“Rita, is this for another boyfriend?” Chloe covers her mouth. “What happened to Mad Max?”
The older lady, Rita, blows air between her lips. “There’s old and there’sold. And that man was old. I’ve upgraded to a younger model.” She covers her mouth with a hand and stage-whispers, “He’s twenty-two years younger.”
Chloe cackles and then points to me. “Rita, have you met Eden yet?”
Rita swivels on her heel and gives me her full attention. Her sharp eyes take me in, and she points a finger at me. “I don’t know you, doll.” She sticks out her hand. “I’d remember a beautiful face like that. And wow, you’re tall.”
I take her hand in mine and shake it lightly. “Nice to meet you,” I say.
Chloe explains that I’m dating Vito, and before she can get out another word, Rita gasps. “Well, of course. No wonder I haven’t met you. Vito knows better than to bring a beautiful woman around his brother. Have you met Benito yet?”
I nod. “I have, many times. I see him when he stops by the Sunday family dinners.”
Rita looks pissed. “So, you’re telling me Vito has brought you to family dinners but not to Benito’s restaurant.”
“Rita is the hostess at Benito’s place,” Chloe explains.
I grin. That explains so much. Every woman over fifty connected to the Bianchis must be cut from the same cloth—colorful, loud, and loving.
Rita motions for me to bend closer, and I do. “Come see me over lunch service. I’ll make sure you get the best seat in the house.”
“It’s kid-friendly,” Chloe adds. Then she tells Rita, “Eden has a daughter. She’s about the same age at Ethan.”
Rita practically crows. “Other people’s children are my favorite kind. Bring the little one,” she says, then she’s back to business. “I’m looking for something maybe romantic. A little naughty would be good, very naughty even better. What do you have?” she asks.
Chloe winks at me and leads Rita toward the back of the store just as the front door opens, and a very familiar face makes my heart jump.
“What the heck are you doing here?” I rush through the store to give him a huge hug.
He kisses me lightly on the lips. “Hey, gorgeous. I think the real question is, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to work today?”
Crap.
“Well,” I say. “Yeah. I mean, I was at work. I think we should maybe talk about it at home.”
Vito’s gorgeous face looks grim. “Something happen? Did Michelle do something?” He motions around the store. “You done here? You want to take a walk?”
I nod. “Yeah, I paid for my stuff. Let me grab my book.” Vito takes my coffee cup, while I slip Junie’s book into my purse. “You want the last bite?” I ask, offering him the very tiny bit of peanut butter crisp that’s left.
“That’s how I know you love me,” he says, pointing to his open mouth.
I feed him the last bite and toss the paper wrapper into the trash bin behind the counter. “Should we say bye to Chloe?” I ask.
He cups his mouth and shouts, “Bye, Chloe. We got to run.”
I laugh and hear a soft, “Bye, guys,” echo from the back of the store.
Outside, we hold hands, lacing our fingers together. We stroll down Main Street past the storefronts, some open, some closed. The Body Shop, where Gracie works, is dark. She’ll be here in an hour or so to open. It’s wild to me that a place I’d never even visited six months ago is so familiar.
Star Falls has been close to perfect since the moment I drove into town, and it’s only gotten better.
Most of it, at least.
I tighten my grip on Vito’s hand and slow my steps a little. “Maybe we should talk about this at home. I…” I don’t know where to start. I didn’t even think about how Vito would react to what happened today.
“Babe.” He stops completely in the middle of the sidewalk, stepping aside with a grin to let the people walking behind us pass. Once we’re alone, he cups my face. “We can go home, but you’ve got me worried as fuck. What happened?”
“It’s nothing bad,” I say.
