Amedeo, Her Italian Billionaire(8)

He went back to his work, glancing over at Violet periodically. She didn’t move. That’s how tired she was. He felt bad for her. She stirred when the food arrived. Stretching, she yawned. “Did I fall asleep?”

“You snored, too.” He imagined that if a blush showed on her dark velvet skin, she would have one.

“Food’s here.”

She noticed the bags on the table in front of her. She looked up at Amedeo. “Thank you.”

She dug into the food as if she hadn’t eaten in days. He wondered if maybe she hadn’t. That wasn’t good for the baby. They had to start thinking about the child growing inside of her now. It was a presence even if they couldn’t see evidence of it yet.





Chapter2



Violet couldn’t believe that Amedeo was taking her back to her apartment. They were in the back of his limousine. The man had someone to drive him. Everywhere. It wasn’t one of those long ones, but she’d bet he had one, too.

She wasn’t in her wet clothing. She was in one of Amedeo’s shirts and some sweatpants that someone had in a desk. Her socks and underwear were still wet, but she could live with that. Soon, she’d have some dry ones. Not that they would be clean. She hadn’t been to the laundromat in weeks. No one saw her, so it wasn’t a priority to have clean clothing. She worked mainly in sweats.

She had to admit that Amedeo helping her chafed a bit. She was not beholden to him. She didn’t like owing anyone anything. The next months would be hard for her. Being a loner, she’d never liked living with anyone. Even as a child, she’d dreamed of leaving her mother’s place. And she did as soon as possible.

Probably why her mother had died, but that was another day of guilt to deal with. Now she was bringing an unwanted child into the world. Well, Amedeo seemed to want the child. She was just scared she was going to screw the poor little thing up. She didn’t really want the baby to die. It had been a relief when Amedeo had asked her not to terminate the pregnancy.

The downside was depending on Amedeo. She’d found that men didn’t often do what they said they would. Like stay around. Be a grownup. Keep promises.

She felt like her skin didn’t fit right, but this was the choice she’d made. It had been the only one she could make. Amedeo studied his phone, maybe answering emails as if he did this every day.

He didn’t seem to be unnerved by her moving in.

They finally arrived at her apartment building. Never had a vehicle looked so out of place. Amedeo gave instructions to the driver who drove away after they climbed out.

“You ready?” Amedeo said.

“As I’ll ever be.”

With her stomach full, she thought she could do this. Amedeo held out his hand. She shook her head. No, that would be too much. She brushed past him into the apartment building. She stood by the landlord’s door.

“I admire your determination, but you can’t do this without me,” Amedeo said in her ear.

“And that will bother me forever.”

She stepped away, waving him toward the door. Amedeo knocked. Reggie answered, still in his boxers.

“What do you want, bitch?” he said.

Amedeo stepped between them. “You will not call her names. I’m here to pay her rent.”

Reggie took the cigar out of his mouth, his gaze going up and down Amedeo as if taking his measure. From the look on his face, her landlord found Amedeo lacking. This had been a mistake. What was she thinking? Amedeo was Park Avenue. Reggie was Harlem. Harlem could kick Park Avenue’s butt.

She didn’t want to watch that.

“Could we stop posturing and get this transaction over with? I’m cold and tired and feeling pretty cranky,” she said.

Amedeo glanced her way, then reached into his pocket. He pulled out more cash than she had ever seen at once. Maybe more cash than she’d seen in her whole life combined. If Reggie liked to fight, he liked money more.

“This should cover what Violet owes you. Now, go unlock her apartment. Don’t lock it again and we’ll have her moved out this week,” Amedeo said.

Reggie didn’t eye the money for long. He snatched it from Amedeo’s hand, then slammed the door on their faces. Amedeo threw her a look, his eyebrows raised. She shrugged. Reggie opened the door again. This time he had on ratty sweatpants.

“Fine,” he said.

He trudged up the steps. Amedeo was right behind him with Violet taking the rear. Reggio took the lock and the sign off the door, then he disappeared. Amedeo held out his hand. “Your key?”

“I can unlock my own door,” she said, brushing past him.

He stepped out of the way as she unlocked the door. For a moment, she wondered about the last time she’d cleaned the apartment. She’d bet Amedeo didn’t keep things a mess. He probably had a whole cleaning staff to keep his apartment germ free.