Page 43

“Okay!” Matteo bounds into the foyer, kicking his shoes off at the front door before patiently waiting for me. I abandon their suitcases by the bottom step and motion for them to come farther into the house.

“Let me show you both around.”

Andi and Matteo are both quiet as I show them around the first floor. The living room, an office, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom. We breeze past the laundry room and the door that leads to the garage.

We head upstairs and I carry both of their suitcases as we make our way up the staircase. Matteo is hot on my heels with Andi following along behind us. She’s quiet, taking it all in as we head down the hall. My room, the primary with an attached bathroom is on one side end of the hall and on the other is two guest rooms, each with their own private bathroom.

“Which room do you want to be yours?” I ask Matteo as we stand in the center of the hallway, near the doors that lead to each room. “You can pick and we can design it however you’d like.”

Matteo’s entire face lights up. “Really?”

“Really.”

Matteo looks back and forth between all the rooms before he moves and ducks his head into them. Andi moves closer to me, the scent of her perfume infiltrating my senses. “Thank you for doing this for him.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” I tell her in a hushed voice. “This is only a small fraction of all the things I want to do for him.”

Her eyes flash to mine, slowly scanning my face. Understanding passes through her expression, mixing with something else. She studies me for a moment, her lips part just as Matteo comes running over to us.

He grabs her hand and then mine, pulling us to a room. “I want this one,” he declares with a bright smile. He beams up at me. “Can we paint it blue?”

“This is your room, bud. We can do whatever you want to do.”

He abandons both of our hands, runs over to the bed and hops onto it. I can’t take my eyes off of him as he flops onto his back, spreading his arms and legs out wide. “I love it.”

Andi lets out a soft chuckle before she follows him in. She glances at me over her shoulder, her hazel eyes immediately finding mine. “I fear he may never want to leave now.”

She flops down onto the bed next to him and I take a moment to just watch the two of them. There’s such a strong pull in my chest, like a string stretched taut between the two of us, drawing me towards her. Getting to know her was part of the plan, but there’s something else festering inside my chest.

Something deeper. Something scarier.

Andi is the mother of my child, but the connection between us is undeniable. It’s electric and magnetizing. Andalina Rossi is under my roof and creeping under my skin.

And I fear I may never want either of them to leave.

After all the excitement, we opt out of getting Italian ice and instead settle in for the evening. We end up ordering delivery pizza because I overlooked the fact that my cupboards and fridge are almost completely bare. Welcome to the life of a bachelor who can’t cook a damn thing.

“Thank you for letting us stay here,” Andi says softly as she comes out of the bathroom that Matteo is in. She helped him get into the bath and wash his hair before coming out to me waiting in the hallway so he can dry off and get dressed. She tilts her head to the side when she finds me on the floor, but instead of questioning me on it, she walks over and sits down next to me.

“My home is both of yours,” I tell her, my voice low as I stare down at my hands clasped in front of me. “I want this to feel like a home to him.”

“It will,” she says, her voice quiet as she turns her head to look at me. “The more time he spends here, the more comfortable he will be.” She pauses as I turn to look at her. “I think we should send our plans to our lawyers to have them look over things. That way we can decide on a plan that works best for all of us.”

The custody agreement, right.I slowly nod. I haven’t typed them up, but I will get it over to her tonight. “I was thinking that I could come to Starling twice a week and every other weekend, depending on my schedule?”

“I’m fine with that,” she agrees, offering me a tender smile. “What were your thoughts on holidays?”

I roll my lips between my teeth. “Would we do every other holiday?”

“That would be fine with me.” Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “We can modify things for the summer months after we see how everyone adjusts.” She pauses and blows out a long breath. “I don’t want to keep him from you, but the thought of not being with him all the time has me frightened. I—I’ve never really been apart from him much.”

I stare at her, tilting my head to the side. “He’s safe with me, Andi. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Her eyes rest on mine, relief washing over her expression. “I don’t think you would.”

“You know, you can always come stay with me too...you know, so you don’t have to be far away from him.”

Her eyes widen slightly as heat creeps up my neck and spreads across my face. I don’t know why the hell I suggested something so stupid. Andi has her own life, but the thought of having her here too has my heart skipping over itself inside my chest.