And he didn’t look happy.
“You motherfucker!” Tony thrust his pointed finger at him, taking a slow step down the porch stairs. “And you’re supposed to be my friend.”
Matt met him on the second step. “C’mon, man. I am your friend—have been since kindergarten.”
“She’s my baby sister,” he fumed, spittle flying from his mouth with every word.
Gina was going to be here in an hour.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you.” Matt led him toward the door. “Let’s do this inside, all right?”
She came bearing bags of groceries, her brother not five minutes gone.
He hoped he appeared unruffled because the talk with her brother did not go as he’d imagined it would. Not at all.
“Let me get that.” Matt kissed her cheek, relieving Gina of her burden. “I’ve got steaks to throw on the grill.”
“Perfect,” she said, following him into the kitchen. “We can have dinner out on the patio.”
He watched her unpack ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and olive oil in a dark glass bottle. She wore a pair of drawstring khakis similar to his own. A crop top in warm cream bared her summer skin. Matt couldn’t stop looking at this girl who’d captured his heart. He pushed every angry word Tony uttered from his head. If he lost him as a friend, so be it. Gina was worth fighting for.
“What all do you have there?” He moved in beside her, his lips dipping to her neck.
“That tickles.” She giggled, scrunching up her shoulder. “Just stuff to make Caprese salad and Pasta al Pomodoro.”
“I see.” Matt chuckled, emptying a bag that held vanilla gelato and a bottle of prosecco.
“What?” She snagged the ice cream and put it in the freezer. “That’s for dessert. I’m going to put your espresso machine to good use.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“C’mere.” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his chest. Hazel-green eyes looking up at him, Matt held her for a moment. “God, I love you.”
Then, with his fingers sliding into thick, silky-soft strands, he lowered his lips to hers. Gina opened for him without hesitation, her sweet tongue slipping inside his mouth, and an overwhelming sense of peace came over him. She was his, and he was hers. That’s the only thing that mattered.
They sliced tomatoes together. Chopped garlic. He found joy in the simple domesticity of it. After seasoning the meat and brushing it with olive oil as Gina instructed, Matt took the steaks out to the grill while she boiled pasta and assembled the salad.
He could get used to this. More than that, it’s what he wanted. Gina in his house, in his heart, in his bed.
“How’re the steaks coming?”
Matt glanced over his shoulder. She looked so happy setting a cozy table for the two of them. He had to tell her about Tony, but he didn’t want to see that smile disappear.
“Five minutes.”
With her arms wrapped around his middle, Gina kissed his shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You seem… I don’t know, preoccupied?” Fingertips strummed up and down his abs. “Like your mind is somewhere else.”
He turned around, gripping her by the shoulders. “Believe me when I say this, no matter what I’m doing, or whatever else I might think about, my mind is always onyou.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” And he kissed her. “If you like medium-rare, I think these steaks are done.”
