Page 27 of Thiago (Family Ties #6)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“ C ome on in,” Bruno said, stepping aside so Thiago could enter.

Thiago had driven to the outskirts of Atlanta to visit his older brother, a restaurateur and famous chef. He followed him into the kitchen, a bright, spacious showpiece with stainless steel appliances and all sorts of equipment.

“Where is Marissa?” Thiago asked, switching to Spanish to talk to his brother. He took a seat on one of the stools in front of the nine-foot waterfall island in the middle of the kitchen.

“In bed. She’s not feeling well,” Bruno replied, moving over to the stove.

Bruno had met Marissa when, ironically, he had contacted the matchmaking company where she worked to find him a wife. None of the women she chose for him worked out, and she and Bruno ended up falling in love.

“She’s almost due, isn’t she?” he asked.

“Overdue,” Bruno corrected. “The doctor suggested they might have to induce labor.”

Thiago didn’t know what the process entailed, but it didn’t sound good. “Mother often complained you were a late baby,” he reminded his brother.

“Like father, like son,” Bruno replied with a shrug and a laugh.

“And where’s Theodore?” Thiago asked, referring to Marissa’s son from a previous relationship.

“At his father’s for the weekend.”

“Do you and his father still get along?” Thiago asked.

“We have an okay relationship, which is the best we can hope for at the moment. He wasn’t pleased when Marissa told him about her pregnancy. As you know, before I came along, he had hoped they would get back together.”

“He shouldn’t have cheated on her, then,” Thiago remarked.

Bruno hummed his agreement and placed a plate of food in front of Thiago. “I hope you’re hungry. I made plenty.”

“I’m starving,” he replied.

Bruno fixed himself a plate and sat down while Thiago poured them each a glass of wine. “So, what brings you out here?”

“I wanted to see my brother and sister-in-law,” Thiago said.

“Nice try. I know you, remember?”

Thiago chuckled and tasted the wine. Replacing the glass on the counter, he asked, “Have you ever met India Monroe? She’s the vice president of marketing at Santana International.”

Bruno took a moment to think. “Once, I believe, when I went to Father’s office. Did she take a leave of absence a long time ago?”

Thiago nodded. “She’s the one. Happened five years ago, and I found out why recently.

India has lupus, and she was hospitalized for a while, and when she left the hospital, she needed time to recover.

Father held her job for her. She’s fully recovered now but still has the disease, of course. There’s no cure.”

“Is there a problem with her?” Bruno asked, slicing into the chicken breast on his plate.

“She and I are in a relationship.”

Bruno lifted his gaze from the plate and stared at him. “Tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

“For how long?”

“We started sleeping together almost a year ago, and recently we’ve become serious.”

“This is a surprise. I always believed you were married to your work.”

His singleness was a running joke in the family. Before India, he had slept with plenty of women but had the same arrangement: no commitment, no promises. Just sex.

He wasn’t a complete jerk, but he was never seen with anyone on purpose. Out-of-the-way dining spots, vacations on private yachts—those were the norm. He also had the women he slept with sign NDAs that prohibited them from disclosing any information about him or their relationship.

Most women couldn’t tolerate such an arrangement for very long, so the excitement fizzled after a while, and eventually, they moved on if he didn't end the relationship first.

“I took her to Brazil a couple of weeks ago, and she had a great time. We started in S?o Paulo and spent a couple of days in Rio. I showed her my watch collection.”

Bruno raised an eyebrow as he chewed but didn’t comment. He didn’t have to say a word. Thiago understood his surprise because his watch collection was not something he shared with many people—certainly not a casual lover.

“Sleeping with India was not my best decision, but I don’t regret it. There’s something about her. She’s tough, smart, and doesn’t put up with my crap. She’s also sexy as hell.” He shook his head at that last part.

“I sense a but coming.”

“Not a but. More of a hesitation. I’m thinking about asking her to take our relationship public at Monica’s wedding next month.”

He was tired of hiding. He wanted to walk into the church with her on his arm and introduce her to his family and friends.

He longed to spend time with her in public, dining in the open instead of private rooms. He had even suggested they return to Brazil next year for Carnival, telling her it’s the greatest show on Earth and that she needed to see it.

Every time they went out or sneaked a kiss at work, they risked being discovered. As the CEO and the man in the relationship, he would be fine. She, however, could have her reputation tarnished.

“How do you think she’ll feel about letting others know about your relationship?”

“I have no idea. We’ve never discussed it, but I know it could be problematic for her.”

“Female subordinate sleeping with the boss kind of thing?”

“Exactly. There’s also another hiccup. She was dating another man for a short period before I told her I wanted exclusivity.

She broke things off, but he continued contacting her.

