Page 33 of My Unexpected Surprise
Chapter Seven
LIVIA
My heart slams against my ribs the entire elevator ride down to the lobby.
I clutch the folder to my chest like it might shield me from the memory of Valentino bending down to pick up that photograph.
His hand had moved so quickly. Too quickly. For one terrible second I thought he might turn the image over and study Nico’s face under the harsh overhead lights.
I had nearly tripped over my own feet lunging to snatch it back. My fingers still feel shaky from the grab. He handed it over without a word, but his eyes had lingered on mine. That stillness in him had deepened into something I couldn't read.
He still doesn’t remember me from Venice, although a part of me keeps expecting it.
In fear or anticipation, I'm not sure anymore.
He has no idea the quiet little boy in the photo is a product of that night and is his spitting reflection.
I need to keep it that way for now.
The late afternoon air outside Ferretti Global Risk hits me cool and sharp. I pull out my phone and text Piper while I walk toward the subway.
Emergency best friend debrief. Your place or mine? Nico is with the neighbor’s teenager until seven.
Her reply comes in seconds. My place. I have wine and zero judgment. Get here.
I take the train north, mind racing the whole way. By the time I reach Piper’s apartment in Chelsea I have rehearsed ten different versions of the conversation and discarded them all.
She opens the door before I finish knocking, already in her silk robe and full makeup even though it is barely six o’clock. That’s Piper. Always ready for whatever chaos the day decides to throw.
She's been out at some meeting all day, hence why Nico isn't with her right now.
“Spill,” she says, pulling me inside. “You look like you saw the ghost of Christmas Future and he was hot but terrifying.”
I drop my bag on her couch and sink into it. The apartment smells like expensive candles and the Thai food she clearly ordered for us. “He saw the picture of Nico.”
Piper freezes halfway to the kitchen. “Define saw.”
“He picked it up off the floor. Stared at it. I grabbed it back so fast I almost fell. Piper, his eyes went so still. Like the whole world narrowed to that one photo.”
She brings two glasses of red wine and hands me one before sitting cross-legged on the opposite end of the couch. “Did he say anything? Ask who the kid is?”
“No. But he looked. Really looked.” I take a long sip and let the wine warm the cold knot in my stomach.
“This is bad. The retreat invitation came today. Ten days in Hudson Valley. Mandatory. I told him I can’t go because of Nico and he did the whole powerful-man thing. Arrangements can be made. As if money fixes bedtime stories and morning cuddles.”
Piper’s eyebrows climb. “Ten days? That’s a lot. But Liv, you need this job. You said the pay could actually get you out fromunder that medical debt and the late rent. You cannot afford to lose it.”
“I know.” I set the glass down and rub my temples. “He said Ferretti Global would cover childcare and travel. I told him powerful men always think arrangements solve everything. He did not like that.”
She grins. “I bet he didn’t. That man is used to everyone falling in line. Especially women.”
I remember the way Valentino stepped closer in the conference room, the way the air between us had thickened until I could smell his cologne again.
Wood and spice. The same scent that haunted me for weeks after Venice. My body had reacted without permission, a small shiver I hoped he did not notice.
I hate how easily he still affects me.
Piper leans forward. “You have to tell him the truth. About Nico. About Venice. Before this explodes in your face.”
