In fact, all of my sisters and I lived here. It was typical in our culture for adults to live with their parents longer than usual. Some of my old Army buddies had been shocked that I had willingly moved back in.
It was in moments like these that I was happy to be here.
Livia and Luna were standing in the corner, whispering to each other while casting glances towards Bec. Aria was sittingon the couch next to Mateo, while Bee and my mom essentially questioned Bec, playing the good cop, bad cop routine.
The view of my family warmed my heart, but just a glance at Bec wiped any thoughts of them out of my mind.
She was in a floor-length black satin gown with matching gloves that reached her upper arm. Her dark hair fell in waves down her back, and her lips were painted in her signature red.
Bec wasn’t just beautiful; she was as stunning as a sunset over the Caribbean… eclipsing all the beauty around her.
When her eyes met mine, there was a heat I wasn’t expecting. I guess she liked what she saw, too.
“Rome.”
“Rebecca.”
She smirked. “Where ever is your tie?”
I closed the space between us in a few large strides. While her heels were tall, she was still a head shorter than me. “Thought I looked better without it. As for you…” I took her gloved hand in my own and kissed her knuckles softly, “You,Bec, are breathtaking.”
She rolled her eyes before pushing my shoulder away. “You, Rome, are incorrigible. Ready to go?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words were taken away as my mom took my face in her hands and started rambling in Italian.
“Ragazzo mio, guarda come sei cresciuto. Devi trattare bene il tuo capo; forse non resterà finto per troppo tempo.”
My boy, look how you've grown. You have to treat your boss well; maybe it won't be fake for too long.
Her voice was laced with pride, even if I could only make out about half of her words, because she spoke too quickly. I knew they were only filled with love.
“Mom,” I smiled while peeling her off of me. “I have to go, which means you need to let me go.”
I kissed her on the cheek before handing her off to Mateo, who luckily was able to indulge in her random bouts of Italian. Her English was impeccable, but with Italian being her first language, it was bound to slip out from time to time.
I guided Bec out of the house and towards the waiting town car. While I would have loved to stay and chat with my family, we were on a tight timetable. I helped Bec into the car before following behind.
We had spent hours in this car together, and it usually consisted of her rolling her eyes while I pressed her buttons. It was often the best part of my day.
As the car pulled away, I stole a final glance at my parents’ house and barked out a laugh at the sight of all five of my sisters standing on the front steps waving us away. They were treating this night like I was going to prom or something.
I couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm and turned to face Bec, who was staring at my family with what looked to be envy, which couldn’t have been right. Bec had enough money and influence to have anything she wanted, or do anything she wanted. How could she be envious of the small brownstone that housed my family?
The house could fit into her apartment, maybe even twice. The eight of us were constantly in each other's way, practically tripping over each other. Could she be envious of that?
I cleared my throat, trying to gain her attention as we pulled away. “How did telling your brother about this whole relationship thing go? I have a feeling Will was less than pleased. Especially because, well… it’s me.”
Will had never been my biggest fan, though it was entirely my fault. When I worked in Oregon, I took every opportunity to flirt with his now wife, for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of him. I couldn’t even imagine how angry he would be that I was in a relationship… well, afakerelationship… with his baby sister.
Bec smiled softly, “He’s actually completely fine with it. Said there wasn’t a better guy than you to do this with.”
“Seriously?” I asked incredulously.
Bec laughed, “No, he’s not happy. But not because of you, because of the entire situation. I also haven’t gotten a moment to thank you for doing this.”
I stared at my companion in shock. She seemed to be completely genuine, which was nearly unfathomable. Bec wasn’t thankful for me; she was usually pissed off at my existence.
“Are you still joking? You’re still joking, right?”
