Page 79 of A Treasure To Keep (Leone Legacy #2)

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S ince my injuries were relatively minor, I was released a week after the accident.

I’ve wanted to spend every second at the NICU with Théodore, caring for him the best I can.

Except now we’re dealing with endless questions from my car insurance.

Was I distracted? Did I speed up when he went to pass me?

All dumb questions that make me think that my insurance is trying to prevent paying for anything.

What’s the point of overpaying for car insurance if they won’t help me when I need it?

And don’t get me started on what I’ve heard from my health insurance.

I’m convinced I’ll get bills from the hospital until Théodore is twenty-six and can’t be on my plan anymore.

When I finally spoke to the police, they mentioned it was Giovanni’s car that hit me.

Other than him being my ex, they can’t find a solid reason why he would target me.

Even after I told them about how I messed with his dating life.

Unfortunately for them, they can’t find Giovanni to question him about it.

When I mentioned that to Andrea and Marco, Marco refused to make eye contact with me.

The big caveman knows something he isn’t telling me.

On the plus side, I picked up a rental car this morning.

I’ve spent more on ride shares in the last two weeks than most people do in a year.

The rental car is simple, a sedan with enough space for a car seat in the back that I can see out of.

At first, they wanted to give me a larger car.

I noticed how I’d have to climb into it before asking to see other options.

Andrea insisted on driving from the rental place. He claimed it was because he could sense I was nervous about driving. He’s not wrong.

Andrea hasn’t been able to take time off work and needed to go straight to work after we were done. I thought it would be a quick detour. Except once we got there, he snatched the keys from me, pushing me into the nail salon that’s in the same shopping area.

Now that I have a fresh mani-pedi, I’m practically a brand new woman. We’re still in the middle of winter, meaning my toes are always black. Once spring arrives, I’ll switch to white. I got my standard almond-shaped gel-x nails in a deep blue color, ironically matching the cast on my broken finger.

Andrea is out on the floor, picking out items for a client when I walk in. The ding of the door gives away my arrival. When Andrea notices, he wraps me in his arms. “I can already tell you’re practically a new person. You deserved to spoil yourself.”

“Thank you, my love. Can I have the keys now?” I bat my eyes twice, noticing when he chuckles while digging in his pocket for the keys. We both know all it takes is a few bats of my eyes, and I get whatever I want from this man.

I kiss him deeply, Mr. Hansley complaining as always when we show our love for each other while on the clock. In my defense, I’m not on the clock. Whatever, I need to get to the hospital.

I avoid the highway, taking the scenic route, which takes fifteen minutes longer. The extra time is worth saving my anxious mind.

The nurses all know me by now, reminding me that I still need to sign in, but not asking who I’m seeing and where I need to go.

My heels click faster than normal on the floor as I impatiently race to the NICU. It’s been an entire fifteen hours since I’ve seen Théodore, and in my opinion, that’s fourteen hours and fifty-nine minutes too long.

When I turn the corner, I expect to see my son in his clear box. Instead, I see the tattooed, muscular back of Marco. Has his back always been this hot?

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Théodore. I brought you coffee. The ice is all melted now.” Marco has pulled a complete 180 since Théodore was born. He’s here daily, empathetic toward my needs, and hasn’t mentioned anything about the custody paperwork.

“I had a self-care morning. Andrea paid for me to get my nails done.” I ball my fists, instant guilt filling my gut that I spent almost two hours getting my nails done, fifteen minutes with Andrea, and extra time getting here.

“Good. Don’t feel guilty. You deserve it. Théodore has three parents. There’s plenty to go around.” There’s that empathy. Hold on.

“Three?” Marco hasn’t mentioned anything about Andrea being involved as a parent.

“Yeah. I have a gift for you. We should wait for Andrea.”

Oh boy. His genuine tone makes me think he’s got something to surprise me with. I hate surprises.