Page 92 of The Fall Affair

“That’s nice. I’m glad you had Gilberto.”

“Me too.”

“So…I thought maybe you could come by one day. To my grandmother’s house—our grandmother’s house. Sorry. It’s going to take me a while to get used to that.”

I heard the smile in her voice. “It’s fine.”

“Our grandmother’s house has been in the family for three generations, and I thought maybe you’d like to see it, and the pictures.”

“I would very much, and I’d also like to get to know you better.”

I took a deep breath, loving her candor. “I’d like to get to know you, too.”

Camilla and I talked for another fifteen minutes, settling on a date and time for her visit. As I hung up, Matteo walked into the kitchen, fresh from a shower and wearing no shirt. I smiled for multiple reasons. “I just spoke to my sister.”

“Oh?” He went to the coffee machine and started measuring grounds. “You didn’t mention you were going to call her today.”

“I know. I’ve been thinking about it, and when I overthink things, I tend to talk myself out of them. So today when I started to think about it, I picked up the phone and did it.”

He smiled. “It went well, yes?”

“It did. I invited her over to the house to see some old pictures I found while cleaning out the attic the other day. I’m going to cook.”

Matteo raised a brow. “The house was smoking the last time you did that.”

I laughed. “Shut up.”

He pushed the button on the coffee machine, and it whirred to life. After, he walked over and kissed my forehead. “I’m happy for you.”

I figured as long as I was ripping Band-Aids off today, I might as well go for two. “How would you feel about taking another trip with me?”

He leaned a hip against the counter and shrugged. “Where did you have in mind?”

“New York.”

The little crease between his eyebrows deepened. “New York?”

I nodded. “One of my clients wants me to take over his case.”

I could almost hear the wheels in his head turning. “You’re going back to work in New York?”

“It’s just one case. It’s something I started, so I’d like to finish it for him since he reached out. But it’s also a big client with a lot of connections. It could be good for me.”

Matteo opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. His eyes lingered, flickering across my face, as if he were trying to read me like a book. After a long pause, he nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay, meaning you’ll go?”

“If you want me to, I’ll go.”

I jumped out of my chair and threw my arms around him. “Thank you. When can you leave?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know how much time I can be away since we’re in harvest season. But you let me know when, and I’ll work it out.”

“Okay! I only have to be in court one or two days, since we stipulated to most of the major points in their prenuptial agreement. Maybe I can show you around the city, and we can have dinner with my friend Cassie and her husband while we’re there.”

“Whatever makes you happy.” He leaned down and kissed my lips. “But I must get going right now. Today is pressing day for the first batch of grapes we picked a few weeks ago.”

“What’s that?”