched her, and Sonya waited for her to continue. “You’re something. I like you.”

  That took Sonya by surprise. She couldn’t find words to respond.

  “Especially after that thing at the office. I’m going to be honest with you, when I ran into some trouble I was a basket case until Ezio rescued me. You’re different. Tiny as you are, you can handle whatever comes at you. I bet if that man did have a gun you would get it off him and having him crying on the floor.”

  Sonya sighed and slipped back into her comfortable position. “That’s not true. Yes, I have a big mouth and I won’t let anyone come at me without defending myself, but it’s not like I’ve been in a lot of fights in my life. I’m strong physically because of sports, and that’s all. I’d probably need rescuing too in a situation like you’re talking about, but I’d wait for help with my teeth sunk into the bad guy and these steel thighs crushing his ribs.”

  Shakarri’s eyes watered from laughing so hard. “I bet you would, and I almost wish I could see that. Anyway, what you did for Romy showed me something.”

  Sonya stiffened. “What?”

  “That you love him.”

  “I don’t—” She clipped her words, figuring a quick denial might make her sound like she was lying. Right after that incident, she had come to the same conclusion. Sweet Romy, so good and such a great dad right off the bat. He did everything he could to help her out whenever he was home. There was no sense denying what she felt about him, even if she had already concluded she wouldn’t tell him to his face. “Even if I do, it doesn’t matter.”

  Shakarri gasped. “I didn’t expect you to admit it. Why won’t you tell him?”

  “Come on, Sha.” Sonya had heard Ezio’s daughter call Shakarri Aunt Sha, but everyone else said her whole name. Except the jerk Cason. “You know the circumstances which brought me here. There’s no way he’ll ever believe I love him. He asked me—”

  “He asked you what?”

  Pain tightened Sonya’s chest. “Later on, after all the drama the other day, Romy asked me if I jumped that man knowing he was a reporter. I knew what he was getting at, and I walked off before I jumped him—and not in a good way. See what I mean? I can’t get past the wall he has up. Plus, there’s some stuff between us. He’s been dating. I’m just not going to tell him, so please, just drop it.”

  “He hasn’t been dating anyone.”

  Sonya blinked at her. “What?”

  “This family is nosy as all get out. Trust me. Don’t have anything going on in your life you want to keep them out of. They’ll know before you do how you feel about whatever it is you’re doing.”

  “Like you know how I feel about Romy?” Sonya tried to suppress the sarcasm but failed.

  Shakarri snorted. “Yeah like that. I’m not mad at you. Anyway, when Romy started staying out all late, Ezio and Cason were wondering what he was up to because he didn’t say anything. It was a matter of time for Ezio to ask him straight out what was going on, but Cason is sneakier. He told me he followed Romy one night, and all Romy was doing was having a drink and seeing a movie—alone.”

  Sonya hoped the relief she felt didn’t show on her face. “Couldn’t he have just asked Jody?”

  “Try getting Jody to roll over any information on Romy. They pay them good for loyalty. After getting to know you better, I’m sure you’re the one for Romy. He needs a strong devoted woman like you. He’s strong in a way, but he’s sweeter than anyone. A woman with a big heart who’s in to him, that’s what he’s been searching for all this time.”

  Sonya hesitated.

  “Think about it. You’ve got nothing to lose if you tell him how you feel.”

  “Except us living together and feeling awkward if he turns me down.”

  “You’re bolder than that.” She stood and walked to the door then paused. “I’m behind you all the way, and that’s what matters.”

  Sonya smirked. “You mean Ezio?”

  Shakarri snapped her fingers. “Girl, I’ll have him calling you sis before the end of the week. Trust and believe.”

  They both laughed as Shakarri headed out the door.

  Sonya couldn’t sleep. How many nights had it been now that she had trouble? She couldn’t recall. If only Shakarri hadn’t brought up that stuff about Romy and got her to confess how she felt about him. Now all her mind wanted to do was dwell on Romy and think about what life would be like if the three of them were a real family. What if she did marry him? Would she truly be the perfect woman for Romy?

  No matter how hard she tried to tell herself it didn’t matter because it would never happen, she kept fantasizing about the possibility.

  “A sedative,” she grumbled as she climbed out of bed. Aunt Livia had said she had trouble sleeping, and her doctor described sleeping meds like Pez. She’d offered Sonya one, and Sonya turned her down. She wished she had said yes and had it at her bedside table at lest. She checked on Arron who was sound asleep and left her room. Aunt Livia had said she would leave the bottle on the dresser should Sonya change her mind. She tiptoed down the hall in the opposite direction of Romy’s room. When she reached the balcony overlooking the first floor, she stopped. Someone was downstairs.

  Squinting into the shadows, she made out Jody, who she realized had come to attention when he spotted her. Goosebumps rose on her arms as Jody watched her silently from the shadows. She checked herself over. Her nightgown was thick enough not be seen through even though her feet were bare.

