Page 3 of Cherry on Top

“A Moretti? I’m surprised they allowed it,” Will joked.

“Oh, it was a problem. He tried to date Oliver.”

“He dated Oliver?” Will hadn’t heard this piece of gossip. And it stopped him in the middle of restocking the preserved cherries that topped every one of his ice cream creations.

“One date, supposedly. And it didn’t go well. But he sulked about that forever. Then you know, Luca came to town and met Oliver, himself, and they fell in love and that went over even worse.”

“I can imagine,” Will said dryly. Kate was going to be a great manager—smart and strategic and personable—but she was also a fantastic source of local gossip.

“Anyway, I guess the problem wasn’t so much Oliver, but that Enzo wanted to be an artist, and Giana wouldn’t let him go away for school. But pretty much the moment Luca moved here, off he went. He hasn’t been back much, not since then, but every time he does come back, he seems more and more normal. Way less petulant. So that’s a plus in the yes, you should listen to Giana and text him.”

Will ignored her teasing jest.

“Doesn’t sound like how Giana described him.” Giana had described him as a combination of Apollo and Harry Styles and Luca.

“That woman does not have a firm grasp on what her son’s really like,” Kate said.

“So that’s why he needs his mother to get him dates,” Will theorized.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Kate hedged. “But she certainly believes in the best version of him. He is successful, apparently a really successful mural painter. Like the big ones, like whole sides of buildings.” Her expression became knowing. “He’s got an Instagram, you know.”

“Everyone has an Instagram,” Will said.

“Yeah, but you could check him out. See what he looks like.”

“Does he really look like a combination of Luca and Jesus?”

Kate laughed. “I guess so. I don’t know. You know he isn’t my type.”

“Men aren’t your type,” Will retorted.

“Exactly. But he’d be your type. He’s definitely Moretti issue. And you know they’re all attractive.”

In the six months he’d been here, Will had met a variety of Morettis. Luca and Giana, obviously, but also several of Luca’s brothers and sisters, who came here every so often to visit him. Then there was Rocco, another cousin, who was in town to work for Oliver and Luca and save up money for his own business someday. And yep—they were all attractive. Every single one of them.

“I don’t want to date someone just because they’re hot,” Will complained.

“And Enzo is well . . .Enzo.”

Will shot her a knowing look.

“If I’d known Giana was going to hyper-fixate on you as a possible mate for her son, I’d have told you to keep your queerness under your hat.”

Will rolled his eyes. “I think I told Luca the first day I was here. It wasn’t going to stay a secret. I didn’t even want it to. She’ll . . .well, she’ll just have to get over it.”

“Giana Moretti doesn’t just move on from things,” Kate reminded him. “You know you could just text him. It might not even kill you.”

“No,” Will said stubbornly. “I’m not going to let her bully me into dating her son.”

“You say that now,” Kate said, laughing.

Chapter Two

Enzo Moretti was just about to get up on the scaffolding rising against the enormous brick wall when his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, calculating the time he’d lose by taking the call versus the pain he’d suffer if he declined it.

He pressed accept and set it on the old desk he’d found on the side of the road and dragged over to use as a temporary workstation while he worked on this mural.

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