Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken (15 page)

His father smiled. “One of the pleasures of being retired and filthy rich, son.” He shrugged. “Ana and I decided we wanted to do this last night …”

“Last night,” Kyle chuckled, shaking his head. “I envy such freedom.” Kyle couldn’t remember the last time he took a spontaneous vacation anywhere. Work and being a parent to his precious little girl prohibited him from doing such things anymore. Everything was planned now, sometimes months in advance.

“I worked hard for
‘such freedom’
,
figlio
,” Cesare chuckled. “You will have it one day, too. When you are old and grey like your papa.” He stood and walked over to Sofia, pinching her cheeks lightly, making her giggle. “Then it will be Sofia’s turn to envy you.”

“What is envy, Nonno?” Sofia asked, curiosity brightening her eyes.

His father just chuckled and kissed her cheeks in response to her question, before he made his way to the bar stool sitting at the edge of the island.

Smiling, Kyle turned back to the cabinet, grabbed a bowl, then went back over to the where the food sat.

“So you’re deserting me for a weekend in Disney World with all those crazy people?” he teased his little girl, giving her a light nudge. “What about all of the plans I had for us this weekend, huh?”

A big smile lit up her expressive eyes as she looked up at him. “What plans, Papa?” she asked, laughter in her munchkin voice.

Feigning seriousness, Kyle shrugged. “Paper filing, filling a bunch of envelopes with blank paper, putting in some extra hours at the office, making lots and lots of phone calls to old people that do nothing but whine and beg Papa to spare their lives and give them money …”

Sofia laughed as she leaned forward and held on to his arm. “That’s too boring!”

Smiling down at his little girl, Kyle laughed softly. “Boring?” When she nodded he leaned forward and kissed her forehead three times. “All right then, ladybug,” he said softly, leaving one more kiss on her smiling cheek. “Let your papa do all of the boring work, and you go have fun in Disney World.”

“Thank you, Papa.”

“You’re welcome. Papa will miss you, though.”

The smile she gave him brought him more peace than anything else in the world could.

Leaning forward a bit more, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Promise me you’ll rest too, Papa,” she whispered, sounding so much older than she actually was.

Sofia was a mature five-year-old, always looking out for him, worried about his wellbeing. Kyle didn’t like her to worry so much, but he’d soon found out that it wasn’t something she could help. It was a trait she’d inherited from his side of the family, his father to be more specific. It was why she found it so easy to talk to her grandfather. They were protectors. Always looking out for those they loved the most.

“I want you to sleep.” She looked up at him. “Okay?”

Compliance was the only way to put the smile back on his bambina’s face.

Kyle sighed. “I promise,
bambina. Ora fermare questo preoccupante.
You are too young.” He gave her little nose a tap. “Worry is for papas, not little ladybugs.”

“But if ladybugs love their papa as much as me, then they can worry a little bit …”

Kyle chuckled softly. “Sofia, I promise, okay?” He kissed her forehead once more. “I’ll get some rest as soon as I get home, all right?”

But of course it wasn’t. Worry fell over her little face once again.

“Sofia,” Kyle groaned, then looked over to his father with a glare. “I blame you for this, Cesare.”

“Blame me for my granddaughter being wise, strong, and protective of her family?” He looked over to Kyle with a smirk. “I’ll carry the burden of the blame, son.”

Kyle’s nostrils flared in annoyance at his father before he glanced back down at his concerned little girl.

“Stop worrying about me,” he commanded firmly. “I want you to let it go and have fun this weekend, and that was an order, Sofia. I’m your father, so don’t question me.”

“But—”

“
Silenzio, bambina. Abbastanza di questo. Non voglio dire questo due volte
.”

She closed her mouth at Kyle’s sharp words, but the sadness on her face was immediate as her expressive eyes glossed with unshed tears. Kyle hated being so firm with her, but honestly, it was the only way to stop her worrying. Sofia was an obedient child, had been since she was old enough to understand yes from no. She was also mild mannered, like both Kyle and his father, so though Kyle could tell she wanted to scream
‘I don’t want to be quiet until you do what I say!’
at the top of her lungs, he knew she wouldn’t. She would never disrespect him by continuing her argument when she’d already been told to stop.

