Page 34 of Marry Me in Rome

Of course he doesn’t want you to meet his friends. You agreed on a one-day fling. You’ll be gone tomorrow.

A man and woman reached the glass door and slid it open. They entered and kissed Vivi on the cheek in greeting. They did the same for Matteo, though their smiles were less wide for him. Then they turned to me.

“Um, hi.” I suddenly felt out of place in my pink and yellow floral sundress and wet messy bun. “Ciao.”

They only looked at me. Looked down at me, I should say. Each was as tall or taller than Matteo and appeared ready for a model shoot. The woman had long, meticulously curled hair—bleach-blonde and too soft to be natural—and thick Hollywood sunglasses. She wore a sweater that fell over one shoulder, revealing a black swim suit strap.

Her eyes were so cold, so calculating and judgy, that my earlier happiness fled like a startled seagull.

The blonde woman muttered something in Italian, which Matteo replied to in Italian before switching to English. “This is Jillian from Arizona. Jillian, this is Enzo and Alessia.”

Alessia didn’t seem surprised. Vivi must have clued her in. “Matteo. Another American?”

“She’s the little sister of Hunter’s girlfriend. They were neighbors.” There was a note of defensiveness in his voice.

Alessia seemed to translate for Enzo, who nodded. A good sign. If they liked Hunter, I had a chance too.

“Is Hunter here, then?” Alessia asked Matteo.

“No. I only invited Jillian. We came to spend some time alone together, but Vivi thought it might be fun to expand our little party.”

Alessia switched back to Italian to speak to Matteo. His eyes pinched at the corners and his frown deepened. If I had to guess, I’d think she said,Then it’s a good thing we came to make you see reason.

I understood now why he hadn’t been pleased at their arrival. Approval or not, I meant to enjoy what remained of our time together.

“Matteo,” I said, “I’m getting a little hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”

“Of course.” His shoulders relaxed slightly. “What would you like? Name it, and the chef will have it ready in an hour.”

“The American wants bacon cheeseburgers,” Alessia said, lifting her chin. “Nice and greasy.”

“Actually,” I said, “I was thinking Linguine Piccole with Grilled Swordfish and Parsley Anchovy Sauce.” I’d read it on the menu at the restaurant yesterday. It felt like a lifetime ago. “Either that or a clam risotto. I’d be fine with either. Oh, and let’s break out your best fifty-year-old wine for the occasion. You have a wine cellar here, right?”

Alessia mouth actually dropped. Matteo, on the other hand, gave me a tiny, approving smile before drawing me in for a long kiss. “That sounds perfect. What else would you like to do?”

“I want to see the rest of the island.” Preferably without these three, if we could manage it.

Alessia had recovered and crossed her arms. “Matteo, she wants you to take her on a walk. But you need to go to her high school graduation first.”

I gritted my teeth.Don’t feed the troll.“I graduated six years ago and I run my own business. How about you two?”

“I’m a pediatrician,” Alessia said smoothly.

“I am professor, as you say,” Enzo said. So he did speak English, albeit heavily accented. “What you do for business, Jillian?” He pronounced my name Jeh-LEEN.

I looked to Matteo for backup, but he remained quiet. “I’m an influencer.”

They looked confused.

“I make entertaining videos for my subscribers on Instagram,” I clarified. “And I mention my sponsors, who pay me for it.”

I could tell that Enzo, at least, had no idea what I was talking about. Alessia, however, looked smug enough to be punched in the nose. Vivi covered a smile behind them.

“Videos,” Alessia repeated. “That sounds more made-up than your profession, Matteo.”

“That’s enough.” Vivi stepped around his friends to face them directly. “It looks like they’ve vacated the pool, so we should have it all to ourselves. Shall we go outside until lunch is ready?” Apparently she didn’t mind his friends teasing me, but she drew the line at her brother.

The moment the three of them stepped outside, Matteo released a long breath. “They aren’t normally like this. I’ll have a talk with them. You handled that much better than expected.”

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