I try not to think of the man or why he wasn’t in bed with me as I wash up. The kitchen was a mess earlier, and those cookies… I freeze mid-wash.
Oh my God, I forgot about Sally.
I was supposed to take a short break when I came up here, and sweet baby Jesus, she must be overwhelmed manning the place all by herself. The evenings are just as busy as the mornings, not to mention the accounting we do every day after closing.
And she's down there alone.
My heart is racing as I step under the spray, wincing as soap gets in my eyes. I scrub faster and rush out of the bathroom, nearly slipping on the wet floor. I grab a towel and quickly wrap it around my hair and bundle myself into a robe before running out of the bedroom to grab my phone. I skid to a halt when I see Luca leaning against the kitchen counter.
A clean kitchen counter.
“W-what,” I pant, confused as I look around the room. All the baking mess has been cleaned, the counters wiped down, and everything put away where it’s supposed to be.
“You’re up. I heard you moving around and wondered when you’d come out,” he says, pushing off the counter and walking toward me. “Perfect timing.”
"W-what?" I stammer, trying to get my brain to work and process what's going on here. Luca didn't leave, and he…cleaned up my mess. Some of it was his mess, but still… “Sally—”
“I asked her to lock up for you,” Luca says, taking my shoulder and guiding me to a stool. “Don’t worry about her. She had company, and I made sure to tell Santino to drop her off at home."
“Santino?” I ask, still confused. “Who is Santino?”
He laughs instead of answering, and when he leans down to brush his mouth over my neck, I melt. “You smell so good, baby,” he hums before pulling back. “I hope you’re hungry for my world-famous lasagna.”
With the grogginess from sleep now gone, I notice the savory aroma floating in the air, something rich and delicious that makes my stomach growl. Reminding me of the fact that I haven’t had anything to eat all day.
“You cook?” I ask lamely, despite the evidence sitting in front of me.
Luca turns to me and must read the shock on my face because he laughs, the sound so deep and warm that I feel the butterflies in my stomach flutter. I’ve never seen him this way. So carefree and comfortable.
“Are you surprised?” he asks, taking the stool next to mine before slipping a hand under mine and turning me to face him. “My mother is the housekeeper for the Rossi family and practically raised the boys and Gabriella when they lost their mother. She made sure every one of us could cook.”
This part of his family life I knew. In the six months since becoming connected to the Rossis, I’ve met Silvia Conti a few times, and I immediately liked her. Despite my reservations about the family, Silvia strikes me as a warm maternal figure for the Rossi children. I chuckle at the mental image of a woman that tiny bossing around the Rossi boys in the kitchen. She was kind to us on the occasion we visited the Rossi estate, and her food reminded me so much of my own mother's cooking. Made with love.
“If the lasagna is anything like your mother’s, then I am warning you now that there won't be a single serving left whenI'm done,”" I say, and I get the pleasure of hearing another one of his laughs. "The tasting will have to wait though. What time is it? Did Sally already lock up?.”
“About an hour ago,” Luca says. “Santino texted—he dropped her home safe.”
“Good.” I’m deeply touched that he went through all this effort while I slept. I’ll have to make Sally her favorite dessert for holding down the fort. “Thank you.”
Luca takes my hand in his, making my heart stutter. “I told you I'd take care of you, didn't I?" I flush at his words. To be fair, we were both naked, and he was on top of me when he said those words. I didn't think they applied outside the bedroom. “I’m more than your bodyguard, Matilde. I assumed we established that this morning.”
“Right,” I whisper, looking away. So much has happened from the moment I met Luca six months ago, but one thing has remained true and sure. His care for me and the people important to me. He took care of me even when I made it obvious I didn’t want him around. He stayed, earning not just my trust but my sister’s as well.
Maybe it’s finally time I let go of all these fears that have been plaguing me for years and just allow myself to…feel. And Luca, he makes me feel a whole host of emotions. Ari was right. I can’t spend forever fearing for a future I have no control over and miss out on my chance at love.
We sit together to eat dinner, and it’s romantic and intimate. It feels like a date, loaded with so much sexual tension but also an easy air I never imagined I would feel around a man.
“So, have you always loved baking?” he asks, pouring me a glass of wine that’s been chilling in the fridge. I lift the glass tomy lips for a sip, humming at the sweet, fruity taste with notes of cherry. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I don’t really know much about wine, but I like this one,” I say, taking another sip. “You were asking about baking? I learned it from my mother. While my social butterfly of a sister was out hanging with friends, I was in the kitchen with my mother baking.”
“Did she run her bakery from this building?”
I nod, taking a bite of the lasagna, and I nearly moan. I didn’t seriously think he could match his mother's cooking but this is next-level good. “So good,” I say, closing my eyes to savor the taste. “I need a moment.”
He laughs, and we don’t talk much until there is little more than sauce left on my plate. “I take it as a sign that you liked it?”
I glance at my empty plate and chuckle. “That was beyond my expectations.”
