Acts of Redemption by Eleanor Aldrick

Storming into the kitchen, I see Titus peer up from his phone. “Don’t give me that look.”

“Who knew that when I offered to bring the twins and Sylvie, I’d get dinner and a show.” He sucks in his lips, fighting the smile that’s visible despite his efforts.

I shoot him a glare that would make a lesser man cower. Apparently, Titus has a death wish.

“Oh, come on. You can’t blame me for poking some fun. I called it from day one. The way you looked at her, like she hung the moon... it was only a matter of time before you two were playing hide the salami.”

“Shut your mouth before I make you. She’s a married woman and we are doing no such thing.” I bury my face into the takeout bags that arrived while I was busy with Charlotte.

“Oh, so those groans I heard were a figment of my imagination. Good to know I call out your name while imagining a good ol romp in the sheets.”

I toss a breadstick at Titus’ head, but of course he catches it. Bastard’s reflexes are almost as good as mine. Almost.

“Food fight!” My two little terrors run into the kitchen and dive into the bags of food.

“No food fight tonight, boys.” I muss their hair before grabbing the bags and bringing them to the table. “Come sit. I ordered your favorites.”

“Yes! Did you get the tiramisu?” Max licks his lips in anticipation. That boy definitely got my sweet tooth.

“You know it, little man.” I pull the boxes containing their spaghetti and meatballs, placing one in front of each of them. “But no dessert before dinner, so eat up.”

Amidst the grumbling, I hear a gasp. Looking up, I see a very flushed Charlotte, her gaze falling on Titus.

“Hello Titus. I didn’t know you were here. Is everything okay?” She’s flustered, and it’s so damn adorable.

“Yes, I’ve been here a while.” He smirks and I kick him under the table. “Oof. Damn Aiden, you wearing those steel tipped boots again?”

At his words, Charlotte’s face visibly pales and she stumbles forward.

Bolting out of my chair, I’m at her side in two seconds flat. “Are you okay? You should probably sit and eat something. It’s been an intense twenty-four hours.”

“She can sit next to us!” Matt belts out, scooching his brother over to make room for Charlotte. I guess all Moretti men have a soft spot for this brunette beauty.

“What, am I chopped liver now?” Nanny Silvie walks into the kitchen, teasing the boys like she always does.

“We still love you, miss Sylvie. But miss Charlotte is special.”

Bless our nanny, she doesn’t take offense at my boy’s words, she simply smiles and pats him on the head. “I suppose she is, isn’t she?” As if under attack, she throws me a knowing smirk and I can’t help but feel that the universe is conspiring to dissolve what little will power I have left.

I already feel like a piece of shit for doing what I did with Charlotte, but seeing her on the floor like that—something in me just snapped.

In that moment, I wanted to be her sole source of pleasure. That’s right. I was jealous of her own damn hand. That’s a new low for me.

Never have I desired a woman so much that I was jealous of her own appendages.

“It smells so good in here. Can I help with anything?” Charlotte takes a seat between both boys. Smart woman. The way those two are looking at her, I wouldn’t put it past them to fight over who she sat next to.

“It‘s Renzetti’s dear. The best Italian food in the whole of DFW.” Sylvie serves Charlotte a helping of the lasagna, some salad and of course the bread—which happens to be my favorite.

Renzetti’s is owned by the infamous Renzetti Famiglia based out of New York. They are the real deal, and their food is no different.

“Well, it smells absolutely divine.” She takes the bread stick and puts it in her mouth, and I can’t help it, my fucking cock twitches.

“Stare any harder and I might accuse you of having a food fetish.” Titus whispers behind his drink.

I give him a glance and he makes a motion with his hand as if he were zipping his mouth. Good. I don’t need to worry about his childish jokes upsetting Charlotte. She doesn’t need anymore distress in her life and knowing the type of humor Titus enjoys, there’s no doubt it would somehow offend her.

“So dear, tell me about yourself?” Sylvie looks at Charlotte, curiosity peppering her normally placid expression.

“Nothing much to say, really. I’m just your typical southern belle. Born and raised in Dallas, attended college here, and—” She stabs at her salad, whatever else she was going to say dies on her lips. “Anyway, my family lives here so I guess it’s a good thing I do too.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. It must be nice to be so close to your family. My daughter lives in the UK. I try to visit when I can, but being so far away is hard on us both. Especially now that she’s expecting.”

My heart clenches, and I know it’s only a matter of time before Nanny Sylvie leaves us to care for her own daughter. I know we’ll all miss her.

“Congratulations on the new grand baby! That is so exciting, to have little ones in the family.”

Sylvie glances my way before asking Charlotte her next question, “What about you, dear? Would you like to have a family of your own?”

Charlotte’s cheeks flush, but she answers as if unfazed, “Yes. I’d love a family of my own. Unfortunately, I’m not currently at a place in my life where that will be happening any time soon.” She lets out a scoff. “No, my sister is much closer to that milestone in her life. Speaking of which, I don’t have a phone with me. Is it possible to borrow your phone, Aiden? I’d like to let her know I’m no longer living in Highland Park.”

