Page 69 of Second Chance Daddy

“Cass, every family’s complicated.” Tina sighs.

I shoot her a look.

She throws her hands up in mock surrender, groaning. “Okay, fine. Maybe not that complicated.” Her eyes soften as she curls her legs beneath her. “But still… all of us? We’re just making it up as we go.”

She reaches over and gently takes my hand. “Look. Just because you had one bad experience doesn’t mean it’s always going to be like that. Now, you know better. Look, Cass, you know Dante and I and how complicated our parents can be. Nothing’s ever good enough for Dad. Mom is always a heartbeat away from a meltdown. But you know what? Despite all that, we’re loyal. And that’s what family is. Messy, but good. You got the messy part… Next time around, you’ll know to find the good.”

“You really think so?” I look at her with hope.

Tina nudges my leg with hers and gives me a grin. “Babe, you’ve been surviving so long, you forgot how to live. You didn’t ruin her life. You saved it. Blood means jack when someone’s trash.”

The words hit harder than she knows.

Loyalty. Blood. Family.

The lie I’m sitting on—hiding from everyone, including Dante—feels heavier than ever.

If he really knew…

If he really knew Aria was his…

My brain spirals, questions ricocheting off the walls of my skull. What happens when the truth detonates? When the last thread snaps?

“Babe?”

Tina’s voice cuts through my meltdown. “Whatever’s chewing at you? Spit it out. You’re not carrying this alone.”

I want to tell her. God, I do. But the words cement themselves in my throat.

So I lie again. “It’s just… I’m tired.”

She doesn’t buy it, but she lets it slide again—for now.

By the timewe get back to the house, I truly am tired.

Then I see him.

Dante.

Out in the yard, shirtless, muscles slick with sweat, sparring with one of the security guys like he’s straight off a damn action movie set. His fists fly, his stance is lethal, every movement is coiled and precise.

A cut on his lip bleeds down his chin, but he doesn’t flinch. He wipes it away with the back of his hand like it’s nothing, eyes locked on his opponent.

Jesus Christ, he looks like sin weaponized.

My thighs clench. My heart forgets how to beat.

Tina whistles low beside me as she eyes up the guard. “If I didn’t have my eye on that new guy out in town, I’d risk the family drama for that.”

I elbow her, rolling my eyes, but the heat crawling up my neck is impossible to hide.

Dante lands a final blow, his opponent stumbling back. He steps away, breathing steadily despite the fight, eyes tracking straight to me.

He grins—slow, dark, dangerous. The kind of grin that says he’s already in my head and under my skin.

Then his voice cuts across the yard, low and lethal:

“I already know, Cassie, but I want to hear you say it. Sooner or later, you’re going to tell me the truth.”