“You don’t have to explain yourself,” Matteo tells me, his voice going soft. “You can absolutely go back to the hotel for however long you need. I’ll drop you off, and we can plan for me to come back in a couple of hours for dinner? We can go somewhere to dine out or I can bring food with me. Whatever you’re more in the mood for when the time comes.”
Rubbing my thumb over his knuckles, I nod. “That sounds nice.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I agree, looking up at him. My eyes trace the shape of his lips, and I decide that I haven’t finished being brave yet today. “If I wanted you to kiss me, would you?”
“Oh, fuck, Anya,” Matteo breathes out, stepping forward to back me into the alley wall. “I’d give you anything you want. Anything. Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”
The brick is solid and cold, and probably so covered with germs, but I don’t make a move to get off it. I’ll scrub extra thoroughly in the shower later. Nothing will ruin this moment for me.
“My cheeks,” I whisper just loud enough for him to hear. “Will you kiss them?”
Matteo doesn’t hesitate, leaning down to press his lips against each apple of my cheeks. His touch lingers on bothsides, like he’s savoring the innocent connection. My whole body seems to break out in tingles, and I need more.
“My forehead?”
His lips brush just above the skin between my eyebrows, and I feel his breath in my hair, dancing over my scalp. My legs feel like they’re trembling, but I can’t allow the moment to end. Not yet.
“Chin?”
His eyes seem to darken as he kisses just below my lips, and my eyes flutter shut, then back open. Fear doesn’t prevent me from asking him to kiss my lips, but something undefinable does. I hug him instead, pulling his body against mine and tucking my head under his chin.
Matteo embraces me in return, inhaling as he does.
“Fuck,” he mumbles, gently placing his lips on top of my head. “I’m so fucking happy you’re here,meraviglia.”
I’ve never been happier to be anywhere.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Matteo
Waiting to go see Anya after such a good day with her is painful. I almost wish I insisted on staying with her back at the hotel with her uncle. She needed some time to regroup and check in with her therapist, but I wanted to stay with her all the same.
Holding her hand, hugging her, kissing her face…I was fucking spoiled with Anya’s presence and her touch today. So much so that I almost embarrassed myself by getting a fucking boner in an alleyway. Part of me is glad that she didn’t ask me to kiss her lips, because I might have come in my pants like a fucking pervert if she did. I may never have been able tostopkissing her either.
The other part of me is disappointed that she didn’t ask me to press my lips against hers. I’ll take anything she wants to give me. Hugs and hand holding, whatever scraps of affection she’s willing to share with me, I’ll gladly accept. But I won’t deny wanting more.
At this point, I think it’s ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
While Anya has been regrouping at the hotel, I’ve been spending time with some of my siblings and the babies. I fear if I didn’t take this time to see them, Jade might get suspicious of where I’ve been all day. Plus, it’s no hardship to be with my family, even if I’d rather Anya be here with us, too.
As the time nears closer to me needing to leave, I’m silently debating my exit strategy. I’ll likely make up some excuse to leave with Nico since he’s appointed himself as Anya’s stalker/security. He refuses to tell me why he’s become attached to Anya or when it happened, even. Despite his stubborn unwillingness to share, I’m thankful that she has another Moretti looking out for her. An undeniably lethal one at that.
I’m about to text him and ask if he has a plan to get out of here when Apollo, Rayna, and Yordan come gliding into the room. Yordan is practically skipping while Rayna huddles close to her husband, almost looking nervous.
Jade notices them as I do and perks up happily while I contemplate running away before anything they can say interrupts the day. They look like they have news, and given that they’re just waltzing into the house without an obvious reason, I assume they must have something to say.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” my sister asks, smiling excitedly. I don’t echo the excitement. I want to leave to go eat dinner with Anya, and I have a feeling that Apollo and Rayna are about to ruin my plans. “Are we doing a group dinner tonight?”
We better not be.
“If Martha doesn’t mind,” Rayna says, folding her lips in to hide a smile. “We have some news that might be nice to celebrate.”
Oh, goddamnit.
I try poorly to hide my disappointment, knowing that I’m about to be forced into a family dinner that will spoil my night with Anya.
