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22

KILIAN

I flip sausage and bacon over in a pan. Bella is showering upstairs. I joined her for part of it, her on her knees, my dick deep in her throat. But she pushed me out after and said she needed to actually shower.

I grew impatient waiting in her room. So I came down to make breakfast. It’s early, just before eight, so I am hoping Aria doesn’t wake up before Bella comes downstairs.

My stomach does a flip thinking about Aria, my daughter. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous to meet her.

Fuck. I’m a father.

I laugh, thinking about the irony of it all. My own father choosing me as his protégé because he knew I would never settle down. I wouldn’t hold back The Partners by being burdened with family life. Yet here I am making breakfast for my kid before I even meet her.

“Who are you and why are you laughing?” a high-pitched voice says.

It makes me jump and I drop the tongs into the hot oil, causing it to splash on my hand. “Fuck!” I shout. “I mean, shi—shoot.”

“It’s okay, Mom swears all the time. She just thinks I don’t hear it.”

I turn and look at her and my stomach drops. I saw her yesterday but it was from afar. But now that she is three feet from me, I freeze. Her hair is a mess around her face and shoulders, loose curls of dark hair going in every direction. She’s tall too, at least tall for what I think a nine-year-old should be. She’s wearing pink pajamas with a pink silk robe like her mom wears. But it’s her eyes that make me freeze. Sapphire-blue eyes, nearly identical to mine.

“What is with adults lately? Yesterday I thought Mom was having a stroke and now some stranger in the kitchen.”

I blink a few times at her words. Then get protective of her immediately. I am a stranger in the kitchen. She should be scared. Or know how to defend herself. What am I thinking? She is nine years old.

“Moooooommmmmm!” she yells toward the stairs. “There is a strange man in the kitchen and he is staring at me like I have three eyes!”

She turns back to me and I have this strange urge to grab her and hold on to her and never let her go.

“It’s Sunday. We have pancakes on Sundays.” She moves to one of the stools at the island and sits on it. “Who are you anyway?”

“I’m… umm…” This little girl has me at a loss for words.

The sound of feet flying down the stairs has both of us turning to the doorway to the kitchen. “Kilian,” Bella breathes before looking at her daughter. “Aria, I’m so sorry. I… I forgot something upstairs and—”

“I came over this morning to see your mom. She had a few things to do but let me in.”

Aria looks between the two of us then her eyes glance to the security system panel by the back door. “The alarm is still set.”

Damn, she’s smart.

“Okay… what I meant was… that—”

“Is he your boyfriend ?” Aria asks Bella.

“What?” Bella asks in shock.

Aria rolls her eyes. “Oh come on, Mom. You went on that date a couple weeks ago and you are always on your phone. Magda and I were making bets how long it would take for you to tell us.”

“Oh… umm… well—”

“And Tina was telling me that her older brother sneaks his girlfriend into his room. So I know boys and girls sleep in the same room. Her mom and dad do. So I can only guess he came over last night after I went to bed.”

I blink at her in surprise. No idea what the hell to say.

Bella turns to me, her cheeks the color of a tomato. I shrug my shoulders at her. I have no idea what to say. I’ve never been in a situation like this in my life.

Bella must take the hint because she turns to Aria. “Yeah, sweetie, this is my boyfriend. He came over last night and I asked him to stay for breakfast.”

“Well you didn’t tell him it was pancake day,” she moans.

I turn the heat down on the bacon. I frown, sad that I wasn’t here to build these traditions. “Pancakes it is,” I say.

“I’ll… umm… grab the stuff out of the refrigerator.” Bella moves to the refrigerator and grabs a few things before she starts rambling. “What kind, Aria? We are out of mascarpone so no lemon mascarpone. I think we have chocolate chips. Or I have blueberries and strawberries.”

“Fruit and whip cream!” Aria answers.

I smile at her enthusiasm. Still nervous as hell. Bella and I never got to discussing how we were going to tell her that I’m her father. I take a drink of water and nearly spit it out when Aria says, “We have the same color eyes. That’s so cool.”

Bella freezes as she shuts the refrigerator door.

I look at Aria and lean closer to her, trying to remember how I acted around my brother’s kids when they thought I was still alive. “Blue eyes are the coolest eyes.”

Aria’s smile takes up her face. “That’s what I always tell my mom. I tell her that her eyes are boring.”

I look over to Bella, who has made her way next to me. I mouth to her, your eyes aren’t boring .

“Aria, why don’t you make sure all your stuff is ready for your game today? Your uniform might still be in the dryer.”

Aria huffs but jumps off her stool and heads out of the kitchen.

Bella turns to me and whisper-yells. “Why the hell didn’t you wait in my room? I would have told Aria we had a guest. And then—”

“And what?” I ask her.

“I don’t know,” she responds, flustered. “I’ve never done this. I don’t know what to do.”

“You mean, tell your child she has a father?”

