“Yep, jealous that we can get as much ass as we want,” Salvatore said.
“Laugh it up, guys, but I’m happier than both of you combined,” Dante said. “Now. Lunch? Or are you two buttheads going to preen a little more?”
Amedeo laughed. “I want lunch, but I do have something to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” Salvatore said. “There’s medication for those pesky sexually transmitted diseases, but your small pecker is something you’ll have to live with.”
Amedeo ignored Salvatore’s remarks. “Actually, I may have gotten a woman pregnant.”
His two brothers didn’t say something for a minute. Then Dante spoke first. “Is this a good thing?”
“Well, if the baby is mine, then yes. I want to make sure she’s pregnant first, before I celebrate. If she is pregnant with my child, I want to raise it.”
“You want to raise a child? By yourself?” Salvatore said.
“Yes. I like kids,” Amedeo said. Did his brother’s not know this about him?
“Okay. Assuming that you want this child. If she doesn’t she can terminate the pregnancy without your knowledge.”
“I’ve made her an offer,” Amedeo said. Both his brothers stared at him as if he had two heads, but the offer had made sense at the time. “I will pay all of her expenses until the baby is born.”
Dante whistled. “Holy shit, Amedeo. She can string you along for a few months, living off you.”
“I’ll make her take a pregnancy test, don’t worry,” Amedeo said. He wasn’t a complete idiot.
“How do you know this woman?” Salvatore said. Of course he would be even more suspicious than Dante. His job as a bodyguard and private detective made him that way.
“We met and had a one-night stand.”
“And you’re willing to raise this child if it’s yours?” Dante said. “It’s a big job, bro.”
“I’m sure it is, but I have resources. I can get a nanny,” Amedeo said. He could convert one of his bedrooms in his penthouse to a nursery. It was only money to spend.
“Let me do a background check on her,” Salvatore said. “Give me her name and what you know about her.”
“Of course.” He told his brother her name.
“I can get a preliminary report this afternoon. I’ll put someone on it while we’re eating lunch,” Salvatore said.
His brother had his back. “Good, thanks.” He looked back at Dante. “What are you thinking?”
“That if this works out, my kid will have a cousin close in age. Are you sure about this?”
Amedeo waved his hand. “Yes. If the child is mine, I want him or her taken care of. Whether I do it full time or part time depends on what Violet wants. I’m just not willing to let her terminate the pregnancy.”
He assumed she was going to take him up on his offer. If she wasn’t, he was going to have to figure out another way to deal with the situation. He was getting used to the idea that he might have a son or daughter. He’d be a good father.
“Then I guess congratulations are in order, pending the pregnancy test and pending the paternity test. I never would have thought this of you, Amedeo.”
“Why not?”
Dante and Salvatore exchanged a glance. “Because you’re the biggest playboy in the family. A child is going to curtail that a bunch. Even with a nanny. Maybe not at first, but when the child can talk and ask you where you’re going, it will,” Salvatore said.
Amedeo hadn’t thought about that, but he was going to have to adjust his lifestyle. He could do this. Once Violet made her decision about whether she was going to step up and be a parent, he would start interviewing nannies. No reason not to be ready for the inevitable.
He sighed. He was going to have a busy few months while he was waiting for the baby. He could do this. Having a lot of money at his disposal made life easier. No reason for his kid not to grow up with that wealth. Money could provide a lot that he hadn’t had as a child.
Maybe even provide Violet with whatever she hadn’t had, but that was another story. He chose not to mention that he’d been attracted to Violet and wanted to see her again. His brothers would never let him live that down.
***
“Son of a bitch,” Violet said as she stared at the eviction notice on her apartment door.
That hadn’t been there when she left his morning. She tried her key in the lock, but it didn’t work. That meant she had the clothes on her back. She only had a few dollars in her wallet and she didn’t have her laptop. There would be no completing her deadline. Certainly not today.