He's everything she ever dreamed of, and she's exactly what he needs. But fate is cruel, and so is her sister.
Dani Valentine and her half-sister, Alyssa Romano, grew up on opposite sides of the world. Despite her rough upbringing, Dani has always...
He walked into the kitchen and saw Gavin's coloring book on the kitchen table with some crayons strewn about.
He turned and saw him out the back window. He was in the pool!
"Gavin!" He raced out the backdoor in a huge hurry. "Who let him in the pool!"
Gavin was swimming. He was kicking his little legs and paddling his arms. When he saw Rocco, he swam right to the edge and grabbed the side of the pool to pull himself up.
His panic subsided into anger that this was taken from him. He looked up, and that's when he saw her.
Standing there soaking wet with a navy-blue swimsuit hugging every curve, in the middle of his pool was the girl he'd spent his whole day trying to forget.
What the hell was she doing here?
"Gavi can swim, Daddy!" Gavin cheered happily and proudly.
"I see. Daddy was going to teach you to swim..." It felt like a stab in the gut. He'd so badly wanted to be the one to teach Gavin to swim. He'd planned it all weekend; he would surprise him with a trip to the local pool.
Dani, who was standing frozen, winced when he said that. He forced himself to pull his eyes off her as he heard her getting out of the pool.
"Gavi is like a fish!"
"You sure are, Chief; you looked great!" He feigned as much enthusiasm as possible.
"Auntie Dani showed me lots of stuff!" he added happily.
"That's great, bud. I'm so proud of you," he said, and Gavin beamed.
"Can you go put your outdoor toys away?" Rocco asked. "We have to get going pretty soon."
"Okay, Daddy," he agreed, running off to pick them up.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you had plans to teach him." Dani mumbled; she was doing her best to avoid looking directly at him.
"What are you doing here?" Rocco asked. "You're supposed to be on a plane right now."
"Supposed to be?" She looked up at him finally, her normally warm brown doe eyes regarding him coldly.
"Okay, so wrong word. But I think we were clear, Dani," He sighed. "You can't stay here."
"Alyssa asked me back, and I decided to take her offer. Just because you and your brother sit me down and tell me what to do doesn't mean I have to do anything. I made up my own mind."
Her stubbornness was one of the most appealing things about her, but damn it, if it wasn't driving him crazy right now. What was wrong with her? She had a one-way ticket out of this mess and didn't want it? Why?
"Dani, if you think..." he struggled with the words. "If you're staying here because of me, please don't..."
"Believe it or not, I have some self-respect, Rocco." Her cheeks were flushed pink, and he could see he'd offended her yet again. This time he didn't even do it on purpose. "You made your thoughts about me very clear."
"Dani..." he wished so badly he could turn things around, but the timing was crap; he had no choice but to go on knowing she'd probably always hate him. How could he blame her? It was what was supposed to happen, but it hurt like hell.
"I'm here for Gavin," she said firmly. "He needs a stable nanny."
"She's up to something bringing you back; you can't trust her."
"You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"Just stay alert, okay, please?" He pleaded with her.
"I got all my toys, daddy. I'm ready!" Gavin was racing back over to them.
"Good job, Bud." "Let's gets you inside and changed, and we'll get going." He ruffled his damp hair.
"To the new 'partment?" Gavin asked. Rocco had talked to him about it on the phone a few times.
"With my sponge bob bed?" he added, his excitement growing.
"You bet!" Rocco said.
"Is Auntie Dani coming too?" Gavin asked, looking at her excitably.
"No, Gavi. I'm staying here, but I will be here when you get back, okay?" she knelt and gave him a hug.
"But I want to play with you and Daddy," Gavi whined in a small voice.
"Well, you know what?" she said in a near whisper.
"What?" he whispered back.
"I think your dad loves you so much he wants some time all to himself with you. He needs his Gavi time." She winked, and Gavin giggled.
Rocco's heart ached watching her with him.
"It's true, Bud. I missed you so much. We're going to have a great guy's weekend," Rocco said. "Just us."
"Okay." Gavin finally relented.
"Come on, let's get you dressed already," Rocco said. "Race you inside."
Gavin took off, making car noises while he ran in.
"I meant what I said, Dani. Don't start trusting her." He warned her one last time.
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