Page 108 of Denim & Diamonds

Her expression dampened. “Mitchell was a solid boyfriend. Trustworthy and loyal. But he always had to put his kid before me. And that put a strain on things. If they have kids, you never come first. That’s just the way it is. Some people are okay with that. Me? Well, I’m a selfish person. I need to be number one. So needless to say, it didn’t work out.”

I swallowed. “At least you figured it out before you got too attached to the kid.”

She nodded. “Mitchell was amazing, though.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “My guy is amazing, too.”

My guy.But hewasn’treally anymore, was he?

***

Later that evening, I was attempting to relax at home when my phone lit up with a number that looked international.

Picking up, I squinted. “Hello?”

“February, bella. How are you?” came a strong Italian accent.

It was Giovanni Vitadinni, a potential investor I’d been wooing since I started to get the vibe that the bank might not be too keen on the loan I needed.

I feigned my best friendly voice. “Giovanni, it’s great to hear from you, although it must be pretty late there.”

“I’m an insomniac.”

“Ah.” I laughed. “Have you come to any decisions on what we last spoke about?”

“I’d like to discuss it further…but in person.”

My eyes widened. “Oh?”

“Come out to Milan next week. You can stay in my villa. My wife, Francesca, would love to meet you.”

Next week?

I couldn’t just drop everything and fly to Italy. Then again, Giovanni was someone I didn’t want to piss off right now. If he was inviting me out there, that meant he was considering becoming an investor at a time when I could really use his financial support…

“Let me take a closer look at my schedule, and I’ll get back to you soon, if that’s okay?”

“That’s perfect, bella. Take your time. Just not too much time, eh? I’m eager to speak with you.”

“Got it. Thank you. You’ll hear back from me in the next day or two.”

After I hung up, it occurred to me that if I took this trip to Milan, it would likely be during the time Brock’s son would be born. Wouldn’t I want to travel to meet the baby? Help Brock? That depended on whether Brock wanted me there. Then again, even if he did, it might not be in Brock’s best interest for me to lead him on if I wasn’t going to be there day in and day out—for the long haul.

My heart had been aching all day, ever since shopping for baby items. The rational part of me knew it was best not to involve myself much further. A huge part of my heart, on the other hand, begged to differ.

I needed a distraction. I opened my laptop and began googling photos of Milan to try to psych myself up for a potential trip to Italy next week.

High-fashion mecca…great food…a freaking villa?

This is exactly what you need, February—get away and forget about Brock and babies.

Let Brock handle what he needs to because the sooner he gets used to life as a single parent without you around, the better.

Go as far away as you can.

This trip to Milan would be a godsend.

I had to laugh for a moment when I noticed the two separate windows open on my computer. They represented the two parts of my life right now. One was Milan, with endless possibilities in terms of my career. And the other? My completed order of baby items for Brock, which represented my continued desire to be tied to him, even if that was a dead-end road.