Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“I know. This is…”
“So good,” he whispered.
I kissed his brow and nodded.
It was…beautiful. I didn’t want to ruin the moment with sappy sentiments, but that didn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.
Whatever this was felt…real. The way I’d heard it was supposed to feel with the right person.
19
MATEO
Meaningless sex with a willing partner was the only sex I’d had in years. Until now. Until Rob. This was new. And strange.
And I couldn’t decide if this was complicated or not. I’d always been an expert at deflecting curiosity about my private life. I had to be. My family didn’t do boundaries well.
“Ahh, you have the moony eyes again,” Ma singsonged, patting my cheek. “I have good news. He likes you too.”
I furrowed my brow hard enough to give myself a headache but quickly rearranged my expression for the middle-aged woman and her kids at the counter.
“Would you mind taking a selfie with us?” she asked. “We’re in town for the bake-off tomorrow, and I know it’ll be madness here.”
“Sure thing.” I moved to the front of the register, mugging for the camera like a good sport.
The woman grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you so much. We’ve been following your competition from the beginning, and I have to say, you and Rob are a hoot. We’re from Seattle. It was a bit of a hike to get here, but I’ve met folks from across the country who’ve come for the bake-off finale. Indiana, New York, Florida, Arizona.”
“Wow. That’s cool.”
“Yes! I agree. We just had to sample the goods in person and get a T-shirt. You have some here, right? I was hoping to buy one from both stores and avoid a line later.”
Boardwalk Pizza had carried cheap-ass tees with our logo on them since the seventies. No one bought them…ever. But at Amber’s insistence, we’d splurged on good-quality T-shirts to sell online and in the store. Sales had gone through the roof over the past month, so we’d added ball caps to the mix. They’d be at the merch table tomorrow along with Great H Bagel’s stuff.
The influx of tourists walking down Main Street in our gear was cool yet disconcerting at the same time. Rob was right. This thing had taken on a life of its own.
“Of course. What sizes can I get you?”
“I got it, Cuz. You’ve got a few more selfie requests.” Vanni gestured to two couples, an older gentleman, and a family of five lurking nearby.
I schmoozed and smiled till my face hurt. It was…exhausting. I didn’t put up much of a fight when my mother called for me. She pulled me through the kitchen, where Sal, Jimmy, and a few other cousins and part-timers prepared pizzas over the din of a Billy Joel classic, and outside onto the stoop. I sighed in relief at the relative quiet.
“What’s up, Ma?”
“Nothing. Come sit. You need a break.” She sat on the steps and pointed to the space beside her.
I obeyed, too tired to argue. Too many late nights and early mornings had caught up with me. “I’m tired,” I admitted.
Ma set her hand on my knee. “I know. This is bigger than expected, yes?”
“Yeah. You could say that.”
“Your father would have loved this.”
I turned my palm to squeeze her fingers. “You think so?”
She nodded. “He was a ham.”
I chuckled lightly. “He was.”
“Not shy of the camera, always shaking hands, making friends.” Ma bumped my elbow playfully. “Like you.”
“Dad was better at this than me.”
Ma shrugged. “Different, maybe, but not better. Your papa would be very proud of you, Teo.”
When her voice cracked, I put an arm over her shoulders and tugged her close. “Thanks.”
“And he would like Rob.”
“Everyone likes Rob.”
“No, I mean it. Don’t give me the off-brush,” she scolded.
“Brush-off.”
Ma swatted my arm. “I’m trying to be serious and tell you something. Something maybe you need to hear.”
“Ma, I love you, but I’ve got a store full of customers and I can’t—”
“Your cousins can handle pizza for ten minutes, eh? That is all the time it takes for me to say what I want to say. So listen.”
I threw my hands in the air. “I’m listening.”
She stared straight ahead. Her dark eyes fixed, unseeing, at the brick wall and the industrial trash bin beyond. In profile, my mother reminded me of an aging Hollywood movie star. Someone like Audrey Hepburn—graceful and serene and with a lot of spunk. She tilted her proud chin in my direction, inhaled deeply, and spoke in Italian.
“You have made this store everything he wanted it to be, and for that he would be proud. But if it all went away, your papa would still be very proud of you. I think in your heart you know that.” She waited for my nod of acknowledgment and continued. “He loved you, and nothing would change that. Nothing, Teo. He could be opinionated, that’s true, but at his core, he was filled with love. And if he’d known you were gay…he would have supported you. No questions.”