The Italian's Baby

CHAPTER 4

Lilianna woke up to her phone ringing and she picked it up before it could ring any longer and wake up Lia.

"Hello." She groaned out, sleep still in her.

"Good morning, Lilianna its Anna! I'm sorry to disturb you, but a customer has made a large request of books and frankly we don't have of that collection and even if we did." The manger for Aria said,

"Ok, umm. I'm on my way, just give me half an hour." She said, getting out of bed and walked to the bathroom.

"Ok, I'll try to help the customer the best I can." Annie said,

Lilianna hung up and brushed her teeth.

Afterwards, she made sure to shower was cold to wake herself up.

Once she was done, she dried herself and quickly pulled on her underwear.

She pulled on a peach skirt, a cream shirt that had rows of fabric on it, a matching peach suit jacket, and ballerina shoes.

She quickly brushed her curls leaving a piece on either side and behind. She applied on pale pink lipstick and black mascara.

She checked Lia's diaper bag to make sure everything was in it. She debated on waking Lia up or letting her sleep and she chose to let her sleep.

Lilianna slowly picked Lia up and sat her in the carrier.

She draped a blanket over Lia's small body and walked out the room with her diaper bag on her shoulder with her purse.

Lilianna didn't stop for breakfast, deciding to just drink coffee at the cafe.

She locked the front door and made her way to the car.

Once they were both buckled up, Lilianna backed out her driveway and drove a bit above the speed limit to work.

She didn't rush too much once she parked in her spot and got out the car with Lia and our stuff.

Anna was at the door and she helped her with the diaper bag and holding the door open for Lilianna.

"Good morning, Anna." Lilianna said and breathed in the strong smell of brewing coffee.

"Good morning Ms. Guzman. The customer is waiting in your office if you don't mind." Annie said,

"Ok, thank you. Umm, do you mind watching Lia for me, I didn't get a chance to dress her since she was sleeping, and I didn't want to wake her." Lilianna asked and Annie happily took her.

Lilianna walked to her office and opened the door to see a male figure standing by her window that overviewed some buildings and city streets.

"Good morning sir. How may I assist you this morning?" Lilianna asked, closing her office door.

Lilianna's breath caught in her throat when the man turned around.

His intense emerald green eyes met hers. Strands of slick black hair fell in front of his eyes. His figure was tall, he could easily tower over me. Lilianna could clearly see packs of muscle underneath his navy-blue suit. If she looked closely, she could see the start of a tattoo at the collar of his shirt.

"Good morning, you must be the owner. My name is Nicoli Montez." He said and she heard specks of Italian in his deep voice.

"Yes." Lilianna replied and walked over to her desk all while feeling his hard eyes on her.

She gestured for him to sit down and he did.

"So what book did you want to order?" She asked, resting her hands on top of the desk and leaned in.

"My nephew's birthday is coming soon in a month or so and he always requests for the strangest of things. I have visited many bookstores and they either didn't or couldn't get the collection or they wouldn't give me service for many... Reasons. I'm hoping you're not like the rest ignorant people in this world." He explained,

"I can assure you Mr. Montez that I won't decline you service for any type of reason and I will try my hardest to find that collection for you." She reassured him with a generous smile.

"Thank you. Now my nephew wants all the book collection of Melissa Del La Cruz. Not the 'Disney bullshit' as my sister put it, but the Blue Blood series." He explained

Lilianna laughed, knowing. The Blue Blood series were truly exceptional books by that author but didn't get enough fame like the new Disney books she's been writing. There was only one collection in the bookstore, but not for sale to the public for the very reason that there weren't many sales of the books.

"Well, I can get them for you. I have a collection of them here, but they aren't for sale, so I'll have to look at some publishing companies that sell them." She explained,

"Fine with me as long as you get the book." He said,

"Ok, if you can just give me your information so that I may contact you when I get them." She said and handed him a piece of paper.

He wrote down his number and name on it before handing it back to her.

"Is that all or were you yourself looking for something?" Lilianna asked,

"No that is all. I should get going." He said, standing up and she followed in suit.