So not uttering another word, she nodded her head, and rested it back on his shoulder. Her little arms wrapped impossibly tight around his as she sniffled softly.

Kyle sighed as he looked up to the ceiling, begging God for strength.

Curse his fucked up existence. He couldn’t even keep his five-year-old daughter from worrying about him. And Sofia knew exactly how to make him feel like shit for yelling at her, too. Any other child would have run away from him in tears, or found a door to slam so that they could cry behind it, but not Sofia Nicole Valente. No way. The child made you suffer through the pain you brought upon her. She stayed next to you, hugged you to show her unwavering love, and cried her tears of sadness unashamed. Sooner or later, any motherfucker with even the slightest bit of decency had to just give her what she wanted.

Kyle sat his bowl down on the counter with a huff. “What do you want, Sofia?”

She immediately looked up at him, her face stained with tears and her little cheeks flushed red. “I want you to call Reanna,” she pled. “Please, Papa. She will make the monster stay away from you.”

Kyle ran his hand over his face. “It’s not that simple, Sofia.”

“Please just try … please!” The tears began to stream once again. “I know she’ll make it better, she always does. You have to try. She can give you ice cream, so that you can sleep better.”

Between the tears and the begging, Kyle knew he’d already lost this battle. He couldn’t say no to her. Not while she was like this. So passionate about saving him from his bad dreams. It was both adorable and just plain … good of her. Who the fuck could really punish a child for loving their father too much?

Closing his eyes and dropping his head forward in defeat, Kyle gave in. “I will call Reanna,” he muttered.

“You will?” she exclaimed.

When he lifted his head and opened his eyes he was met with the prettiest little ladybug smile.

He had no choice but to nod. “Yes, ladybug. Papa will get Reanna to come scare the monsters away from him.” Well, he would try to get her to talk to him for a second at least.

Sofia squealed right before she stood up on the counter, and lunged into his arms.

“Thank you, Papa!” she cried happily. “I love you.”

Kyle smiled, hugging his baby girl back tightly. “
Ti amo troppo ragazza, bambina.”

She kissed his cheek as she pulled back. “Now we will both have a fun time.”

Kyle nodded. “Yes we will, sweetheart.”

“All right, Sofia, come now. Time to take a bath and change out of your school uniform into your pajamas …”

The soft, feminine, French-accented voice filled the room, before she even made it around the corner.

Sofia turned and faced the sound. “When will Maksi, Sandr, and Jo Jo be here, Nonna?”

Anastacia rounded the corner with a bouncing Cami on her hip. “They are on their way, but Carterina already gave them their bath, and put on their pajamas. If we keep stalling they’ll start the cartoons without us. Now let’s move,
mon amour.”

“Okay, Nonna,” Sofia said, motioning for Kyle to let her down. Kyle placed Sofia back down on the floor and she scrambled to her grandmother. “Can Cami and I have toys in the tub?”

“Yes,” Anastacia answered.

“Ky-Ky!” Cami squealed, bouncing up and down and pointing at him.

Kyle smiled at the little monster, giving her a wink. Camiella was a year old, and the craziest little baby girl Kyle had ever met in his life; she was also the funniest. Kyle couldn’t believe how smart she was, but according to Robert—Carter’s father—Cami was just taking after her older sister. It seemed that in more ways than one, Cami and Carter were identical.

“Ma-ma! Ky-ky!” she yelled again.

“I hear you, Camiella.” She looked over to Kyle with a smile. “Kyle, come get your sister. You hear her, don’t you?”

Yeah, he’d heard her. He was just mentally preparing himself for the ball of energy. After one more second of preparation, he walked over to his stepmother and took his eager little sister from her hands.

Kissing her chubby cheeks was literally one of his favorite things to do; she was so fucking adorable. “What are you doing, you little monster?” he growled playfully, laughing at her big belly laughs. “What are you yelling at me for?”

