Page 109 of The Don's Secret Heir
I nearly scream when I see Sofia is in the kitchen, making tea.
I press my hand against my heart.
“You scared the daylights out of me!”
“Did I? It’s still early, thought the lot of you would still be asleep,” she says with a chuckle, pulling out another teacup.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Well, if I slept for a week I’d have trouble, too.” There’s the lilt of a tease in her voice and I smile.
“You knew about that?”
“Of course. The boss was gone all week. Wouldn’t leave your side. Neither would that boy of yours. Dario tried to have Marie watch him, but he wanted to be at your bedside.”
I can’t help but crack a smile.
Like father, like son. Both stubborn as mules.
“We were all rooting for you, miss.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“After his parents went, the boss was different. Sad. He’s better now that you’re around.”
“He is?”
She nods. “There’s life in his face again, blood in his cheeks.”
I go quiet, sipping the tea.
“He loves you, you know. And the boy, too. He never was good at showing it.”
My mouth goes dry.
“Thank you for the tea, Sofia,” I whisper, getting up and leaving the kitchen. I head back upstairs and into Dario’s room.
He’s still sound asleep, like I knew he would be, but he grunts and draws me back into his arms when I climb into bed and disturb him.
His arms lock tight around me again, and this time, when I listen to his heartbeat, I’m able to drift off into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
32
DARIO
The days go on, but it’s like something inside of Liana has broken. She’s not the same. She’s subdued somehow, different.
She’s not the woman I fell in love with, but I’d said I’d accept any version of her.
This is no different.
I love her subdued and scared just as much as I loved her stubborn and petty, but I don’t like that the light inside of her has gone out.
On the third day back home, she just lies in bed all day, unmoving, barely blinking.
"Do you want me to turn on the television?” I ask gently, and she shakes her head.
“No. I have a headache.”
