He laughed, and I could have sworn the tender breeze was angels sighing. “It’s a Vespa.”
I ran my pointer finger along all the chrome. “Are you taking me for a ride?”
“Yeah.” He took the helmet from the handlebar and sat it on my head. “I’m also going to teach you how to drive it.”
“Noooo!”
He studied my face. “Noooo, as in,fuck no, I’m not driving that thing. Or…nooo! Let’s go!” He tried to make his voice sound like mine, but his voice was way too manly.
“The second one!” I hopped on the cute little bike and pretended to rev the engine with the handlebars. “VrooooVroom!” I started moving the bars back and forth, imagining whipping around roads and outrunning monsters.
After a second, when I realized Matteo was being quiet, I stopped and looked up at him. His thick eyebrows were drawn down, his lips pinched, and his arms were crossed.
“What?” I cracked up at the serious look on his face.
“I have a feeling I’m going to fucking regret this. If I do, Marciano is going to pay.”
“This was Marciano’s idea?”
He nodded. “I’m going to teach you how to drive, but I had a car in mind. Marciano thought this might be easier. It will help you learn how to ride a bike too.”
“I don’t think my mom knew how to ride a bike. She never bought me one, and I never asked for one.”
He touched my chin. “Swimming?”
“No.” I shook my head. “We went to the beach, but mom always said the sand was for people, the water for whatever lived in it.”
He smiled. “Might as well consider me and my siblings sharks. My old man used to be in the Coast Guard. He swam in the most dangerous waters in the world, and he taught us at a young age how to swim.”
“So cool!” I turned forward again, about to mess around some more. Get comfortable with the feel of it. But then the expansive view stopped me.
It was breathtaking. The rolling hills in all different shades of green. The bright wildflowers that seemed to make the earth pop with color. Even the bright sun in the sky. I tipped my head up to it, closing my eyes, and it felt like my skin was drinking it all in. I didn’t even have a window in the dungeon of Régine’s wicked castle, and this truly felt like heaven. Then a thought hit me. I looked at him, and this time, his gaze was soft as he stared at me.
Ava had said these men were all born with “bedroom eyes.” When I asked her what that meant, she said eyes that can bring you to the bedroom without even being close to one, and then make you melt into the sheets. That was exactly how he was looking at me. My entire body felt like it was turning into jelly.
I cleared my throat and got back to my thought. I blinked up at him, my voice almost breathless. “Are you going to be okay with sitting on the back of this thing? Or…will you walk next to me?”
“We have a tradition,” he said. “My great-grandfather and great-grandmother have a place in Positano, along the coast. When they would vacation there in the summer, there was a tradition. All the married men ride on the back of the Vespas, while the wives drive to a restaurant for dinner. It’s symbolic.”
“I love it!” I turned and held the handlebars even tighter. “We’re going to practice for that!” For the first time I noticed activity in the distance. Men. They were all over the property, some so far, they resembled ants. Actually, that was a good description of how they operated around this family. “Is that Mariano?” I squinted, pointing.
Matteo followed the line. “Yeah. He’s out riding.”
“He loves horses?” He was holding the reins, the gorgeous horse kicking up dust as they flew.
“We all ride, but he’s especially skilled.” He turned my head a little. “Marciano.”
“That’s a different kind of bike than this one.” Marciano was in the distance, kicking up dust too, but from rubber instead of hooves.
“He’s riding a dirt bike.” He turned my head in the opposite direction. “Maestro.”
“He’s just taking a leisurely walk.” I sighed and looked behind me. Saverio and Mia were playing with their twins, and when Saverio didn’t have a hand on one of them, it was on Mia’s swelling belly. “I feel like the more I watch, the more I get to know your family.” I turned back to Marciano and watched him on his horse. “He’s really flirty with most of the ladies, but I can tell there’s a deep romantic inside of him. And a story. He’s covering something.”
He stared at me for a second. “You’re curious.”
I thought about that for a second. “I guess? Wait. Nonno said you shouldn’t be so opaque about answers.Yes or no. It makes you seem weak when you can’t give a definitive answer, and aFausti isn’t weak. So, the answer is, no, I was never curious before. I couldn’t afford to be. And in general, I’m not a nosy person. I’m just interested because this is your family, and now, according to everyone around me, it’s mine too.”
“Fucking A.”
