Page 158 of Steamy Ever After

He was so weird, ringing the bell. “Just come in.”

The door opened and she froze as Giovanni stepped inside. “If you insist.”

CHAPTER 12

She had obviously been expecting someone else and Giovanni tried not to let that bother him, but a spike of jealousy shot through him at the possibility that she might be waiting for a guy. “You alone?”

“Um…”

She stepped aside as he let himself in. The home was dark and sounded empty. He’d never been in her house before. “Italian Mary sent this over. It’s still warm in case you haven’t eaten.”

She accepted the tray and blinked up at him. “What is it?”

“Manicotti.” He took off his coat and folded it over his arm, waiting for her to officially invite him inside or offer to hang it up. “Did you eat?”

“What?”

“Dinner. Have you eaten anything today?”

Her head shook. “I had some cookies.”

He spotted her coat hanging from a hook and draped his on top. “You need more than cookies. Show me the kitchen.”

Assuming it had to be one of the doorways on the other side of the den, he started walking. Erin followed and watched him with a confused look on her face.

He peeled back the foil and breathed in the scent of his Nona’s sauce. “You’ve never tasted manicotti like this.” He opened a cabinet, finding canned goods, then tried another and kept searching until he found the plates. “Take a seat.”

Grabbing a spatula from the canister on the counter, he dished out two servings and joined her at the table. She stared at the plate. A large basket of baked goods hogged the surface and he grabbed the handle to move it out of the way.

“Leave it.” She caught the base with two hands and he paused.

“I was just gonna move it to the counter so I could look at you.”

She reluctantly let go and watched him like a hawk as he carefully moved it. It was surprisingly heavy.

Mental note, she really liked baked goods.

A pen and notepad sat on the table beside a handmade card. “The Buchanans,” he read. “That was nice of them. Did Skylar bake all that?” His little cousin took after his Aunt Maureen in the kitchen.

“She stopped by a little bit ago.”

He slid her a fork. “Who else came by?”

She stared at him. “Finn.”

He paused from slicing through the manicotti, wondering if he was out of line for thinking… He was, and therefore shoved the thought away. Finn was ridiculously in love with Mallory. He probably just checked on Erin because that was the sort of guy he was.

“Eat.”

She poked at the crepe-like pasta shell as if not trusting it. “What’s in it?”

“Ricotta cheese. Haven’t you ever had manicotti before?”

She shook her head.

“Oh, you’re gonna love it.” He watched her, the anticipation of her smile already making him grin.

She sliced off a bite and brought it to her mouth. Her pretty lips closed around the fork and she chewed slowly, her eyes moving as she analyzed the flavor.

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