Eve careened her neck to see the men her surrogate father was glaring at. She waved at them both. Carlo smiled and Carmine waved back.
Mira put Eve down and took her hand. She helped her step through the snow and up the steps to the door. She paused a moment to discover it had been forced open. The shoe print stamped at the center of the door made it apparent how.
“The bastards forced their way in.” Kei grimaced.
Mira chewed on her bottom lip nervously, unable to move. Finally she looked over at Kei. “Don’t speak unless he speaks to you. Let me do the talking,” she warned.
Kei frowned. “I’m not scared of him.”
“Eve. Think of Eve. Please,” she pleaded.
“I’ll follow your lead, Mira. Like we agreed.” Kei relented. “But sweetheart, you kept the man’s child from him. Don’t go in there thinking you can talk your way out of this. If it gets bad we do it my way.”
Mira had no idea what ‘my way’ meant. There were times when she considered Kei’s willingness to go up against these gangsters a sign of bravery. Now she suspected something she couldn’t quite name. Eve looked up at them both curious, and Mira smiled down at her baby reassuringly before she pushed the door open. She didn’t see Giovanni. Her heart raced so fast and strong she could barely take a breath. Entering her home she glanced to the left. He was seated near the fireplace watching her silently. At his side stood Lorenzo. Dominic was over near the window. He must have told Giovanni they had arrived.
Mira couldn’t fathom the change in him. Physically he was still a magnificent specimen of a man. The beard was new, and the hard coldness in his icy blue stare hardened features she once found charming. A swath of wavy dark hair fell casually over his brow out of the groomed dark wave of hair that dusted his collar. His well-groomed appearance, dark olive tanned skin and the cynical twist thinning his lips made his presence overpowering with self-confidence. Even Kei stood in silence staring at him. Mira had forgotten how powerfully seductive his eyes were. She lowered her gaze to break the hold he had over her. She needed to keep her emotions in check and show no weakness.
Eve let go of her mother’s hand and hid behind her legs. Her baby was naturally friendly. Giovanni’s hard glare made her instinctively draw away. He didn’t relent. He sat forward and his focus shifted from Mira down to her daughter. It remained that way.
Eve peeked at him. Did he recognize her? Mira always believed that if Giovanni met their child he’d recognize her as his own instantly. Not because of her eyes, but because of the love they shared when they created her. Staring at him now she wasn’t sure. This man before her seemed so different from the one she knew.
His gaze swung back up at Mira, fiery hot under lowered dark brows. Silently, wordlessly she met his stare, and she knew he realized who Eve was to him. Instead of joy she saw fury. The reality of her true betrayal settled between them, dividing them. Slowly he rose from his seat.
“Ciao, Giovanni,” Mira said softly.
“Ciao, Bella. It’s been too long,” he answered.
She nodded. “How did you find me?”