I clear my throat before answering, knowing I’ll probably be met with some resistance. “About that, I don’t think it’s in your best interest to talk to anyone outside of our team right now. At least until you’ve talked to your lawyer.”

As the realization of my words hits her, she lets her fork fall to the table, its metal grip clanking with the plate. “I’m sorry, but that sounds an awful lot like control to me and I didn’t just escape the grasp of one man’s hold to fall into that of another’s.” Looking around the table, she realizes she’s had an emotional outburst in front of other people, and knowing my principessa perfetta, that’s not something she allows herself to do. Ever. She pushes away from the table, the legs of the chair scraping against the hardwood floors. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m not feeling very hungry. Boys, I promise we’ll spend more time together tomorrow morning.”

Oh no, she doesn’t. If she thinks she can make a statement like that and then simply walk away, she has another thing coming. Getting up from my chair I tell Sylvie I’ll be right back. With a smile and a wink, she nods in agreement.

It’s time to bring my principessa down from that mountain of fury she’s on.

Charlotte

The audacity of that man! As if he hasn’t been privy to all of the torture I’ve endured with Preston. Where does he get off thinking that he can order me around and take my phone privileges away like I’m some teenager?

I go to slam the door, but thick fingers gripping the edge of the door stop me.

“Not so fast, principessa. Our conversation isn’t over.”

I lick my lips as the vein in his forearm beckons my eyes. I don’t know what it is about him, but even his forearms are sexy to me. All that power... focus, Charlotte, you’re supposed to be mad at him.

“Like what you see, mia principessa piccolina?” His brow lifts and his lips curl upward into a sly smile.

“No. I was just looking at your damn hand, trying to control me yet again. Don’t think that with your sexy smirk you can make me forget what you’ve done.”

“So you think my smirk is sexy?” I let out a breath of frustration as he slowly backs me into the room, closing the door behind him. “Okay, okay. Let’s talk about it. What exactly upset you? I hope you know that everything I’m doing is to keep you safe.”

Sitting on the bed, I give in to my anger, letting him have every single thought raging in my head. “You want to know what’s my problem? I’ll tell you what’s my problem. For as long as I can remember, there’s always been someone trying to control everything I do. The clothes I wear, the music I listen to, the books I read, the people I associate with, the schools I’ve gone to, and yes, even the man I married. No more! I’ve had enough! From now on I want to live for me and do only the things I want, be with whoever I want, and most certainly talk to whoever I want. So, there. I will not let you control me and if you try to do it, you’re just as bad as Preston and I’ll have to leave.”

Before I know what I’m doing, I’m up walking toward the small bag of clothing Aiden brought me. In my head, I’m getting what little belongings I have and high tailing it out of here. Apparently, Aiden has other plans.

Walking behind me, Aiden slides both of his hands down either side of my waist and gently brings my back to his chest. “Shhh, piccolina. There’s no need to get all flustered. Like I was saying, I’m just trying to keep you safe, not control you. There’s a difference. How about I tell you why I think it can impair your safety and you can tell me if you still think I’m acting against your best interest, hm?”

Damn him and his being reasonable. Melting into his back, I slowly nod. He turns us so he’s sitting on the chair and lowers me onto his lap.

“Let’s look at the facts. There’s no disputing that Preston is a very powerful man. He has influence over many, and we don’t know how far that reach extends. One innocent call to your sister where you inadvertently release a bit of information that can clue him in as to where you are and it can bring him to our very doorstop.” I go to speak, but he gently puts his thumb on my mouth, softly stroking the sensitive skin back and forth. “Hold on, I know what you’re probably going to say. ‘But my sister won't tell anyone anything about our conversation.’ That may be true, but like I said before, Preston has influence. Who’s to say that he hasn’t tapped your sister’s phone? For all we know, he’d be listening in and something so innocent can quickly spiral into something dark and dangerous.”

My body shivers in his arms, and he notices, bringing me closer to his chest. “Okay, that makes sense. But I can’t hold off on talking to my own sister forever. She’ll likely start to worry. I know our relationship doesn’t seem like it’s all that great, but I know she loves me. In her own way, at least.”

“I’m not asking that you cut off communication indefinitely—just until we talk to your lawyer. He will likely put things in place so we’d at least have legal recourse if Preston tried anything.”

“Okay.” I nibble on my lower lip, knowing I need to apologize but not wanting to. Let’s just say it’s not where my strength lies. “I’m sorry I compared you to Preston. You two are very different men and comparing you to each other is like comparing apples to oranges.”

“There’s no need to apologize. You’ve just escaped from a very traumatizing situation. It’s no wonder that my actions made you react the way you did. It was my fault, I should have approached the subject with a little more tact.”

I don’t think he was tactless at all, but the fact that he’s willing to bear the burden for some of the blame speaks volumes.

No, this man is very different. Very different, indeed.