This was going nowhere fast. Before Dillon could open his mouth and no doubt say something he’d regret, Matt stepped in between them. “Why don’t we try taking it in through the back?”
“Now, there’s a novel idea,” Kevin dryly intoned, his hands going up in the air. “I’ve only been telling them that.”
“C’mon, Kev’s right,” Kodiak said, taking a corner. “It’s not that it’s heavy so much, but the size makes it unwieldy, so it’s gonna take all four of us.”
Two pretty fit dudes on each end—piece of cake, right?
Wrong.
Matt lifted, his muscles straining, and he hadn’t been skipping the gym. Kodiak lied. The fucking thing was heavy.
“My sister damn near fainted when I told her I was going to be living next door to you, so be prepared.” Carrying a box in her arms, Kelly walked along beside him. “Kara still tells anybody who’ll listen that you called her pretty.”
“And she is, but I’ve got a girlfriend, so…”Don’t be getting any ideas.
“Kara’s going to be crushed when she finds out.”
“I don’t think so.” Couldn’t she see he was focused on keeping his grip on her stupid sofa? “And she already knows because I told her.”
He had to tell her to get her to stop fangirling all over him. But that was his own fault for being nice.
“Can’t you dudes move any faster?”
Says the nineteen-year-old.
“I promised Matt we wouldn’t keep him long, and there’s half a U-Haul to unload yet.”
“It’s okay.”Not like I’ve got anything better to do.
“Luca was gonna come help, but he had to bail.”
Oh?
And his spidey senses reactivated. “How come?”
“His mom made him stay home because they’re having company… and some bullshit about World War III.” They put the sofa down in the empty family room, and Kevin shrugged. “But that’s every family dinner at the Rossi house. You ever been?”
“Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.”
“Yeah, well, they’re loud,” he said, his head bobbing up and down. “Luca said his sister might need him for backup—and Teo, too.”
“Why?”
Spill it, Kevin.
“Um, uh… shit.”
Gina didn’t want to hang around here any longer than necessary, and wasn’t that sad? She should want to spend time with her brothers and enjoy having dinner with her family, but her mom made that impossible for her. Always shoving Vinny down her throat as if Matt didn’t exist. And so, she spent most of her days off at Park Place. Hell, much to her mother’s chagrin, she practically lived there.
Rosemary insisted they attend Mass together as a family, though. That was non-negotiable, even for Nick and Tony, who had families of their own. She thought it would look bad if they didn’t. Gina couldn’t fathom why, but her mom was always concerned about appearances. She and her friends would chit-chat about silly things like how many cars were in old Mrs. Cavarelli’s funeral procession. Any number less than fifty made it look as if a person hadn’t been that well thought of. Or how could Lydia Santucci allow her daughter to get married in a gown that wasn’t white? People will know she wasn’t a virgin.
As if.
Chrissakes, the gown was this gorgeous blush.
So, to appease her mother, Gina went to church with them every Sunday and either went to sleep if she was working, or back to Park Place if she wasn’t, shortly thereafter. She’d loveto stay, help with the cooking, and have dinner if Matt could be here too, but Rosemary made it abundantly clear he wasn’t welcome at their table.
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