She recently told him in no uncertain terms that it’s over and that she has moved on.

According to her, he took the conversation well, and she hasn’t heard from him since. ”

“How long has it been?” Bruno asked.

“Only a few days.”

“Not very long.”

“I agree, and I have concerns. My gut tells me this guy isn’t done yet, and I’m worried going public will make him resurface and cause problems.” He told his brother about the accusations Simon’s ex-wife made.

“What’s your plan? I know you have an evil plan,” Bruno said with a smirk.

“I’m thinking of breaking his neck.”

“Don’t joke like that.”

“Who says I’m joking?”

Bruno stared at him in a disapproving big brother way. “Isn’t martial arts supposed to teach discipline and self-control?”

“It does. It also teaches how to break necks.”

“Set aside Plan A, breaking his neck. What’s Plan B?” Bruno tore off a piece of bread and popped it in his mouth.

“She and I go public and deal with the fallout.” Thiago ate a baby corn.

“I like Plan B better, and you can control when and where you make the reveal.”

Thiago ate more of his vegetables. “Maybe. I know we can’t continue like this. I find myself doing things for her I haven’t done for any other woman. She’s been to my house and spent the night. For some reason, I want this relationship to be normal and out in the open.”

Bruno studied him for a moment. “You know why,” he finally said.

“What do you mean?”

His brother sat back and let the silence speak.

Thiago laughed, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. “No. You, Ethan, and Ignacio have fallen, but me—no. Maxwell and I will be bachelors for a very long time.”

“Maxwell, maybe. You? Sounds like your days are numbered.”

“No.” He shook his head vehemently. “Love and marriage are not in my five-year plan.”

“No one ever plans for love and marriage. They club you on the head and drag you away whether you want to go or not.”

“How romantic. I see why Marissa fell in love with you.”

Bruno laughed. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

“Okay, Mr. Confirmed Bachelor, do you want to end up like Father? Alone in your sixties, regretting you lost the woman of your dreams?”

“I won’t be alone, and you know as well as I do why Father is. He didn’t like being told what to do and revolted, just as he did with Mother.”

“Mother was a different situation. They were toxic together. His marriage to Mama Rosa lasted a long time, but now he’s alone, wishing he had made a different choice. All because she wanted to spend more time with him.”

Thiago couldn’t argue there. Their father had miscalculated, putting work and business before his marriage.

“Have you heard from Mother?” Thiago asked.

“The last time I spoke to her, she was still in California but said she would fly in as soon as the baby is born. Marissa is nervous about meeting her.”

“I don’t blame her. I understand Mother’s desire to see her grandchild, but the whole idea of the visit feels off. She never came for the wedding, and all of a sudden, she’s excited about being a grandmother. She was barely maternal.”

Bruno’s face turned thoughtful. “People change,” he said.

“Maybe,” Thiago said with a healthy dose of skepticism. “She didn’t bring what’s-his-face, did she?”

Their mother had been in a committed relationship with a man thirty years her junior for over three years. None of them liked him and viewed him as an opportunist, but Valentina wouldn’t hear a negative word about him. After a while, they gave up trying to talk sense into her.

“She left him behind,” Bruno replied.

“Good.”

The sound of movement at the kitchen door caught Bruno and Thiago’s attention. Bruno lifted his gaze, and Thiago turned around to see Marissa in the doorway, one hand supporting her large belly.

She flinched. “It’s time,” she said.

Bruno hopped off the stool and rushed to her side. “The baby?”

She nodded vigorously.

His brother turned to look at him. “Thiago, I?—”

“Go! I’ll lock up before I leave. Get out of here.”

Marissa shot a grateful smile at him, the fingers of one hand gripping his brother’s forearm.

Thiago followed them into the entryway and watched as Bruno removed a travel bag from the top of the closet and threw it over his shoulder. Then he helped his wife out the door, leaving Thiago behind.

He stood in the doorway until the car pulled off the property and then returned to the kitchen.

He scraped what was left of their meals into the trash and placed the plates and other dishes in the dishwasher.

When he was done, he stood in the silent kitchen, reflecting on what he had witnessed a few minutes before.

His brother was about to become a father for the first time.

Did he want what Bruno and Ethan had? A wife and a baby?

He had never thought much about those things before.

A family could derail his plans. Children needed care and attention.

So did a wife, for that matter. For years, Thiago had only been concerned with reaching the upper echelon of his father’s company and making more money.

No woman had ever made him consider giving up his freedom.

Until India.

If he did pursue the life his brothers had, there was only one person he could imagine being with. Which meant Bruno was right, and he’d been living in denial and could no longer hide from the truth.

He was definitely, unequivocally, in love with India Monroe.