That One Time by Aja Foxx

Chapter Three

~ Henry ~

 

It was a good thing that Frank had forgotten to take me to breakfast because I didn't think I'd be able to keep it down. Not only was I still reeling from the knowledge that the Frank I had fallen in love with was some man named Francesco Galeazzi, but now he was taking me to meet his parents.

I was going to be sick.

"Still with me, baby?"

"Maybe."

Frank chuckled. The arm he had around my shoulders tightened and he squeezed me. "The hard part is over. Meeting my parents is easy."

"What if they don't like me?" Considering we came from two vastly different sides of the track, I was pretty sure they wouldn't. I had a job that barely paid over minimum wage. I could not compete with a family who were worth millions.

"My parents are going to love you, and do you know why?"

I didn't have a clue.

"They are going to love you because you make me happy."

I frowned at Frank.

"Henry, my parents married in the old country. They spent their honeymoon on a boat coming to America with my grandmother. When they landed, all they had was a single bag each, the clothes on their backs, and the desire for the American dream. Everything they made came from hard work, love, and the knowledge that family was more important than money."

They sounded wonderful.

I still didn't think they'd like me. I had no real family to speak of and I worked a job at a cafe. Granted, I was putting myself through college one class at a time, but to date, my greatest accomplishment was keeping a roof over my head for the last several years.

"We're here."

My eyes widened and I found it hard to draw air into my lungs.

"Holy shit!"

This wasn't a mansion. It was a palace. Well, maybe not a palace, but close enough. It was huge. I counted four floors just in the main part of the building I could see through the black metal gate. I had no idea how many floors were in the wings on either floor.

"Now, I know it looks big and intimidating, but it's really not."

Wanna bet?

"You have to remember, a lot of people live here. My grandmother, my parents, my younger brother and his husband, and my youngest brother all have rooms here, although Gianni is currently away at the university."

That was not a lot of people.

"We also have a suite of rooms here," Frank continued.

"We do?"

Frank nodded. "If you don't want to live here, I have a place in the city."

"What about that little apartment you have over the bakery?"

"Rented."

"Oh." I had liked that apartment. It was a two bedroom, two bath apartment, and much bigger than mine. It even had a little balcony off the larger of the two bedrooms. Plus, it did sit above a bakery, which meant it smelled fantastic all of the time.

"Am I going to have to quit going to school?"

"No, of course not, but I can pay for your tuition now. You could go to any university in the city and not worry about the cost."

"I'll stay where I am, but thank you." I wasn't about to be accused of being with Frank so he could pay for my education. "I make enough down at the cafe to pay for my tuition."

"Henry, you're barely making ends meet."

Didn't matter. I'd starve before I took money from Frank.

"Is this going to be a problem?"

I snorted. "Probably."

Frank sighed as he sat back in his seat. "Look, I know I kind of blindsided you with all of this, but the pre-nup was not meant for you to think you'd never be able to use my money. It's there in case things go bad between us so you can't demand half my earnings and my family's company."

"No, I get that, but where's the line, Frank? Everyone is already going to look at me as the little gold digger. If I allow you to pay for my education, how is that any better?"

"Because we'd be married," Frank insisted.

"Fine, then we'll wait until we're married." That would at least give me a little time to come to terms with all of this. I was still very uncomfortable with the idea of Frank paying for me to go to the university or just about anything else.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel after we were married.

The taxi stopped in front of a set of steps leading up to a massive wooden door. Frank climbed out and then held his hand out to me just as he had in front of his lawyer's office.

I almost didn't take it.

When Frank's shoulders slumped and he started to lower his hand, I quickly reached out and took it. Once I was standing, I pressed a kiss to Frank's lips. "Give me some time, Frank. This is a lot to take in."

Frank's lips pressed together, but he nodded. "I wish I could have said something to you about all of this before now, but I couldn't."

"I know." I didn't agree with what he'd done, but I understood it from his perspective. Maybe. I'd never had to be wary of having money. "If you lie to me again, we're done. No second chances. Understand?"

Frank nodded again.

I winced when I glanced toward the massive house. "Do you think they're watching us through the curtains?"

The tension in Frank's face faded as he chuckled. "Probably."

Fantastic.

Frank wrapped an arm around my waist and started to lead me up the steps. The front door opened before we reached it. A man in a suit opened the door. "Mr. Galeazzi, welcome home."

"Thank you, Bertram," Frank said. "This is Henry Warner, my fiancé. You'll be seeing a lot of him."

"Welcome, Mr. Warner."

"Henry, you can call me Henry."

"Very good, Mr. Henry."

Yeah, that wasn't much better.

"Are my parents in?" Frank asked.

"Your mother is in the garden with your grandmother. Your father is in his study."

"And the others?"

"Mr. Martino is at the office, Mr. Stewart is still in his suite, and Mr. Gianni is still at the university."

"Thank you, Bertram." Frank started tugging me down the long hallway. "We'll be in my father's study. Can you arrange some coffee and something light to eat in the family dining room? We haven't had breakfast yet."

