Chapter 37 - The trip

Troy's POV

"Daddy, please." Alec looked at me with puppy eyes.

Suddenly, Amber woke up and started crying, interrupting us.

"Your laugh woke her up; so you will smooth her." Sienna stated in a bossy tone, looking at Romeo.

"Fine." He sighed as he stood up and approached his daughter. "My princess, did you miss your charming, handsome father?" Romeo cooed Amber, grinning arrogantly as he took her in his arms.

"So humble as well!" I commented, rolling my eyes as I straightened and sat down beside Rose. Romeo gave me a dirty look while rocking his daughter gently.

"What do you think? Our son wants a baby sister." I whispered in Rose's ear, smirking while the others were busy with Amber.

"Troy!" She exclaimed, blushing, and gave me a dirty look. I grinned in amusement.

After spending some time at Sienna's, we left. I was going to drop Alec and Rose off the mansion and go to my penthouse.

"Will you come with us to Rome?" Alec asked, sitting on his car seat while I was driving the car.

"Are you going to Rome?" I mumbled, stunned, looking at him in the rear-view window, and turned my gaze from my son to Rose. She bit her lower lip, averting her gaze.

"Yes. Mommy told me we are going to celebrate my birthday there." Alec stated in excitement.

I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip around the steering wheel.

"When were you planning to tell me, Rose?" I asked between gritted teeth, trying to control myself as much as possible.

"Umm... I didn't have an opportunity to tell you. I need to discuss the new collection with my boss. Because of it, Ed.... Eduardo came here to replace me while I will be in Rome." Rose replied.

"How long will you stay there?" I asked and heaved a sigh, shaking my head.

"I don't know. A week or more." She shrugged her shoulders.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance and checked my son in the rear-view mirror; he was playing with his plane.

"Fine. We will take my jet." I informed firmly while thinking how I would manage my work in the company.

"What?" She asked, puzzled.

"I will go with you. I don't want to stay away from my son. Especially, I don't want to miss his birthday again." I stated as sadness crossed my features.

"But your company?" She asked and bit her lower lip.

"Dad will handle the meetings I have to attend, and I will manage the other things from Rome. So there will be no problem." She nodded, giving me a slight smile.

Rose's POV

I sighed, ruffling my hair as I finished my sketch. I rubbed my neck and looked at Troy who was working on the laptop. He looked so sexy with a concentrated expression on his face.

We were flying in his private jet. An hour later, we were about to land in Rome.

I leaned back against my seat while watching him. Troy looked different when he was working, more confident, serious and almost intimidating; I had never seen him while he was working before.

Troy was rubbing his chin while his focus was on his laptop. Then he breathed deeply, closing the lid of his laptop, and looked at me, catching me off guard. Troy gave me a boyish smile as he saw I was watching him.

I bit my lower lip as I averted my gaze and mumbled. "I will check Alec." I stood up without letting him say anything and went towards the cabin to check my sleeping son.

I grabbed my bag and held Alec's hand after the jet had landed.

There was a black SUV waiting for us on the tarmac. Troy placed his hand on my back as he led us towards the car. The driver greeted us politely, opening the door for us.

After settling in our hotel suite, Troy and Alec went to buy gelato as Troy couldn't resist our little imp's puppy eyes as always.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. It must be my friend and coworker, Ann; I informed her about my arrival. It couldn't be Alec and Troy because they had left recently.

I placed my mug on the table and went to open the door. As soon as I opened the door, Ann greeted me happily, hugging me tightly. I smiled and hugged her back; I missed my friend so much.

"I missed you so much." Ann admitted as she pulled back. "Where is my prince?" She asked, smiling.

"I missed you too." I gave her a warm smile and ruffled my hair, pausing; I hadn't had an opportunity to tell her about Troy yet. "He went to buy gelato with his father." I informed, biting my lower lip nervously.

"What?!" She exclaimed as her eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, we bumped into each other in New York. So he found out about Alec. I will explain everything." I sighed and rubbed my neck.

"And Ed? He was so excited when Mrs. Ricci asked him to go to New York. Since you left, he has been asking about you. He really hoped that you gave him a chance again." She confessed, giving me a sympathetic look. "You looked so good together."

"Ann!" I frowned. "We..."

My eyes widened in shock as I saw Alec and Troy behind her. Alec rushed towards Ann happily while Troy was staring at me, clenching his fist. I bit my lower lip nervously; shit! He heard everything.

"Oh, hello, Hector. I am Ann, Rose's friend." Ann greeted Troy after hugging Alec, extending her hand towards him.

"Umm... His name isn't Hector." I mumbled. She gave me a questioning look.

"Nice to meet you, Ann. I am Troy Anderson." Troy intervened and shook her hand, giving her a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you." She murmured, giving him a slight smile, and turned towards me, giving me a puzzled look.

"I have to make a call. Excuse me." Troy said dryly and left, pulling out his phone of his pocket without waiting for me to say anything.

"What is going on, Rose?" Ann asked, confused.

I sighed, watching Troy leave, and nodded as I turned my gaze to Ann, closing the door. "I will explain."

I placed a mug of coffee in front of her on the table and sat down beside her while Alec was playing with his toys in the other room. I took a sip from my coffee and explained everything to her.

"Why haven't you told me before?" She asked, offended.

"I needed to digest it before. As you see, it is a difficult situation for me." I replied and sighed, depressed.

"Yeah. What will you do now? I think he still has feelings towards you. He looked so angry; probably, he heard what I told you about Ed." She grinned. I gave her a dirty look. "Any attempt? Any kisses or more?" She asked, giving me a mischievous smirk.

I bit my lower lip without saying anything as I felt my cheeks flushed. When I told her about Troy, I didn't say that he kissed me.

"Oh my... Spill the beans now! I want juicy details too." She stated in excitement.

"No, we just kissed." I clarified.

"Oh. But if his kisses make your cheeks blush this much, I can imagine the rest." She winked at me and giggled.

"Ann!" I warned her.

"What did his family say about this? Did he tell them? Or they don't know like yours." She asked in curiosity.

"Umm... He told his siblings and father. I haven't seen his father after his confession, but his siblings were nice towards me. Liam and I were close before it too, but his sister, Sienna also treated me good." I informed.

"Liam? You know his brother?" She asked, confused.

"You know him too. Liam Anderson." I explained.

"The freaking Anderson! Oh my goodness! I didn't think he was the Anderson we know. I know Liam has an older brother, but I have never seen him in the magazines before. I guess he isn't as wild as Liam." She commented in awe and looked at me, her mouth agape. "So he is Serena Anderson's son! Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed in surprise. "You are the mother of Serena's grandson." She added, amazed.

"His surname doesn't matter." I stated firmly.

"Of course, it doesn't matter, but you cannot deny your mother-in-law is one of the most famous designers in the world. Moreover, one of your favorite designers." She commented, smiling, and winked at me playfully. "But I am offended. You didn't tell me the interesting part." She frowned.