Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
The woman’s deep, raspy voice and sexy Italian accent made me wish I’d brushed my hair before coming over. “Parli Italiano?”
I shook my head. “Not very well. I’m sorry.”
“It is okay.” She smiled. “I love speaking Inglese!” She looked down at my hands and licked her lips. “Is that pie? I haven’t had carbs in a week.”
Of course the gorgeous woman could speak perfect English, too. And apparently, I’d come at the perfect time—from the looks of things, to deliver Matteo and this bilingual beauty an after-sex pie. I forced a weak smile. “Matteo helped me out this morning, so I wanted to do something for him.”
“He’s in da shower.” She stepped aside with an animated wave. “Come in. Come in. He’ll be out soon.”
Shaking my head, I extended the pie. “Oh, no, I don’t want to interrupt.” I already felt awkward and couldn’t wait to get the heck out of there. “No, I need to—”
“Allegra?” Matteo’s deep voice rang out as he came up behind the woman. He was wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. Damn. I really hated her right now.
“Hi. Uh…” I lifted the tin. “I wanted to say thank you for the lesson this morning, so I made you the pie you like from my grandmother’s recipe.”
“Damn.” He licked his lips. “That looks good.”
Not as good as you in that towel. I didn’t want to get caught ogling him in front of his date or whoever she was, so I forced my eyes elsewhere and waved awkwardly as I turned away. “Welp. Enjoy.”
“Allegra,” Matteo called. “Hang on a minute. Why don’t you come in and have a piece?”
The woman glanced between us and smirked. “Oh. This is her?”
I felt my brows pull tight. “Her who?”
Matteo rolled his eyes. “Ignore my sister, like I try to do when she drops in unannounced and informs me she’s staying for a full week.”
Oh! His sister! An unexpected flood of relief hit, and I felt my face flush.
“Now you must come in.” His sister took my elbow and steered me into the house. “I want to know the woman my brother has been talking about since I walked in.”
My eyes jumped to Matteo’s, and he shook his head. “I mentioned you were staying at Sophia’s, and that turned into Luciana grilling me about you for an hour.” He planted his hands on his hips. “I’m going to go put some clothes on.” He yelled over his shoulder as he walked down the hall, “And turn this shitty music down, Luce!”
Luciana. Even her name was pretty. I followed Matteo’s sister into the kitchen, and she used her phone to lower the music volume before grabbing a bottle of wine. “Red?”
“Umm…sure.”
She handed me a glass and tilted the bottle for a generous pour. “Do you dance?”
“Umm, no. I’m a lawyer.”
She chuckled and lifted a glass of wine already sitting on the counter. “I meant at da nightclub. Do you like to go dancing?”
“Oh!” I laughed. “Duh. I think my answer tells you how long it’s been since I was at a nightclub. I wasn’t even sure what you were asking. But I used to like to go out dancing back in the day, when I had a life.”
She tilted her head. “You don’t have a life anymore?”
“Not much of one.” I sipped my wine. “I’ve worked a lot over the last few years. Though I’m currently unemployed, so I have no excuse for not having a life anymore.”
She smiled. “Good, then it’s settled. We’ll go to Tartana Discoteca Friday night.”
“Oh.” I shook my head and waved a hand. “I’m not sure about that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t think I brought the right clothes to go clubbing.”
“I bring two suitcases for a week stay. I’ll dress you.”
I nibbled my lip. “I don’t know.”
“You just said you have no excuse for not having a life, so stop making them up.”
She was right. There really wasn’t any reason I couldn’t go to the club. It wasn’t like I had anything else to do. So I shrugged. “You know what? What the hell? Sure. Why not?”
She clapped her hands. “It’s a date.”
“Uh-oh.” Matteo walked back into the room, and the smell he brought with him did things to my pulse. “This doesn’t sound good.”
“We’re going to da club Friday night!” Luciana announced, raising her wine glass. “You should come.”
Matteo frowned. “No thanks.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind my brother. He’s a stick in the mud. He didn’t even want to go out when we were in the womb together—the doctor had to force him to leave. You should see the pictures…” She gestured to the top of her head. “It looked like someone put a vacuum on da top of his head. Mine was perfect.”
Oh…that’s why she looks so familiar. They’re twins.
Matteo turned to me. “You don’t have to go to da club with her.”