The Carrero Solution (Carrero Book 3)

Jake, Sylvana, and Giovanni are locked in the sitting room with a lot of yelling and banging as I sit in the kitchen with Arrick and try not to self-implode. Sitting so tensely, my body aches with the effort, and I’m on high alert. It’s been only minutes since we left the dining room, and my nerves are completely done in.

“Here.” He hands me a mug of cocoa and slides into the chair beside me at the kitchen table with a supportive smile.

“Thanks.” I accept it gratefully, still picking at the plate of food he warmed for me, trying to ignore the noise echoing down the hall. All the house staff has retired for the night, and the place is eerily empty. Arrick’s girlfriend is either in his room or gone, so here he is, babysitting me at his brother’s request because Jake didn’t want me left alone to ponder everything.

“I guess I should say welcome to my crazy family.” He nods casually toward the direction of the noise, and I take a long slow breath. Blowing it out to try to bring some sense of calm to my chaotic inner body, so tired suddenly.

“Is this what it’s like? I never really had a real family.” I shrug and look down. “It was only my mother and me, and she’s not exactly going to win any awards for mom of the year.” I sigh a little in deflation.

“Sometimes it’s like this, especially when Jake and my dad go head to head. They seem to be able to get to each other in the worst way.” Arrick smiles and sips his mug of cocoa carefully. He has Giovanni’s grace and smooth, quiet confidence and authoritative quality when he’s sitting like this, contemplating things. Mature for his young age.

He looks more like Giovanni than Jake, yet somehow there is still enough of Sylvana in there for him to be attractive in a way not too dissimilar to Jake, as I used to think. It’s a little odd given his lighter hair and soft brown eyes, although sitting this close I can see he has a lot of green flecks through the color, giving them more of a hazel quality. The older he gets, the more I see tiny hints that when he fully grows out of his teen years, he may be more Jake Carrero-like than Giovanni Carrero.

“What was all that about with your dad?” I blink up at him with a face full of confusion, trying to work out the motive behind his father’s behavior. Giovanni is one person I’m never going to figure out.

“My dad hates Marissa. He always has. Blames her for Jake going off the rails when he was younger and screwing his head up, to the degree that he brought the family name shame for many years. My dad doesn’t trust her and loves nothing more than to get a dig in at every opportunity.” He watches me closely for a second and then smiles. “He called you Emma at dinner, did you notice?”

“What?” I glance up at him as he pulls that half-smile that Jake does, the way his eyes light up when he thinks he knows something you haven’t figured out yet, makes me well and truly confused. It makes me feel comfortable with Arrick because he’s remarkably like his brother when you stop and dissect him. Strong genes.

“My dad … He’s only ever referred to Marissa as Miss. Hartley doesn’t use her name at all. It’s kind of his thing. He called you Emma, so he likes you, he sees you as something permanent in Jake’s life, and if Jake hadn’t been so busy trying to control that crazy aggressive rage of his, then he would’ve noticed it too. It’s almost like dad’s giving his consent.” He winks at me and takes another drink.

“You’re telling me your dad gave his approval simultaneously, causing a massive fight?” I laugh at the ridiculousness of it, breaking the tension in my stomach with giggling.

“My dad never does anything without reason, Emma. He approved and tried eradicating your competition in one fell swoop to protect his son. I know what Jake thinks of him but believe it, or not his intentions were only for Jake. My dad doesn’t show affection the way we do. He’s a man from another time and lifestyle, back when men didn’t show love or affection openly.” He raises an eyebrow, and I take a moment to analyze this. I remember the mafia rumors a while back about the Carrero family, and I wonder if this is what Arrick means.

Does Giovanni still have ties to the mafia?

The thought is a little disconcerting, but it would explain the man’s terrifying demeanor, the quick sharp manipulation, and the way he keeps all his cards very close to his chest, so no one can ever read him.

“How does announcing a house and baby to Marissa get rid of her? She’s still carrying Jake’s kid. She’s still going to be connected to him for an eternity.” I scrutinize Arrick’s face with an expression of sheer disbelief.

“She’s refusing a DNA test despite my dad informing her that no proof means no relationship with the Carreros. He doesn’t believe this baby is Jake’s any more than I do. So

in a way, he was calling her out, showing her she has competition with a baby that really is Jake’s.” He focuses on me intensely, with a hint of a frown and a look of complete belief in what he’s saying.

“Why would she lie? She would obviously be found out eventually?” I sigh and push down the fatigue sweeping up my body. My fingertips pressed at my temples to try to dull the throbbing headache growing there. I think all the emotions of that little dinner scene are playing catch up, and I need to go lay down.

