by Vera Roberts
Love (D’Amato Brothers #5)
By Vera Roberts
For BESM.
© 2014 Vera Roberts, All Rights Reserved
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
It has been four years since Eli made the biggest mistake of his life – and it’s about to come back to bite him in his ass.
Eliodoro “Eli” D’Amato has finally found happiness: his marriage to Faith is stronger than before, they’ve expanded their family, and Madre’s is doing better than ever thanks to a very popular reality show featuring three of the brothers. But when a blast from Eli’s past comes back – with an unforgettable gift – will he once again be tempted by what could’ve been?
When Eli decided to work on his marriage, Simone Harris couldn’t get out of New York fast enough. The only problem is she has a constant reminder of what she wanted with Eli – her daughter, Elena. When Elena keeps inquiring about her father, Simone is put in a precarious position – to reach out to Eli or forever burn his memory. A return trip to New York will prove to be disastrous – and a blessing in disguise.
Faith D’Amato is a forgiving Christian woman who doesn’t believe in divorce. Years of therapy plus two additional children have made her marriage to Eli solid. But when Simone reappears in town with a daughter claiming to be Eli’s, Faith finds her belief system severely tested – and she’s not sure if she can weather this storm.
Love… is a sequel to Where I Wanna Be and the fifth book in the D’Amato Brothers series. A sensual/erotic book deals with forgiveness, trust, commitment, and revenge.
“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.”
― Bob Marley
Prologue
“If you’re going to fight the D’Amatos, you need help,” Darren rolled on top of her, “and I can help with that.”
Simone opened her legs to accommodate her boyfriend more. “What do you suggest?”
“They hate press and try to shut down any negative stories about them. I’ve seen it firsthand and know what they’re capable of. They’re very powerful but they’re not that powerful.”
“I’m listening.”
“They want to keep you quiet and hope all of this goes away. They do not want to sully their reputation and especially Eli’s. He’s the golden child of the D’Amatos. If his reputation is ruined, there goes the reality show and every endorsement there is. No one will want to mess with them anymore.”
“I don’t want to bankrupt him, Darren.” Simone begged. “He’s still the father of my child.”
“We’re not going to hurt him,” Darren grabbed Simone’s hand and kissed it, “he’ll be a last resort.”
“Wait a minute…”Simone began to piece everything together. “ … You’re suggesting that we...?”
“Let me handle it,” Darren kissed her as he slid inside her. Simone moaned in response. “I’ll handle everything.”
Book I
One
The more things changed, the more things remain the same…
Simone Harris stood outside the cream-colored estate she officially called home. After frantically searching for a home for the past several months, she was finally moving into her own home. Not a rental. Not a condominium. No roommates.
Her own home. Her own grass that a gardener was going to cut. Her own kitchen she was going to whip up meals and invites scores of family and friends over. Her own three-car garage that was holding the shiny white Mercedes E-class and black BMW 5-series.
Her own home. Hers.
The purchase cost a pretty penny, a little over $1.6 million dollars and Meredith wondered aloud on how Simone was going to be able to afford the home along with numerous expenses that came along with it. But she paid her mother no mind. The moment Simone stepped foot inside the luxury home with its tiled flooring, spiral staircase, vaulted ceilings, and spacious floor plans, she knew the home was hers.
“Well, that should be the last of it,” Meredith wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She’d spent most of the day moving and unpacking the rooms so her nine-months pregnant daughter didn’t have to do so much work. “Katydid, I thought you weren’t going to buy that much for the house?”
“There’s not that much,” Simone smiled.
“Yeah, it’s because you didn’t lift a finger!” Simone’s cousin, Gwen, joked.
Simone smiled at her cousin. “I just had to get a few things in preparation for the little one’s arrival and all.”
“You still haven’t chosen a baby name?” Gwen chided.
“Oh, she’s chosen a few,” Simone’s sister, Alicia, rolled her eyes. “She’s narrowed it down to twenty.”
“I like my options,” Simone smiled as she walked upstairs to her bedroom with her mother in tow. “There’s nothing wrong with having options.” She sat down on her plush queen-sized bed, kicked off her flats, and wiggled her toes. “My goodness. Thank God, I got that pedi the other day. My dogs are barking’.”
“Get as much rest as you can now, sweetheart. You’ll be grateful for it later.” Meredith began to unpack some boxes. “When’s your next doctor’s appointment?”
“Tuesday. I’ll know for sure if everything is progressing naturally or we need to take more aggressive action to speed things along.” Simone lightly rubbed her tummy. It was an uneventful pregnancy with the biggest complaint on how big and wide her feet had become. She was able to continue with planning events when she moved SHE to her new home base.
Everything, on the surface, was perfect. Her little girl was due to arrive any day and she couldn’t have been happier. Well, no, that wasn’t entirely true. She could’ve been happier. Things happened the way they were supposed to, she guessed. It was what it was.
