She also had killer curves, which I could see even though she was wearing black pants, a white blouse, and a maroon apron –
A uniform.
So she worked at the café.
I’d been driving Adriano to Bianca’s shop for the last month, and I’d never seen her before.
I was thinking about following her inside when Adriano barked, “What’re you doing?”
I glanced around to see him waiting for me, arms out likeWhat the fuck?
I immediately walked around the car and followed him into Bianca’s shop.
Maybe I could go over to the café before we left, though.
Get an espresso,say hello, chat her up –
Who knows, maybe even get her number.
But that would have to wait, because I liked being employed.
When we entered the shop, it was like stumbling into a weird dream.
Mannequins loomed all around us: faceless, bald, curvy white statues in various poses.
Some wore slinky dresses. Some had on silk blouses but nothing on the bottom. Some were completely naked.
A couple of workers were going back and forth, arms full of clothes, hanging them on racks lining the wall.
Adriano put a finger to his lips –shhh– and the workers nodded and smiled.
In the center of the shop, Bianca had her back to us. She was looking up at Lucia, who was standing on an elevated platform.
Of all the Rosolini brothers’ new wives, Lucia was the craziest. She swore like a sailor and said whatever came into her head without any sort of filter.
I often wondered how she and Massimo had ended up together. Not just because he was a fucking giant and she was this tiny little chick, but also because he was so laid back and she was –
Well, she was a handful.
Not that I didn’t like her. Totally the opposite. She was hilarious and really friendly to me.
But she thought nothing of busting Adriano’s balls, which would normally mark her as having a death wish.
Thankfully, Adriano seemed to think it was funny. The two of them would insult each other back and forth and then break down laughing in the end.
Lucia was wearing two of Bianca’s designs – a frilly red dress with a black leather jacket – and a black and grey silk scarf tied around her neck.
“This isawesome,”Lucia said as she held her phone above her, watching herself on the screen. “My followers are gonna gonutsfor this.”
Lucia was also a big social media influencer. She had half a million followers on Instagram or something.
“You think?” Bianca asked, sounding unsure. Even though she was insanely talented, she was also incredibly humble. She worried all the time about whether people would like her stuff.
Lucia wasnothumble, and she didn’t worry about shit. “Abso-fuckin-lutely. Can I post it?”
“If you think it’s a good idea…”
“It’s a GREAT idea.”