“Marissa has always been manipulative as hell; she used to play Ben and Jake off one another like crazy. She tried with Daniel too, but weirdly he’s the one guy who saw through her shit and kept Jake sane and clear from her for the longest time, so he could start moving on. The girl is twisted as hell.” Arrick shrugs, seemingly well versed in all that is Marissa, giving me more ground to not believe what she said about that night with Jake.

“It doesn’t mean she’s lying about that one night … You saw her, right? Baby bump! And even Jake remembers waking up in a bed with her.” I push my cocoa aside, unable to stomach anything more. I just want to lie down and stop talking about that stupid Demon Bitch. I want Jake to come to bed and hold me tight and forget tonight ever happened.

“I don’t know, Emma, it’s just that she’s refusing the DNA … She should want to prove it just to shove it in my dad’s face.”

“From what I’ve seen, she’s stubborn and difficult and only refuses because she can be stubborn and difficult.” Demon Bitch does not like being told what to do or ultimatums. The dealings Jake’s had with her so far have proven that she’s someone who digs in her heels and fights hard, even when it’s futile.

“That could be true too, I guess. Look … I didn’t say this before because Jake swore me to secrecy until my mom knew, but congratulations on the baby, Emma. I really mean it. I know you’re kinda freaked out over the whole thing but Jake’s crazy happy about this. He tells me everything, and from the day you found out, he’s been gushing about it non-stop. I know he fucked things up, and I’m glad you’re giving him a chance to put things right. You’re good for him in so many ways. I’ve never seen him this happy.”

He smiles and puts an arm around my shoulder, giving me a small awkward squeeze before pulling away again. Unlike his brother, Arrick isn’t as handy and touchy-feely as Jake. Every time I’ve seen him with girlfriends, he isn’t as publicly affectionate either. He’s more like Giovanni in a reserved, less emotional way.

“He’s good for me too … When he’s not fucking things up.” I smile softly, noticing for the first time that it doesn’t hurt quite as much to talk about this and mentioning the baby seems a little less scary. I don’t know when I stopped panicking about the baby and our future, I guess it’s been gradual, and my mind is now, hopefully, completely at peace with both. It feels good to realize it.

“You belong together, and every one of us is rooting for it. You have a bunch of Carrero family members talking of nothing else but when Jake is going to get his head out of his ass and get you walking down the aisle.”

I blush and look down at my hands.

“After tonight, I’m guessing sooner than you think.” I smile and can’t help but let it grow across my face with a sudden rush of certainty that I am doing the right thing.

“You finally said yes?” He grins at me, a show of enthusiasm and genuine joy.

“I did one better … I asked him to marry me, in an angry, loud way, in front of her.” I giggle naughtily and then appraise him genuinely. “Funny thing is, though, I meant it. Something snapped while listening to her, and I realized that he’s mine, for now, and forever, no matter what happens. Jake’s mine, he always will be, and there’s absolutely no reason for me to keep freaking out over all of this in my head anymore. Wasting time and holding back is only making us miserable.” I sigh and start picking at my nail varnish, still blushing at this outpouring of my inner emotions and thoughts. Especially with this almost stranger.

“You’re going to fit right in with this family, Emma Anderson! Or should I say Carrero … Emma Carrero has a nice ring to it.” Arrick has a beautiful smile when he’s happy. He has variations of smiles he throws around, like Jake, but this one here, boyish and genuine, is the prettiest. He has that whole sparkly white Hollywood teeth thing too.

“Yeah, it kinda does.” I giggle again and kiss Arrick on the cheek rather quickly and nervously. “I always wanted a sibling.” I smile at him and stand up rather purposefully. I look him over and evaluate my feelings. I’m not awkward around him, and I don’t recoil at his touch. Probably because he’s just another version of Jake. But I have a growing affection for him. Having never known what sibling love feels like, I can hazard a guess that it feels somewhat like this.

“You can tell my fiancée that I’ve gone to bed. His child is very tiring and having a head-on with his psychotic ex took it out of me.” I grin and throw him a little wave as I turn on my heel and head toward the stairs.

“I’m pretty sure when I interrupt them and tell them his wavering fiancée is teetering unsteadily up the grand stair all alone and overwhelmed with fatigue, he will be racing right along.” Arrick smiles wickedly, master of manipulating his brother, and I can’t help the little giggle that escapes my lips. Arrick is slowly becoming my second favorite Carrero.

I glance down at my stomach.

Okay, maybe my third!