“He’ll dislike me even more now.” Matteo chuckles, not sounding upset about it. “Nice meeting you, Irina.”
“And you, Matteo. I think I’ll be seeing much more of you in the future,” she tells him, moving out of frame to shoot me a wink.
I look away from her playful expression, trying not to blush at the implication.
Picking up his phone to move, Matteo keeps his eyes on the screen while he walks—presumably out of the kitchen. “You look happy today.”
I blink, processing what he’s just said. “Do I normally not look happy?”
“Happier,” he corrects. “Did you have fun with your aunt? She seems nice, nicer than her husband for sure.”
I laugh lightly at his joke and decide to pick up my phone as well, bringing it closer now that I don’t have to share the frame.
“Yeah, we had fun. We just did some yoga together and talked. She’s easy to talk to.”
Like you.
“Oooo, yoga,” he says, almost wincing. “I tried that with Jade and Ana once. It turns out that I’m not very flexible. I pulled a hamstring and was limping on it for a week.”
“You’re kidding,” I say, head shaking in disbelief.
“I know, I know. Hard to believe someone in such good shape could be thwarted by something as peaceful as yoga. But Ana was challenging me, and I couldn’t let her think she could best me at anything. She’d never let me forget it.” He sighs, long anddisappointed. “She ended up being able to make fun of my limp anyway, so all my effort was for naught.”
“Ana is your sister-in-law right?” I ask, trying to confirm the image in my head.
Long hair as black as night, pale complexion, and slim frame. She was Asian, but spoke with a British accent and had apparently been married to Matteo’s third oldest brother not too long ago. She made a speech at Dmitri’s wedding, as Jade’s maid of honor. It was lovely, and everyone seemed to agree with the rousing round of applause it earned her.
“Yeah, Cassio’s wife,” Matteo verifies. “She’s actually technically just my sister, not an in-law. They did a blood marriage. It’s an old family tradition that isn’t very common. But essentially, it made her family even more than a regular marriage would. We all treat her like one of our own.”
“Sounds interesting.”And complicated.
“She lost a lot of loved ones before she married Cassio. He wanted to give her more than a husband, so he gave her our family, too.”
“A big family,” I add, watching as Matteo’s hair bounces. He’s climbing stairs, I think.
“A huge family,” he agrees in a chuckle. “It seems like it gets bigger every day.”
“Not a bad thing.”
“No,” he agrees, looking at me with a small, soft smile. “No, not a bad thing at all.”
“I talked to my aunt about our fathers,” I mention, not sure what else to say. “She asked me if my dad went to visit there, if I would go too.”
“What did you say?” he asks, almost sounding hopeful.
“I don’t think I could,” I admit sadly. “Leaving the house again, maybe. Leaving the state again? I don’t think I’m ready forthat. It was really difficult, honestly. I slept a lot the first couple days after coming home from the wedding just to recover.”
“Ahh, is that why you took several days to contact me?” he asks, teasing. He doesn’t try to convince me to travel, but lightens the mood effortlessly. It’s like his superpower, making me feel comfortable and amused all at once.
“Maybe,” I reply, half-honestly.
“Maybe, she says.” He grins, coming to a stop as he jumps into bed. He’d been retreating to his room, then. Perhaps I’ll do the same. “I’ll take it. What else did your aunt say? She didn’t try to pressure you, did she?”
“No,” I tell him quickly. “She’s not like that at all. She’s very patient.”
“Good.”
“She had a suggestion, though,” I admit, feeling my stomach bubble with nerves.