She hits my arm. “No! Asshole. I mean, I’ve never had a man here before.”

This time I’m surprised. “You mean you haven’t dated anyone since we were together?”

She shakes her head. “No. I mean, there were a few, but it didn’t go past a date or two and I never had any of them meet Aria.”

My chest fills with pride on that. I pull Bella into me, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Hey, we will get through this, okay? Does it make you feel better to let you know I am nervous as fuck right now?”

“Don’t swear.” Her hand comes to my mouth. “But yes, it does. Maybe we should have talked about what we were going to tell her.”

I brush a piece of her hair behind her ear. “How about I’m just your boyfriend now and we figure it out later?”

“Okay,” Bella says with a sigh of relief. “This is already a lot to handle.”

I lift her chin up with my fingers. “Hey, I love you. Okay? It’s us. Like we were ten years ago. Except now we just have other shit to worry about. But it’s still us. We will get through this.”

“Language. But you’re right.”

I laugh, knowing I am going to have a hell of a time not swearing in front of my kid. I press a kiss to Bella’s lips just as Aria flies back into the room.

“Ewww.”

Bella pulls away from me and moves to a cupboard to grab a mixing bowl. “Let’s make pancakes.”

* * *

“You sure this is okay?” Bella asks me as we walk to the park where Aria has a game.

I pull the ball cap down on my head. I’m wearing what I had on yesterday, jeans and a T-shirt. I haven’t dressed this casually since college. “It’s fine. I have eyes around.”

She nods. But I can tell she is nervous. “You didn’t have to come,” she whispers.

“I wanted to. Aria wanted me to.” I gesture to Aria as she skips ahead of us.

She grabs my hand and squeezes, then drops it. “Okay.”

Aria turns around as we reach a crosswalk. “I can’t wait for you to watch my game,” she singsongs. “Mom says I can be a pro one day.”

Bella clicks her tongue. “If you work hard enough and get good grades.”

“I’m not worried. I know I am going to be a pro footballer.”

I smile at the toothy grin on Aria’s face. “Bella, you can’t deny she is motivated. She knows what she wants and how to get it. Like someone else I know.”

Bella gives me a look, knowing exactly who I am talking about. She knows I had the same determination and grit Aria has.

The light changes and we cross the street, Bella leaning into my ear. “I know exactly who she gets it from and it worries the fuck out of me.”

I give her a charming smile. “Look how I turned out though.”

Bella snorts as Aria turns back around to us once she is safely across the street. “Why do you call my mom Bella? Her name is Mirabella but everyone calls her Mira. Well, except for me, I call her mom.”

I go to answer but Bella cuts in. “Well, Kilian and I go way back. We knew each other before you were born.” She glances at me and I’m worried she is just going to blurt out the truth. But she doesn’t. “My mom and grandmother used to call me Bella and Kilian just did the same.”

I look at her. I had no idea about that. To me she was always Bella because that’s what she told me. I had no idea it had to do with her mom.

“I like it,” Aria says as we reach the park. “Everyone should call you Bella because it means beautiful and you are the most beautiful mom in the world.”

Bella shakes her head. “Stop sucking up. It doesn’t mean you’ll get ice cream after the game.”

Aria groans before running off to join her team.

“Is that why you chose Bella?” I ask.

She nods.

I cup her jaw but she pushes my hand aside. “Kil, not in public. Just in case.”

I nod at her and let her walk ahead of me. I slap her ass as she walks by and she yelps, turning around to flip me off.

I laugh out loud and throw my hands up like I don’t have another choice.

We end up standing along the sidelines where I saw her yesterday. She’s ignored the other parents except for one named Maria that wouldn’t let her not get the scoop on who I was. I can tell she is uncomfortable I can only guess because she has never had a boyfriend around.

It’s strange thinking of myself as her boyfriend. In my head, we were always so much more than that. That was why I never put words to what we had in Dublin. We weren’t bogged down by titles and relationships. We just were.

Aria is playing well. Her eyes continuously bouncing over to me. I know she’s smart. And I wonder if she has put two and two together. I wouldn’t put it past her. Not after this morning and everything Bella has told me.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I see Matías calling me and I excuse myself from the field. Bella asks me if everything is okay and I nod before walking away.

“Hello,” I answer when I am far enough away.

“I thought I would give you a day or two to cool off,” Matías says.

“Thanks.”

He clears his throat. “Are you really a father?”

I ignore him. “I’m assuming he’s dead.”

“Yeah. Your men took care of everything.”

“Good. I am sure Giancarlo will be in contact soon. My men were instructed to send him Ezio’s head with a warning.”

Matías grunts. I know that isn’t something he would put past The Partners.

“You going to be okay?”

“I’ll be in touch, Matías.” I hang up the phone and look back over to the park. I should tell Bella about her brother. I know she won’t care. I know how she feels about him. But she deserves to hear the truth from me.

I send off a few texts to my associates and then head back to watch the end of my daughter’s game.