Of course that’s where her mind goes. I mean, my mind was going there too, but I already know what Nick looks like, so it’s hard for my mind not to go there. He’s so big and sexy and cuddly looking, how could I not think about how cute he is? Not that I’ll tell her that. I know better than to encourage my mother. If I admit to thinking he’s cute, the next thing you know, she’ll be planning our wedding.
“I don’t know, Ma. I wasn’t paying attention to that. I was more concerned about all the sauce that I lost. His looks didn’t come into it at all.”
“Sure, honey. You keep telling yourself that,” Aunt Vera says with a wink. “I can’t wait to hear what you have to say next week. Because from what I can see, that man looks pretty darn cute.”
I whirl around to see none other than Nick from the gym standing behind me, a big grin on his face. “I hope I’m not interrupting?”
“Where’d you come from?” I blurt, my heart racing. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
He jerks a thumb to the front of the restaurant where I see Chloe waving. “Chloe told me to come straight back. I was hoping to talk to you.”
“About what?” I ask.
“Yeah, about what?” Aunt Vera says, her grinning face filling the entire screen of the phone before my mother pulls her back.
“I would also like to know,” my mother adds. “What do you want to talk to my Valentina about?”
I groan internally. This is about to become an interrogation. Poor Nick doesn’t know what he’s in for if I don’t stop it right now.These women have zero respect for boundaries.
“Okay, Ma. I have to go now. Love to you and the aunties. Say hi to Dad and Nonna for me. Love you.” I press the end call button before she can say anything else.
Nick snickers. “They seem nice.”
I allow my eyes to roll finally, enjoying the stretch after holding them back so many times during tonight’s conversation with my family. “They are nice, but they are also far too nosy for their own good. If I’d let them, they’d have grilled you for your life story and gotten all of your deep, dark secrets.”
He shrugs. “I have no deep, dark secrets. I’m an open book. Go ahead. Ask me anything.” He shoots me a wink and I melt a little inside. This is a bad idea.
“Okay. Fine. Whyareyou here?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one. I’m here to take you out on a date.”
Less Murder, More Cooking
Nick
“Excuse me, what?” Tinasplutters and chokes, her eyes wide behind her glasses. Is it weird that I think the way she’s choking on her own spit is adorable? Probably, but I don’t care. Call me weird. “A date? Who says we’re going on a date?”
“Ah...” I stall, rubbing a hand over the back of my head and trying to stuff down the swell of disappointment rising in my gut. “Okay, you caught me. We’re not going on a date. I overheard you talking to your family about me and thought it would be funny.” Would I be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping she would let me take her out? Yes, I would be lying. It’s obvious if I want to convince Tina to go out with me, it will take a lot morethan a comment thrown out haphazardly when she’s occupied in another conversation. Can’t say that wasn’t a bit of a long shot, but I couldn’t resist. I needed to do something other than stand there like a creep waiting to see if she’d tell her family I’m cute. My self-esteem couldn’t handle the blow if she didn’t agree. I may be a giant, but that just means I have bigger feelings to hurt, damn it. “I’m guessing by how much you’re choking, it wasn’t as funny as I thought.”
She shakes her head and grabs a rag from the counter, using it to wipe her mouth before throwing it into a laundry hamper in the corner. “You would be right. Maybe if I hadn’t just been fending off the ‘get Tina married no matter the cost’ brigade, it would have been funnier. But now we’ll never know.”
I cringe, realizing how much she didn’t like my joke. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I had no idea it would cause that much trouble. Do you want me to call them and explain that we’re friends? Head them off at the pass.” The look of horror that crosses her features is almost comical in its exaggeration. “Or would that make things worse?”
“Ha!” Tina’s laugh is a sudden crack of thunder in the otherwise quiet restaurant. “Umm, I’ll pass. That would make it so much worse.”
“That bad?”
“Ugh.” She heaves a sigh and looks up to the ceiling as though she’s searching for her higher power. “No, it’s not that bad. I mean, it’s annoying, but I can usually handle it fine. It’s been a long week, is all.”
A long week? I don’t like the sound of that, especially since I’m here to ask for a favor. I can’t very well ask her for help when she’s already at her limit. “Is there anything I can do?”
She turns a bright smile on me, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Nah. I’m good.”
I squint in disbelief and raise a questioning eyebrow, which earns me a genuine laugh.Note to self: make faces at Tina to hear her laugh.
“Really. It’s nothing.”
I continue to squint at her until she huffs another laugh.
