Another nod.
“And it’s your father-in-law’s sister and her son?Your … wife’s cousin?”
His third nod.
“Does Guiseppe know?”
His nod was noncommittal this time.“He knows some.”
Blowing out a gradual breath, I scanned his face.Damn, he was handsome.And he just seemed to have gotten sexier with age too.Because, yeah, my journey down that rabbit hole revealed a lot of pictures of Tom in his younger years.And he was a looker then too.He had multiple brand deals over the years with various clothing companies, a razor brand, and a cologne.He walked the runway one year when an Italian designer got a bunch of footballers to be his models for a fashion show.And I ate up every picture with a big spoon, wide eyes and tingles all throughout my body.
Dropping his chin to his chest, he finally released my hand—which made me kind of sad—and scraped his fingers over his short stubble, the scratchy sound causing my nipples to tighten just a little.“I thought if I ignored it, they would just go away.Realized it was stupid.This is Guiseppe’s land.We spread Erin’s ashes down at the beach along with her parents’.Even if he doesn’t want to live here, I know he doesn’t want to give the land up.He asked me to fulfill Erin’s dream.To keep that part of his mother alive.”
“Let me speak with my cousin.Gabrielle is a lawyer, and while this might not be her area of expertise, she can certainly take a look at any paperwork they’ve sent you, and possibly refer you to a lawyer who handles this stuff.”
“Si.Okay.”The man looked defeated and drained, and all I wanted to do at that moment was pull him into my arms and hug him.
But I’d already overstepped enough by holding his hand for as long as I did, and while I didn’t think he minded, my conscience was rapidly catching up on the situation and reminding me just how far out of my comfort zone I had already stepped.
“Have you eaten anything today?”I asked.“Have you even gone into the house since I left?”
He didn’t have to say anything for me to figure out the answer.
Shaking my head, I pressed my lips together, then clucked my tongue in disapproval.“Tommaso Barone, you need to eat too.Not just the animals need breakfast, you know.”
His lips twitched, and a bit of a sparkle entered his eyes again.He even nodded, just a little.
As if she had bionic hearing, Portia came bursting through the dog door of the barn and around the vehicles, grunting.She clambered up the porch steps no problem and stood at our feet, grunting even more emphatically at us.
“Did she hear me say breakfast and come running?”I asked.
His smile grew even more, but only up one side of his mouth, and his lips remained closed.“She is a pig.What do you expect?”
“Self-restraint?”
That made him laugh.He opened the front door.“Come on,dolcezza.Let’s go share a banana.”
“Eat more than half a banana,” I called after him.
He gave me a wave, but didn’t turn around.Then the door closed, leaving me standing there on his porch, unsure where I stood with the sexy Italian, but determined to help him save his land and his wife’s legacy either way.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tommaso
“Isshegone?”Iasked Portia as I sat in the kitchen on the floor with my back against the island cupboards.I held the banana for my pig as she munched it greedily.
Portia didn’t respond; she just made louder chewing noises as she ignored my escalating anxiety and thought only about herself.
Seeing Danica again didn’t bring me anything but joy, and having her there when Vincent’s lawyer showed up, rattled me at first.Then her hand in mine calmed me.
I considered myself a rather mild-mannered person—except when someone as rude as that asshole stepped onto my property, spoke about my wife the way he did, and challenged the legitimacy of my son’s inheritance.Then, I saw red.
But Danica’s hand in mine, and having her there, kept me from doing something I’d ultimately regret.Until the lawyer left and we were still there on the porch—alone—and holding hands.She sent me off to eat, which I definitely needed to do, but having someone be concerned for me was such a foreign concept after all these years that my brain didn’t know how to react.So it freaked out.
And now I sat on the kitchen floor, doing everything I could to keep a full-on panic attack at bay.
Portia finished her banana and seemed to finally understand that I needed her.So she sat down beside me and leaned her head against my shoulder.I craned my neck and kissed her between the ears.
