Page 2 of Texting Mr. Stranger

“You’re almost forty. If Mom were here, she’d tell you to find a lady.”

Almost forty. I’m thirty-six, but Elio is in a button-pushing mood. I learned long ago not to rise to the bait when he behaves like this.

“You’re one to talk.”

“I’m not the Don. It doesn’t matter if I have an heir.”

“It won’t matter for me, either, unless we think somebody’s going to make a move.”

“There’s always a risk of that.”

“Matchmake me, then,” I grunt, “if you’re so keen.”

He rolls his eyes and then focuses on his painting. Before I can reply, Sofia appears at the door. We think of her as ourbaby sisterdespite her being twenty-four. It’s probably because she is so petite, sharing Mom’s delicate features.

“Matty, can we talk for a sec?”

“Sure,” I say, walking away from Elio.

Sofia leads me into the music room. Her violin is propped against the wall, and the big screen shows the beginning of some instructional video, a black screen with red text that reads,Learn to Play with Bella Rossi!

“Is something wrong?” I ask when Sofia turns to me, wringing her hands.

“I hope not.”

I wait for her to go on. When she doesn’t, I say, “Has something happened?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” she murmurs. “It’s …” She gestures at the screen. “Now that the stuff with those awful people is over, I was wondering if I could start getting violin lessons?”

“Of course,” I tell her. “You could’ve had lessons anytime you wanted. I’ll find the city’s top tutor and have them visit?—”

“Wait,” she cuts in. This is clearly taking a lot for her. The blush creeping over her cheeks makes me wonder if we’ve been too protective of her. But in this life, with these stakes, how could we be anything else? “I don’t want lessons like that. I don’t want the top tutors and visits and all the fuss. I want this to bereal. Normal. Like everybody else.”

“Okay …”

She nods at the large wall-mounted screen. “There’s this woman who makes videos online. I found her a while ago, during…”The war.“But I didn’t want to say anything. She only gets about a hundred views a video, but she’sreally good. Guess what? She lives right here in the city. Guess what else? She offers tuition. I want to take lessons with her.”

“We can arrange to have her?—”

“I don’t want her to know who I am. I don’t want her to look at me differently like everybody does because they’re scared of me, even if they’re trying not to be. I want to be a regular person for once. Can I go to her place? That’s where she does her lessons. She’s got good reviews. Not a lot, but enough.”

“Why her?” I ask. “You could have anybody, Sofia.”

“I justtoldyou why.”

“Sorry,” I tell her in the softest voice a man like me can manage. “I just worry about you.”

“You can come with me,” she says with a shrug. “Look, Matty, she seems so nice, so genuine, you know?”

She picks up her phone and clicks something, making the video on the big screen begin to play. Stock music comes from the speaker. The black screen slowly fades into color as a woman appears.

I stare at her, not hearing her words for a moment. There’s something. I don’t know what. She’s beautiful. That’s clear. Dammit, my heart is pounding. It’s strange. I don’t understand it, but I can’t look away.

She stands at a music stand with her violin in her arms, holding it delicately and yet confidently simultaneously. She’s probably around five-five, emphasizing her curvy build and wide hips that make me want to grab them, sink my touch in, and pull her close to me. Her hair is long, honey-brown, and wavy, making me want to drag my fingers through it.

I quickly push all this away. It’s not often I feel this level of attraction.Often?Okay, never, but it doesn’t mean a damn thing. Despite what Elio said about finding an heir, dating is the last thing I should do so soon after the Gallo Family nonsense. What if we’re wrong? What if it’s not over?

“Matty?” Sofia murmurs.

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