  “Is everything okay, Ms. Sonya?” came Jody’s deep voice.

  “I’m fine. Thanks, Jody. If you’re there then Romy’s in?”

  He might have nodded, but she couldn’t see it. When she didn’t say anything, he affirmed out loud.

  “Would you like me to get him for you?” he asked.

  “No, that’s okay. Thanks.” She debated moving on to Aunt Livia’s room, but her feet moved her down the stairs to the first floor. Desire to see him wouldn’t be suppressed.

  Jody stepped out of the shadows into the little bit of moonlight coming through the window. Anxiety tightened the muscles in his face, and she began to worry that something had happened.

  “Is Romy—”

  “Since you aren’t—” He stopped and ran a hand over the back of his head. What in the world could get the bodyguard all riled up?

  “Say what’s on your mind, Jody. You’re driving me nuts worrying.”

  His huge shoulders rolled. “I’m sorry, Ms. Sonya. I don’t want you to worry. I’ll always...”

  She tensed.

  “…uh, I was thinking since…”

  She resisted strangling him. All she could think about was getting past Jody and going to talk to Romy. Would he accept what she had to say?

  “…like that and
…”

  “Wait, I’m sorry.” She pulled herself together. “I missed what you just said. Can you repeat that?”

  He looked like she asked him to wiggle his hips and dance like a girl. For Pete’s sake, what was so important for him to say?

  He rushed on. “If you’re not seeing Mr. Romy anymore, then maybe you and I could go out.”

  She stared. He liked her? When did this happen and why did he have to complicate her life this much? “Not seeing him anymore?”

  Embarrassment rolled over her. Of course he was aware she had gone to Romy’s room and they had slept together. He must have also been there when she was arguing with Ezio afterward. The bodyguards stayed in the background, observing everything. But Romy wasn’t home when she had the conversation with Shakarri, admitting to her feelings for Romy. He was with Romy at the time, protecting him.

  “I so appreciate your feelings, Jody.”

  He winced at her wording. “You don’t feel the same.”

  “It’s not that I’m trying to go after Romy for his money.”

  “Oh, I know you’re not that kind of woman, or I wouldn’t like you so much.”

  Now it was her turn to wince. “Please, Jody, don’t talk like that anymore. As I said, I appreciate your feelings, and the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

  “If you give me a chance—”

  “No.” She was not the kind of woman who would give a man false hope either. “I’m not interested, and I’d prefer it if you would please keep quiet about how you feel about me from now on.”

  Misery colored his expression, and she touched his arm as a way to try to console him. Rejecting men was so awkward, and she hated it. There were no perfect words that would make the other person feel better.

  “Romy is—” she began.

  “Romy’s what?”

  She snatched her hand away from Jody’s arm. Romy stood in an open doorway with light from a lamp behind him. What she could make out of his face, he looked merely curious about what she’d been about to say not suspicious because he wondered why she was touching his bodyguard. Maybe he never saw it.

  “I was about to ask him if you were in there and had given orders about not being disturbed.”

  “Of course not.” He held out a hand to her, and she took it. “Not to you.”

  Her heart skittered, but she took a look over her shoulder at Jody. His expression had gone blank, and his posture stiffened. Like a trained soldier, he nodded to them both and retreated to his previous spot. She hoped he was okay and that with time his attraction to her would fade.

  “What are you doing up this time of night?” Romy asked when they were alone in the room she discovered was an office. He led her to a loveseat across from a mahogany executive desk, and she sank onto the cushions. Romy took up a spot next to her, and she bit her bottom lip when his tight thigh brushed hers.

  She looked down at their legs. He didn’t move away because he obviously didn’t notice the way his warmth burned her alive. She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. Don’t leave men wondering where you stand, right? Speak your mind.

  “I just wanted to tell you…” She gulped and felt his eyes trained on her.

  “Tell me what?” he encouraged her gently.

  He was killing her with kindness, even more so since she had risked her life to save him. Wait, maybe they were right—Shakarri and Cason. She could get Romy if she gave it real effort, even with his distrust. Romy was made to give himself to a woman—the right woman. She was that woman!

  She leaned in to bring her face nearer to his. His cheeks pinked just a bit, and the beautiful blue eyes widened. Romy’s gaze danced over her form as if he noticed her nightgown for the first time. The material didn’t reveal her skin beneath, but with her seated it did cling in the right places. Her confidence jumped higher at his look of interest.

  “I’m in love.”

  Chapter 14

  “Sono inamorato,” she said again in his native tongue, and Romy sprang to his feet and moved to the desk.

  With his back to her, he smashed his fist against the surface of the desk and growled low in his throat. “Cason isn’t the type of man to get serious about, Sonya.”

  She blinked, wondering why in the world he’d bring up his brother at a time like this. Then it hit her. He couldn’t possibility think…could he?

  Romy spun to face her and sat on the edge of the desk. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the wood beside him. “You’re confessing to me because you feel obligated since I’m Arron’s papà.”

  “Is that what you think?”

