The Broken One (Corisi Billionaires, #1)(28)

“Technically I don’t.”

She rolled her eyes.

“What would I even say?” I asked.

“Check with Teri to see if she’s free to watch Ava for a few hours this weekend, then pick a place and tell him to meet you there.”

“You mean ask him.”

“Do you want to have great sex or something not worth sharing with me? I’ve known you a long time and I’ve never seen you glow. You know what I mean?”

“I can’t just sleep with him. I have Ava to think of.”

“Ava won’t be there.”

I hugged the blanket closer. “Aren’t you supposed to warn me he won’t respect me if I rush this? Tell me to take it slowly?”

“When was the last time you had sex?” Horror filled her expression. “Don’t even say before Ava.”

I made a pained face.

“Hon, you need to call that man, fuck his brains out, then worry about a relationship later.”

I shook my head, thought about what she’d said, then picked up my phone to send a text Teri, could you watch Ava Saturday night?

Teri: Sure.

I dropped my phone on my lap. “She said yes.” I looked down at my phone again. “Oh my God, she said yes.”

After the enormity of it sank in, the wheels in my head started turning. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right.

I’m a modern woman.

Strong.

Bold.

Success in any endeavor doesn’t come from doing it halfway.

Time to be clear about what I want.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN



* * *



SEBASTIAN

“This was exactly what I was looking for, Miss Steele,” I said after glancing over a report my assistant had handed me when I walked through her office. I was feeling good after a productive morning, a workout, and a quick lunch. “You did good work on this one.”

“Thank you,” Miss Steele said in polite response.

I smiled as those two words reminded me of another conversation. I’d held off calling Heather all morning because I’d wanted to let her rest, but I was about to walk into my office, close the door, and rectify that.

Miss Steele tentatively smiled, then rushed back behind her desk, looking confused.

“Hold my calls.” I tucked the folder she’d handed me under my arm.

“Absolutely, Mr. Romano.”

I was still smiling when I closed the door of my office and took out my phone. It rang in my hand.

Christof. “Do you have a minute?” His tone was serious enough that I became instantly concerned.

“Yes. Sure. Is something wrong?”

“No, but I’m hoping you’re free on Saturday. Remember Gian saying he’d been accepted to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore?”

“How could I forget when we all celebrated how the youngest of us is determined to be a doctor?” I joked.

“He might be, but I think he’s worried if he moves away he won’t see us anymore.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it? We don’t know what it’s like to have a mother ditch and run. No matter how much he says it doesn’t affect him, you know it does. Worrying about what will happen with us is all that’s holding him back. I spoke to Mauricio, and he agrees—we should go down there with him this weekend. We’ll fly down together Friday night. It’s less than a two-hour flight, which will show him how easy it would be to come back for the weekends or for us to go there. He needs to find housing, and we can scope out a couple of places with him. Mom and Dad are on board. We’ll get a place for the weekend, check out the school grounds with Gian, then come back on Sunday night. We want to show him we support the move, and we’re not going anywhere.”

“I’m in.”

“You are? Great. Your opinion has always carried weight with Gian.”

Although I hadn’t done much in the past few years to earn that honor, I knew it was true. Everything else Christof had said was also sadly true. Mom and Dad had always been tight lipped whenever it came to anything related to Gian’s biological parents. When asked, they’d assured us that not asking was the kindest thing we could do for Gian. No one knew what that meant, but Gian was one of us no matter how it had happened.

Heather would understand that, since that was how she seemed to feel about Ava.

I was not a perfect man, but one of my strengths was my family. They had always been what mattered most to me. “Send me the details. I know how important this is to Gian, and it sounds like a good way to show him we’re not going anywhere.”

“Will do. Hey, how is your girlfriend feeling today?”

“She’s not my girlfriend—not yet, but if you’re done, I’ll finally be able to call her and see what I can do about that.”

“I look forward to meeting her.”

“We’re a long way off from that, brother, but I’m hanging up now.”

He was chuckling as I did.

I walked over to the window of my office and took a moment before calling. I wasn’t used to a woman occupying so much space in my head, nor was I used to my family being involved in my dating life. If pressed, I doubted they could name anyone I’d been with since Therese.