"Of course, sir."

My jaw was kind of hanging down to my chest so I waited until the butler had walked away before looking at Frank. "You live here?"

Opulent didn't even begin to describe the place. Dark wood crown molding, hardwood floors, a grand staircase, marble tiles, golden framed pictures on the walls, furniture that looked as if it belonged in a museum. It was insane.

"My rooms are a tad bit more modern."

"I hope so."

When we reached the end of the hallway, Frank knocked on a set of double doors.

"Come," someone from inside called out.

Frank opened the door and ushered me inside. There was an older man sitting behind the desk who looked a lot like Frank. He was just as tall, but a little rounder and he didn't have the same scruff on his face that Frank had. It was a well groomed mustache, though.

The man smiled as he stood. "Francesco, sei a casa."

"Ciao, Papa." Frank smiled. "I am home, and I've brought someone with me for you to meet. This is my fiancé, Henry Warner."

The man's bushy eyebrows lifted. "Your fiancé?"

"We've already been to see Blakely, and Henry signed all the necessary papers, but only after he put me through the ringer."

I elbowed Frank in the side and whispered out of the corner of my mouth, "Don't tell him that. He's going to think I'm a gold digger."

Frank chuckled. "There was a bit of negotiating before Henry would agree to sign the pre-nup." Frank reached in his pocket and pulled out a copy of the prenuptial agreement I'd signed and then handed it over to his father.

The man frowned as he glanced down and read the paper, but after a moment, he glanced up. "You refused a divorce settlement?"

"Yes, unless Frank is unfaithful to me."

"Why would you do this? It's a lot of money. If things end badly, you'll have nothing."

I shrugged. "I have nothing now. How would that be any different?"

"Henry works at a cafe while putting himself through school at the university," Frank said. "That's where we met."

"Francesco will pay for your education. You don't have to work at your cafe anymore."

"No, thank you," I said firmly. "I can put myself through school, and I'm not quitting my job."

I wasn't even sure I was giving up my apartment.

Not yet.

"Son—"

"You can see from the prenuptial agreement I signed that I'm not after Frank's money. Until this morning, I didn't know he had any." I jabbed my elbow into Frank's side again when he grunted. "I didn't even know his name wasn't Frank."

The man's eyebrow quirked up as he glanced at his son. "You did not tell your fiancé what your real name was?"

I knew Frank was rolling his eyes even if I couldn't see him. "I accepted Frank's marriage proposal last night when I thought he was nothing more than a construction worker living in a small apartment above a bakery." I waved my hand to encompass the large office. "All of this? This is going to take some getting used to."

"So, that is what you have been doing with yourself."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "You didn't know?"

"He would not let me or his mother visit and only came home once a week to attend church with the family and then have dinner."

I turned and glared up at Frank. "That's why you were always busy on Sundays?"

It had bothered me for the longest time, but Frank had sworn up and down he was following his family traditions, and he wasn't quite ready to tell me what those traditions were or allow me to join him.

"I thought we'd covered all of the things you lied about. Are there more?"

"No, I promise."

"And how much is your promise worth?"

The laughter coming from behind me was even more surprising than Frank not telling his family what he'd been doing. I turned to look at the man. He was holding his hand out to me. I was hesitant, but for the sake of diplomacy, I reached over and shook it.

"I am Bellino Galeazzi, but you can call me Papa. Welcome to the family." He waved his hand to a brown leather chair by his desk. "Please, come sit and tell me what this idiota has been up to."

I shot Frank a hard stare before walking over to sit down where Bellino had indicated. I crossed my legs and clasped my hands together in my lap, hoping no one would see them shaking.

I was still a little wigged out.

"So, how did you meet my son?" Bellino asked.

This time, when I looked at Frank, I had a smile on my face. "Him and a bunch of the construction crew from the building down the street came in for lunch. After I took his order, he asked me out."

Frank chuckled. "And you refused. I had to eat there for two weeks before you'd even agree to go out for coffee with me."

Bellino was all smiles. "Bene, bene, you did not make the chase easy for him."

"He was brutal, Papa."

"I was busy putting myself through school," I argued. "I didn't need some hot Italian construction worker messing that up."

"After he finally agreed to go out with me, he was still brutal. He insisted we go Dutch even when I invited him out, and half the time, he wanted to eat in instead of going out or to make food at home and take it with us."

I felt the heat in my cheeks and knew I was blushing. There was nothing I could do about it. There had been times when Frank had argued with me about not just going out, but I had stuck to my choice and I still would. His money was not going to change that.

"Sounds very reasonable," Bellino said. "Your mother makes quite the picnic lunch. I remember many a times when she would make us a picnic to take to the park. You and your brothers loved it."

Frank grinned. "Yes, it was fun."

I smacked Frank on the arm since I couldn't get him in the gut with my elbow. "Then why did you argue with me about it?"

"Because I'm an idiota."