My heart broke for him all over again.
Romeo watched him for a second before his eyes met mine. What I saw there surprised me. Tears ran down his face, and he shook his head, rising from the table and going in the water. Maybe to disguise them?
Juliette squeezed my shoulder. “Rocco always looks at Scarlett and Brando with longing,” she whispered. “Or he did, before you came along. It’s…so heartwarming to see that he hasn’t looked at them once. Only at you.” She sighed. “He’s not a machine formed to keep this family in line, but a living, breathing part of it, even if he’s still getting used tofeeling. He can be king, the head lion of this family, and still be the romantic man with his woman he’s always craved to be. Luca has found his way, and he’s an even more legendary leader because of it.” She squeezed again. “Keep doing what you’re doing, Ari. It’s working.”
When Rocco returned to the table, I held him so close, I hoped to melt into his bloodstream. He held me back the same way, like he was trying to do the same. The word “love” hadn’t been uttered between us, but it almost seemed…unnecessary.
One day, though, the word would be spoken, if for no other reason to free it from my chest and deliver it to his.
Maybe Rocco’s family had seen something new coming to life in him, but after that day, they all looked at me in a new light. I was being accepted into their fold, and since they meant a great deal to Rocco, they meant a great deal to me too. Besides, they were all found family. Nonna always grieved for the tight-knitted family she had left behind in Italy when she’d immigrated to America. She’d said it was one of the things she regretted most that I didn’t get to experience. After Nonno died, it was only the two of us, and especially during the holidays, I noticed how blue she could get, even if she tried to hide it for my sake.
There wasn’t a shortage of people in Rocco’s family, and outof all of them, Romeo seemed to enjoy organized get togethers the most. The day before the family was set to leave for the mainland, he had organized a football game—or soccer game. The men were all talking smack to each other, especially when Scarlett and Brando’s son, Mariano, joined the walk to the field. Mariano had been a pro football player for Italy.
The field was an open stretch of land on the island that had been reserved for the game. All the men played, but I wasn’t even sure why they bothered. None of them could stand losing, and it seemed like the game went on and on, and by the time it was finished, they were drenched in sweat and fuming.
I was fanning myself for a reason other than the heat.
Rocco looked hot,physically, and my body was responding to the way his had been moving. He was using his shirt to wipe his face.
Mari, who I had fallen in love with—she was kooky in the best frigging way—nudged me. “You know what will cool these men off in no time?”
“What?” I breathed, still staring at the equivalent of an Italian god in my eyes.
Rocco Piero Fausti.
She laughed. “The cold hose!”
Did we really want to cool them off? Yeah, I decided, because it would only redirect the heat.
Toward us.
There was a long hose connected to a building—maybe restrooms? Even though this was an island surrounded by water, the grass could get dry in spots where there were no shading trees. The massive hose was a precaution taken in case of a fire threat.
Mari hip-bumped me. “Go get ’em.”
I didn’t think twice. I set the hose to aim, and Rocco gave me a narrow look before his eyebrows shot up. When Mari turned the nozzle and the water sprayed, I had to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground because the spray was stronger than I ever expected. The hose went wild on me, like a snake that refused tobe wrangled, and I was spraying wildly, hitting all of them. I was basically on a ride with the hose, but I refused to drop it.
“AHHH!” I screamed, like I was holding a spraying gun. “Say ’ello to my little friend!”
Mari was laughing so hard from behind me, she started to wheeze. The men were coming at us, holding their hands in front of their faces, trying to counteract our intense spray attack. But it had worked. It took their minds from the heated game and onto something…cooler. Made sense. Water worked on animals too. Pisolino and the orange one-eyed tabby’s pissing match came to mind.
These men were going to think I was cuckoo, especially after the pepper stall incident, but I didn’t care. Some of them really needed to relax. I wasn’t truly concerned with all of them, though. Only one.
Rocco.
By the time I dropped the hose, he was dripping wet, an intense look on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him, and…ran. He gave me a head start, but not much. He was always a few steps behind me, my laughter lingering behind, probably causing that beast inside of his heart to push him harder. At the apartment, I went to grab for the door, but that was when he snatched me up and pressed me to his body. I’d worn a thin dress, and the water from his clothes seeped into mine, making me shiver.
“You run from me,” he breathed in my ear, “then prepare to be caught, and eaten.”
“Promise?” I stuck my ass against his hardness, and he growled at me.
He.
Growled.
At.
Me.