“Have you heard anything from the baby’s father?” Meredith casually asked.
Simone glanced down at her feet. She successfully told the story that the baby’s father abandoned her the moment she got pregnant, forcing her to move back to Houston. Surprisingly, everyone bought the lie – even her nosey-ass, forever-instigating sister, Alicia, who was currently on baby daddy number three – a poor sap named Spencer, who Simone believed had a bra cup size that rivaled her own. Alicia openly bragged about having a good man as much as she could in front of Simone, seemingly rubbing it in that no matter how much money and success Simone accumulated, she would still be a single mother.
Melodramatic sister and baby father drama aside, Simone was too busy being focused on her problems. Throughout the pregnancy, she contemplated contacting Eli to let him know what was going on with her, and possibly, with them. Each time she had the phone in her hand and ready to dial his number, she chickened out. Would he care about her still? Would he care about them? The way he discarded her throughout their relationship and didn’t bother to call her the morning after their breakup, told her everything she needed to know about his true feelings toward her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out if Eli ever wanted to leave Faith, he would’ve left her. It also didn’t take long to determine Simone played a perfect role in Eli’s intentions – a nice, new, shiny fuck toy.
At one point Eli did care about her and Simone was certain, that moment was sometime
back in high school. Her heart burned with anger and she often silently wondered what Eli would do if she were to suddenly show up at his doorstep again with a baby – his baby – in tow. “No, I haven’t.”
“You probably should, katydid,” Meredith replied back as she hung up some clothing in the walk-in closet, “he deserves the right to see his child if he wants to.”
“He’s made it clear what he wants, Mother,” Simone hoped her mother would drop the subject finally, “end of discussion.”
Meredith held up her hands in defeat. “Okay, I’ll drop it for now. I still think you should reach out to him once she’s born. She needs to know who her father is.”
“She will,” Simone nodded, “in due time.”
“Have you picked out a name for our baby girl yet?”
It was the only name Simone thought of the moment she found out she was pregnant. The girl was going to be named after her father. “Elena.”
Two
“Okay, we have a huge weekend coming up here,” Joey D’Amato began at the weekly meeting at Madre’s. “We have weddings just about every weekend, quinceaneras, and a couple of major retirement parties for some big people. We need to be on our game. If you have any questions, please talk to Eli or Maria for assistance. Remember – everyone works this weekend. No exceptions. You call in sick; I better see a doctor’s note from a legitimate doctor. No street pharmacists. Okay, you’re dismissed.”
The employees hustled out of the conference room, leaving the remaining D’Amatos alone together. Joey sat down and took a sip of his coffee. “So how is everything?”
“Everything is great,” Eli replied. “Can’t complain.”
“How’s Faith?” Nicola asked. “Is everything okay with her?”
“Yeah,” Eli nodded, “she’s over the morning sickness so now it’s just smooth sailing until the next checkup at the doctor on Friday. Everything seems good so far. If she doesn’t go into labor on her own, she’ll be induced next week.”
“That’s great to hear,” Nicola paused for a moment while she pondered her next question. She never liked getting too involved in her sons’ love lives for the simple fact they’d never listened to her, no matter how right she was (in her mind). “How are things between you two?”
“Everything is everything,” Eli turned to his mother and grinned, “that’s pretty much it.”
“It’s going to take her some time, Eliodoro. You gave her a lifetime of hurt and she won’t automatically forgive you.” Nicola mentioned.
“And I’m reminded of that every day,” Eli saw his other brothers enter the conference room and stood up to give them hugs, “what’s going on, fellas?”
“We’re wondering that ourselves,” Nick pulled up a chair and sat down. “Joey called us here for a meeting.”
“You too?” Tony asked. “What’s this about, Joey?”
“Let me get Kieran on the line and I’ll explain,” Joey dialed in his brother and began when Kieran connected, “all right, I got the whole family here so I wanted to share this news before Page Six finds out. We’ve been offered the deal of a lifetime and I wanted to run it past the family first.”
“What’s going on?” Kieran asked.
“We’ve been offered our own reality show!” Joey beamed and quickly erased his smile once he saw the disapproving looks on his brothers’ faces. “Now hear me out. We’ll be producers of the show, we can dictate what is seen, and we’ll have ninety percent control of what gets aired.” He monitored everyone’s faces and still couldn’t get a read. “So let’s start by asking who’s in?”
“Absolutely not,” Nick offered.
“No,” Kieran added.
“Okay, the Grumpy Twins added their input.” Joey rolled his eyes. “That leaves you two.” He pointed to Eli and Tony. “What say you?”
“Hells yeah, I’m in!” Tony laughed. “More clients and more money? Sign me up!”
“What about you, Eli?” Joey prodded. “You’re the creative force behind Madre’s. If you don’t do this, we don’t have a show, bro.”
“What are the conditions?” Eli asked. “I don’t want Nate exposed.”