  His jaw looked so tight he might crack a tooth if he wasn’t careful, and his eyes shot fire. “I’m fine with it if that’s what you want. You seeing Cason won’t affect how you and I raise Arron.”

  She snorted. Who in the world was he kidding? It was killing him to think of her being interested in his brother. No other reaction could have convinced her more that Romy cared about her. He didn’t want Cason to have her, and she could have shouted with excitement knowing he felt that way. She needed to convince the idiot of what she was really telling him.

  Butterflies fluttered in her belly, but she ignored them as she stood and padded over to him. Romy watched every step she took, and she added a little extra swing in her hips as she moved. The wood under his hand cracked a bit in protest of his grip. She didn’t stop moving until she pressed lightly against his big hard frame, and then she extended to her toes and kissed his firm lips. Her heart pounded, and when she raised her hands to his chest, heat from his body scorched her palms.

  From the moment she touched her mouth to his, he responded, kissing her back just as deeply. She tilted her chin up and let him claim her lips, and she grabbed both his hands to place them at her sides. Instinctively, he grasped her up so that her feet left the floor and she was crushed against him. Time ticked by with the only sounds in the room being their soft moans and the meeting again and again of their mouths.

  At last, Romy broke the kiss and spoke in a raspy tone. “This isn’t a good start to your relationship with my brother.”

  She laughed. “How can you be so stupid, Romy?”

  He frowned.

  “It’s you I want. I know you don’t believe me, but nothing happened with Cason. Well, he came onto me, probably to test how I felt about you. I turned him down.”

  His expression registered shock. “I—”

  She covered his lips with a finger because she didn’t think she could stand it if he rejected her on the notion that he couldn’t trust her. “I will spend as much time as I need to prove to you how I feel.”

  He kissed her fingers and pulled her hand away from his mouth. “Sonya.” Raw emotion made his voice thick.

  She laid her head against his shoulder and almost wept when his arms came up to hold her tighter. “We don’t have to get married. I never saw myself as a bride anyway. We can be lovers. And don’t worry. I can take anything your family dishes out. Ezio doesn’t scare me.”

  Romy didn’t say a word, but neither did he shove her away. He let her lie in his arms for a little while, and then he walked her back to her bedroom.

  “I can come to yours,” she offered.

  He leaned in and kissed her. “Good night.”

  She didn’t know how to take that, and tears sprung to her eyes when he walked down the hall to his own room. There was nothing else she could do. She would renew her efforts to convince him in the morning.

  “I’d like to say I believe her but…” Romy ran a hand over the back of his neck. Everything inside him actually strained to get to her, to hold her in his arms. He didn’t realize it until the other night when she threw herself into his arms what she meant to him. All of a sudden, he knew if she left the mansion, he would go after her and convince her to stay.

  When she told him about being in love and he had foolishly thought she meant with Cason, he’d almost convinced himself he could accept it. As long as she was around. The m
ore he thought about it, the more his anger boiled. It became crystal clear that he’d done it again. He’d fallen in love with a woman.

  No, not just any woman, and this is different.

  Romy didn’t understand how he could both crave her and distrust her—he refused to accept that it was love even in his own mind.

  “But what?” Cason said. “Fratello, I’m not sure how long you two are going to last with you being so screwed up in the head.”

  Romy ground his teeth. “Thanks for the compliment.”

  Cason grinned. “Prego.”

  Romy glared at him.

  “For what it’s worth, I approve.”

  “How long are you going to keep me wondering?” Romy demanded. “Did she turn you down or not?”

  Cason stood and smacked him on the back as he started to walk away. “You’re going to have to figure that one out for yourself.”

  “Why do you have to be so flipping difficult,” Romy cried after him, but Cason just kept walking. Romy stood in his home office with his hands in his pockets thinking about his conversation with Cason. His younger brother was never straightforward with anything. He always took a roundabout way of getting the truth across.

  Then the truth hit Romy. If Cason said he approved of the relationship, didn’t that mean he wasn’t able to seduce Sonya? Hope rose in his chest, but did he dare throw caution out and make her his? Could he risk a repeat of his bad judgment when it came to women? Once again Cason’s approval came to mind, and he recalled no one’s judgment was as good as Cason’s when it came to the opposite sex.

  Romy left the office and searched the mansion. He strode to a phone on the hall table and picked it up. Goro answered on the second ring. “Si, signore?”

  Romy spoke in rapid Italian. “Goro, where is Ms. Sonya?”

  “Signorina Sonya è int egli giardino, signore.”

  “Grazie.”

  Romy hung up the phone and hurried out to the garden. Sure enough as Goro said there was Sonya, sitting on a blanket under a tree. His son laid asleep on his belly with a thumb in his little mouth. Sonya patted his back while a litter of toys were scattered around her, abandoned by the exhausted baby. Romy paused for a moment to take in his family, and his heart stirred. Whether they lasted or not, she was indeed his family, and he would do all he could to look after her.