"Ok, it was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Montez." She said, stretching her hand out to shake.

He nodded his head and he shook her hand firmly.

They both walked out of her office and Lilianna walked over to Anna who was trying to get a crying Lia to stop crying by making funny faces, but it only made her cry more.

"I'm so sorry Lilianna. I didn't want to disturb you, so I tried to quiet her on my own." Anna said and she nodded in understanding as she took Lia.

"Shh, my little baby. Mommy's here." Lilianna cooed at her as she rocked her back and forth. The word 'Mommy' still felt foreign in her mouth, making her shake her head.

Lilianna felt a large presence walk up behind her and she turned around to see Mr. Montez staring at Lia.

Her cries soon quieted down to hiccups.

"I'm sorry Mr.-" She started, but he interrupted her.

"Are you her mother?" He asked between gritted teeth.

"Yes, I am." Lilianna said and his soul burning eyes snapped to hers.

Mr. Montez calmed himself down and looked at her with softer eyes.

"Can I hold her?" He asked,

Lilianna debated on whether to say no, but she slowly extended her arms and he took Lia slowly from her arms.

"Mia bella figlia, ho trovato voi." He said in Italian. When he spoke Italian, he sounded more fluent.

"Her name is Lia. I had officially adopted her yesterday." Lilianna stated, smiling at her.

She was chewing on her fist and staring up at Mr. Montez.

"Non masticare sulla vostra mano il mio bambino. è cattivo." He said, scolding at her and removed her hand from her mouth.

"What are you saying?" Lilianna asked cautiously,

"I said not to chew on her hand it is bad." He translated,

Lilianna stared at him and extending her arms out for when he was handing her back.

"She is a beautiful baby. What happened to her umm, parents?" He asked,

"They were in a car accident. They nearly hit me a few nights ago. I saved her from the car, but I wasn't fast enough to save the man and woman." Lilianna explained,

"Why were you too late?" He asked,

"Well, the car was on fire and when I was going back to help them the car blew up. There was a case, but no one came to identify the body and there weren't any family members to claim the baby, so I adopted her." She said,

"Sad to hear that." He said, but something in his tone told her that he wasn't.

"I should get going." He said and she nodded her head.

He momentarily rested his hand on Lia's forehead before walking out.

Just when he walked out, Seriana walked in.

"Seriana!" Lilianna yelled happily at her but couldn't wave because she had Lia in her arms.

"Liliana!" She screamed and ran over to her.

"Oh, this must be Lia! She's beautiful." She said, looking at Lia.

"Can I hold her?" She asked with excited eyes and Lilianna didn't hesitate to give her Lia.

They both sat down at a table and Lilianna watched and laughed as Seriana made funny faces at Lia and Lia gave her sour looks.

"I'm so glad you're back." Lilianna said, smiling at Seriana and she smiled back.

Her long dirty blonde hair was up in a bun and her brown eyes looked bright. Her skin looked tan considering she was in Spain.

"Me too. I have yet to see my husband and kids." She said,

"Dan is at work and the kids are at school." She clarified, seeing Lilianna's confused face.

Seriana handed Lia back and watched as her longtime friend sat the baby in the carrier.

Lilianna was like a sister to Seriana and she loved her to no end. Lilianna was family and would always be considered a William.

"Umm, were you talking to that man that just walked out when I walked in?" Seriana asked, remembering the man she saw walk out.

"Yeah, he was making an order for a book and I let him hold Lia." Lilianna said, giving Lia a toy.

Lilianna looked up to see Seriana with a serious and she looked up at her friend in concern.

"What's wrong?" Lilianna asked confused,

"Promise me that when you finish his order, you'll never talk to him and never let him touch or look at Lia." Seriana said, looking at her gullible friend.

"Why?" Lilianna asked seriously confused,

"You don't know him! Who am I kidding, of course you don’t? Do you remember that case I worked where a man killed a night club owner and his wife?" Seriana said,

Lilianna nodded her head and Seriana ran her hand through her hair on frustration.

"That's the man!" She said,

Lilianna gaped at her and realization hit her like a wrecking ball.