I Like Him Too

**ELENA'S POV**

‘Me? Follow him to a mafia meeting?’ I asked myself. ‘Has he finally gone mad?’

I have never been involved in the mafia business, especially since Alessandro was dedicated to making me miserable and now, with Rio in tow, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

“What would you like to have for dinner, ma'am?” Santiago asked me as soon as I walked into the dining room.

“Serve me his head.” I responded dryly, pointing behind me at Alessandro. “I'm in the mood for a taste of it.”

The shock on Santiago's face was... absolutely delicious.

~~~

The next morning, I woke up to see that Rio wasn't with me in his bed.

“Rio?” I called out in panic, jumping out of bed faster than I could think as I looked around the room.

“Rio?!” I dashed out of the bedroom barefoot, through the hall and out into the corridor, my pulse drumming fiercely in my ears.

A maid that was climbing up the stairs caught sight of my wild expression and froze mid-curtsy.

“Where is my son?” I snapped, not caring to control my anger.

Her shocked silence only served to upset me more and so I walked past her and ran down the stairs.

“Santiago!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Santiago!!”

“Signorina.”

I saw Santiago walk in from the hallway leading to the back garden.

“Where is Rio?” I questioned.

“Master Rosario is perfectly fine. Don is with him in the back garden.”

I was relieved to know Rio was fine but that relief was quickly replaced by irritation and so I stormed down the hallway and towards the garden's ivy covered stone archway.

I very nearly collided with one of the guards stationed by the veranda who simply opened the wrought-iron gate without question.

As soon as I walked through the gates, a little further in, just beneath a flowering pergola in the dappled shade, I saw the two men in my life that were responsible for my panic.

Alessandro sat on the edge of a marble bench, dressed in black slacks and a crisp black open-collar shirt.

Rio was nestled on his lap, holding a small silver spoon firmly in his tiny hand as Alessandro guided it clumsily toward his little mouth.

‘Are my eyes playing tricks on me?’ I blinked. Thrice.

Because Alessandro was… smiling.

Lord in heaven, his smile was utterly captivating. I have never seen him smile like this.

This wasn't his usual sharp, arrogant smirk. Nor was it the cruel, smug grin he wore in meetings and threats.

This one was quiet. The unaware type that is genuine. It was a curve of softness that reached his eyes, lighting it up in ways I never knew existed.

Rio laughed—his signature bright, unguarded giggle that always made my chest do a little jiggle and Alessandro murmured something under his breath, before wiping a smudge of porridge from Rio’s cheek with his sleeve. Still smiling.

‘He's clearly not the type to wait for a napkin, huh?’ I muttered to myself as I just stared.

His other hand supported Rio’s back like it was the most natural thing in the world. And maybe, it was.

There was awkwardness, yes—he held the spoon too tightly as he fumbled with the baby wipes on the stone table beside him—but there was something else, too.

Genuine affection.

Rio babbled as he pointed at the plate of porridge and Alessandro just laughed slowly before he muttered, “Sei un disastro—like me, huh?”

I swallowed hard, not sure of what I was currently feeling.

A part of me felt guilty for not noticing that Rio had left my side. Another part of me felt upset for assuming the worst of Alessandro.

Yet, another part of me felt angry that Rio allowed Sandro to carry him away from me, without so much as a scream.

There was still that part of me that was melting with affection as I watched the two males. Alessandro's smile was doing something dangerous to me.

‘What is wrong with me?’ I groaned into my hands that I brushed over my face.

I didn’t know what to do, whether to interrupt or stay frozen, just watching them.

But Rio turned just then, spotting me.

“Mama!”

Alessandro looked up, startled. And when his eyes met mine, the smile faltered before it disappeared completely.

Typical.

“Elena,” he said simply. “He woke up early. I didn’t want to wake you.”

I took a shaky breath in and walked up to them, my heart still in disarray.

‘Get it together, girl.’

“He’s fed now,” Alessandro added, before glancing down at the now half-empty bowl on the bench. “Though I think most of it’s on me.”

I managed a small nod, torn between a dozen emotions and none of them were safe to name. I didn't even trust myself to speak just yet.

Rio reached for me with porridge-smeared fingers, and Alessandro helped him shift into my arms with practiced ease.

‘You think he's been taking fatherhood classes?’ My brain was running everywhere.

“He likes you,” I murmured before I could stop myself, as I stared at Alessandro.

Alessandro met my eyes again.

“I like him too.”

For a heartbeat, everything went still and it felt perfect.

The breeze stirred the roses. Rio's warm weight settled against my chest. Alessandro’s eyes held mine, like it was natural, although something quiet and unguarded flickered in their depths.

‘He has such beautiful eyes.’ I thought, staring at his honey brown irises.

Then—

Click. Click. Click.