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)
“Oh, sure. Top of the stairs, to the right, opposite the kitchen. It’s the first door on the left.”
“Grazie.”
Once my half sister was gone, Matteo put his hands on my shoulders. He spoke low. “How is it going?”
“Honestly?” I sighed. “It’s been pretty amazing. She’s a very open person, very self-aware. We pretty much agreed we were going to hate our dad and not each other.”
He smiled. “Good. You don’t need me, then. You two should enjoy the time together.”
I nodded. “I think you’re right. Will you stay for a glass of wine at least? The guy who made it is ridiculously talented. And hot.”
Matteo wound up staying close to an hour. It turned out Camilla knew his cousin—the one whose apartment we’d stayed at in Positano. And the two of them had gone to the same university, though at different times since Matteo was a few years older.
After he left, my sister looked like she had a secret she was bursting to tell.
“What?” I asked.
“I like him for you. He looks at you like you’re the only woman in the world.”
My chest tightened. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “I came to Tuscany thinking I was coming to say goodbye and put a part of my life behind me. But it turns out, it opened a new chapter for me. Falling in love and finding a sister. I hope this is just the beginning for us, Camilla.”
“It is. I know it.”
For the first time in…maybe forever…I felt like I had the whole world.
I just didn’t know it was about to fall apart.
Chapter 34
Allegra
“CASS, HANG ON a minute. Matteo was going to help me move something downstairs right before you called.” I covered the phone to speak to him. “I’m sorry. Mr. Ellington’s wife did something, and I need to get an injunction filed before court closes in New York today. I should be done in fifteen minutes. We can move the armoire tonight, if you want. I know you need to work.”
“I’m waiting for the guys to come back from dumping the bins anyway.” He shrugged. “Why don’t I go down and figure out what I need, a carrello or something. I don’t know how you say it in Inglese.” He mimed, pushing something with his hands.
“A dolly?”
He pointed to me. “Yes, that is it.”
I smiled. “I’ll be down as soon as I’m off.”
He sniffed. “What smells so good in here?”
“I made you something. No peeking on your way down. It needs to cool.”
Cass and I worked on the wording I wanted for the injunction for the next twenty minutes.
“I’ll get it filed by the end of the day,” she said once we’d finished. “And I know Matteo’s waiting for you, but I’m dying to know how things went with your sister this week.”
“It went better than I could’ve imagined. I really like her.” I chuckled. “Probably because we’re so much alike. She’s a workaholic who has trust issues with men, too.”
“You mean you used to be so much alike. New-and-improved Allegra seems pretty happily unemployed, and I’m pretty sure the man currently waiting for you downstairs has proven he can be trusted.”
I sighed. “Yeah, he has. Last night, after he fell asleep, I imagined what our children might look like, and I didn’t even have to get up to get the calamine lotion.”
“I really liked him, Allegra. So did Ryan. You two just seem to fit. Have you talked about long-term plans together yet?”
“No, but I can’t see a future without him anymore, and I want to get to know my sister better, so I feel like being in Italy at least part time is inevitable. We just need to figure out what that looks like.”
“What a difference a few months makes, huh?”
“I know.” I whooshed out a breath. “Okay, I need to run and help move an antique armoire I sold. The woman who bought it is coming later today, and she told me it was my responsibility to get it outside. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but she was pushy, so I’m doing it.”
“Good luck. Call me over the weekend.”
“I will.”
After I hung up, I poured a glass of milk, grabbed some cookies from the cooling rack, and went downstairs to Matteo.
“I found a recipe in my grandmother’s recipe box that I think you’re going to love,” I said as I opened the door to the antique shop. “Chocolate chip cookies.”
I’d expected him to be thrilled, grab a handful, and shovel them into his mouth, but instead, Matteo looked up at me with a deeply troubled face. The corners of his mouth tugged downward, and his jaw was set tight. I was so focused on his expression that I didn’t even notice what he was holding. The box with the tea set.
“Where did you get these?” he said.