“You can decide when to film and not,” Joey mentioned, “the primary shooting will take place at the Madre’s locations and we’ll film everything leading up to the events with permission from the clients to shoot at their functions. With nationwide exposure, I’m sure they’ll all jump in. This will benefit you more than anyone because you can get your name out there more.” He paused for a moment. “Dude, don’t make me beg.”
Eli causally flipped a pencil as he thought about his options. “What’s your take, Ma?”
“I’ll only do it if you’re in,” Nicola mentioned. “You’re not in, I’m not doing it.”
“Okay,” Eli nodded, “I’m in.” Joey breathed a sigh of relief. “Just let me know when and where I need to be. I’m assuming you’re going to take care of all of the paperwork and what-not?” He asked his brother.
“Not a thang, baby bro. I’ll fill you in on the details. You won’t regret it. Family meeting over. Thanks for calling in, K.” Joey hung up on him and exited out of the room with Nick and Tony.
Nicola waited a few moments before she spoke. “That was an impulsive decision. That’s highly unlike you, Eliodoro.”
“My wife currently hates me and she’ll probably hate me forever,” Eli shrugged as he turned to his mother, “so if this reality show means I won’t be home to deal with her shit, so be it.”
“There are still problems?” She asked.
“Of course there are.” Eli shook his head. Just when things were on the upswing with his wife, there was always a reminder of how he was failing as a husband. Faith never questioned his duties as a father. “Whatever.”
“It’s going to take some time for her to forgive you, Eli,” Nicola insisted, “things won’t ever be the same between you.”
“And that I’m glad for,” he mentioned, “things are better in a lot of ways. Things are worse in many ways. I thought once we got back together and reconciled, we’ll be on the path towards healing.”
“Healing takes time. This isn’t a paper cut or a playground owie you gave her, Eliodoro. You ripped her heart out and decided a Band-Aid was going to fix it. It takes time.”
“When did you forgive Dad?”
Nicola let out a small breath and stared ahead. “What year did Tony graduate from high school?”
Eli thought about it for a moment. “2005.”
“The day after he graduated,” Nicola remembered, “it was when I finally forgave your father.”
“So she’s going to be mad at me forever?” Eli concluded. “Good to know.”
“I doubt she’ll be mad at you forever,” Nicola insisted. “But it will take her some time. You just need to be patient with her. She’s in the process of forgiving you. Let her do it.”
****
She was a stone-cold fool thinking being pregnant the second time around was a smart idea.
Faith D’Amato was already petite in frame, standing just over five feet. Yet, the last time she saw her feet was probably a good nine months earlier when Eli placed them on his shoulders. She swore she hadn’t seen them since.
Being pregnant with Nathan was a breeze and she loved every minute of it. Being pregnant with this unnamed baby was a killer. She was sick pretty much throughout the pregnancy and ached everywhere. Her weight gain mushroomed to fifty pounds and Faith didn’t even want to think about how she was going to get that off.
The pregnancy was a great distraction from everything else in her life. She and Eli were still in weekly couples’ therapy with an outside therapist in addition to attending a spiritual therapy with her father. All of the therapy seemed to have worked; they were getting along a lot better. Eli wasn’t going out to Happy Hour as much as he used to and Faith cut back on her hours at the salon and hired more stylists. A new baby was an added blessing.
Of course, the questions linger
ed in the back of her head.
Eli confessed everything regarding Simone in the therapy sessions but Faith wondered if she was really the only one? He was very close to his assistant, Maria, and they often worked together and late into the night preparing for events.
And the other girls at Madre’s…they were all beautiful and different shapes and sizes. What about them? Did Eli have an interest in them? It was clear a few of them had crushes on him while the others were in relationships. Would anything happen between them?
Relationships and commitment be damned.
****
“Hey baby girl, I’m home.” Eli called out. Faith didn’t answer and Eli smiled.
She wanted him to search for her.
It was a game they used to play when they were childless. Faith would hide in a different spot each time Eli came home. When he found her, they would make love in that spot. He carried a dozen pink roses as he hunted for his wife, anxious to see her and talk to her belly.
He found her in the den, staring quietly at the wall. “Hey baby girl,” he rushed over to her and kissed her forehead and rubbed her tummy. “How are you feeling?”
“Are you sleeping with Maria?”
He saw it coming a mile away. In fact, he saw it hop on a plane, hailed a taxi, and drove a few miles before it landed at their home.
The argument.
It was something Eli was used to and unfortunately expecting since the reconciliation at his mother's wedding some six months prior. He mistakenly thought when they went home that night, made love yet again, they would wake up the next morning, and everything would be back to normal.
Well, everything was back to normal but it definitely wasn't back to the way it was. It never will be.
The question never was a part of a discussion but rather, a jumping off point to something else. He didn't know how long the thought had been festering in her mind other than he would be completely caught off-guard with the wind knocked out of him once she'd surprised him with the question.