For the next few minutes, Kyle played with his little sister while his family hustled around him, preparing for the evening. He tossed her into the air, tickled her mercilessly, and gave her multiple raspberry kisses on her perfect, plump, little tummy before it was time for her and Sofia to go take a bath.

When he handed her back to her mother, she cried a little, but Anastacia got her to calm down quickly.

“All right,” she sighed, looking up at him. “Give your beloved mother a kiss, Ky-Ky.”

Kyle smiled. God he loved his stepmother. He really couldn’t have asked for his father to marry a more perfect woman. She fit into their family perfectly.

Leaning forward, he did exactly as she instructed. “I hope you enjoyed dinner.” He gently kissed her smooth cheek.

Before he could pull back, she reached up and took hold of his face with one hand. “Aww …” she sighed, giving him a big smooch on his cheek. “
Ma douce, Ky –Ky, je vous aime tellement
. You cook as well as your father
, bébé
. I love it, and you.” After giving his cheek a gentle pat, she released him. “Good night, mon amour. Get some rest this weekend, okay? Don’t let work or anything else keep you from taking some time for yourself.”

Kyle nodded his head. “I won’t. Thank you.” Though he would miss his daughter very much this weekend, the little break from parenting that his parents were giving him for the next few days were much needed, and even more appreciated.

She smiled, nodding as if she knew what he was thinking. “What are parents for?” She reached up and gave his nose a light tap, then took Sofia’s hand. “Come, girls, let’s get in the tub, shall we?”

After walking by Cesare and giving him a light kiss on the lips, Anastacia left the kitchen with Cami and Sofia, both little girls excited about their upcoming bubble bath full of toys.

“I honestly don’t know what I’d do without that woman,” Cesare said, suddenly capturing Kyle’s attention. “I want you to feel that, son.” He looked up at him, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “To love a woman so much that you don’t know what you’d do without her … who you would be.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t imagine not having Ana in my life. Not anymore.”

Standing up from his chair, Cesare walked over to Kyle. “I hope you do as your little girl said, and call that woman, son. Call her and tell her how you feel.”

Kyle frowned. “I thought you said I should wait.”

“Call the other woman if you have to, and end it quickly. But then call Reanna, and use this weekend to do something for you, just like your stepmother said to.” He gave Kyle’s arm a light slap. “Talk to her, son. Tell her you love her.”

With those last words, he released Kyle and walked out of the kitchen, just as Mickey walked in, rubbing his belly.

“Damn, Kyle,” he said, his voice strained as if he were too full to speak. “Dinner was good, bro. You’re almost as good as Carter.”

Kyle frowned, chuckling softly at the abrupt appearance of his little brother.

“Yo, Pops,” Mickey called. “I’m sleeping here tonight!”

“You’ve been sleeping here for a month!” Cesare yelled back. “No need to announce it now.”

“I’m just letting you know.” Looking back over at Kyle, Mickey gave a wave of his hand in Kyle’s direction. “Good night, man. Talk to you Monday, or tomorrow, or whatever …”

He yawned as he quickly jogged to the stairs, then ran up, disappearing from Kyle’s sight.

Kyle shook his head. He’d never understand Mickey’s need for multiple places to lie his head. The man had four homes in New York alone, and he stayed in each for a limited amount of time, before he’d move on to the next one. It made no sense. But honestly, a lot of time neither did Mikilo. Kyle shrugged. He still loved his idiot little brother even though he didn’t get him for shit. It was Nathan’s job to understand Mickey anyway.

After he was alone once again, Kyle made his plate to-go, then put away the rest of dinner while he thought about what he wanted to do for the remainder of his weekend.

Should he call Reanna? Try his luck at being honest? Kyle had no clue what the hell to do, all he knew was that he wanted to hear her speak tonight—even if she just said hello, he wanted to hear her voice.
That would do for tonight
, he thought.
The heavy stuff could come another day
…