As I stepinto our bedroom, I find Paisley sitting at the large dressing table to one side, fixing her makeup. Leaning against the doorframe, I watch her for a while. The ways she moves so gracefully, despite all her roughness, she’s a diamond. A true find.
She glances in the mirror right at me, her back straightening slightly. “Massimo, I didn’t hear you enter.”
I smile at her. “Too engrossed in that beautiful face of yours.” I walk forward, knowing that I need to tell her about my father before tonight. The problem is the moment I tell her I know it makes me vulnerable. It’s not something I’m used to being around anyone, not even my own family.
“Are you okay?” she asks, her brow furrowing.
I can’t understand why she keeps asking me if I’m okay ever since I found out about my father.
Am I that obvious?
“Not exactly.” I tilt my head and perch on the dressing table. “At the dinner tonight, my father is going to make an announcement.
“What kind of announcement?”
I swallow hard, running a hand through my hair. “He has stage three bowel cancer that has spread to his liver.”
Paisley’s face pales. “Oh... I’m sorry Massimo.” She shifts to face me. “When did you find out?”
“About his cancer?” I shake my head. “A couple of days ago, but he’s only just found out that it’s spread.”
Paisley swallows and nods. “At least they’ve caught it. Maybe they can save him.”
She sounds so hopeful, but I know from my father’s dejected mood earlier it’s not looking good.
“Maybe.” I clench my fists by my side. “He wants me to take a more active role and step-up while he’s trying to fight it.”
Paisley takes my hand, an oddly tender gesture considering she still tries to convince me on a daily basis that she hates me. “You’ll be fine, Massimo.”
An ache forms in my chest as I stare at our hands. “He’s just always been there, you know?”
Paisley shakes her head. “Unfortunately, I don’t know.”
My brow furrows as it dawns on me as, other than knowing she has a brother, I know very little about Paisley’s family or background. “No father?” I ask.
“No, he abandoned my brother, me, and my mom when we were little.” She shrugs as if it doesn’t affect her, but I see the hurt in her eyes. “I never met him.”
“And your mom?” I ask.
Her jaw clenches. “She overdosed when Rick was eight years old and I was six.”
I swallow hard, realizing that behind the beautiful, alluring girl I’d met, there’s a past. And by the sounds of it, a pretty shitty one. “Family?”
“No, we ended up in foster care, but luckily, together.” She sighs, glancing down at the table in front of her. “A lot of kids aren’t that lucky.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, unsure what else to say, learning how dark her past was. “That must have been terrible.”
“It was what we made of it. Rick and I stuck together and made it out only for...” She trails off as if thinking better of saying any more.
“Only for what?”
She looks at me with those dazzling emerald eyes. “Only for Rick to drag us right back down again by getting involved with the MC.” She shakes her head. “I was training to be a nurse and had to give it up to ‘support’ him.”
“A nurse, hey?” I arch a brow.
She hits me in the arm. “Whatever you’re are thinking, don’t.”
I smirk. “I’m thinking of you in a sexy nurse’s outfit tending to my every need.”
Her cheeks turn deep pink and she smiles for the first time since I bought up her family. “You are an asshole.”
“And you love it.” I kiss her lips softly, savoring the taste of her. “I’m sorry you had such a bad childhood.”
Her throat bobs as she swallows. “I’m sorry your dad has cancer.”
“At least I knew him. Your story puts it all into perspective.” I stand, feeling a little more positive than when I walked in here. “He will fight, like he always does. Hopefully, he will survive this.”
She smiles, but it’s a sad, wistful smile. “I hope so. Despite the fact he held a gun against me as we walked down the aisle, your dad doesn’t seem too bad.”
I chuckle at that and grab her hand, yanking her out of the seat and into me. “What would I do without you, Paisley?”
Her throat bobs and a look of confusion enters her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you are my rock, princess.”