Page 78 of Head Over Heels

My phone buzzes, interrupting her laughter.

"It's Nonna." My heart drops. "Mom says she's not doing well."

32

Josie

I knock on the door to the Pietra home, suddenly nervous. After Florence rushed out last night to check on her grandmother, I spent hours thinking about the way she opened up to me, how she shared a private part of herself that she keeps hidden from the rest of the world.When did I stop pretending to care for her and actually start having real feelings?

"Vieni qui!"A tiny, silver-haired woman waves me in. This must be Nonna. "You're just in time,tesoro.Everyone else is in the kitchen."

The aroma of garlic and herbs fills the house. Nonna points me in the direction of the chaotic kitchen, laughter and rapid-fire Italian mixed with English filling the air. Florence is at the stove with her mom, arguing about something in Italian.

Florence notices me first."Bella, ciao!"Her face lights up. She's wearing jeans and a soft sweater, completely relaxed. It strikes me again how beautiful she is.

"Josie!" A small blur launches itself at me. "Did you know Auntie Flor used to be on the chess team?"

I look at the young auburn-haired girl with her arms wrapped around my waist. This must be one of her nieces. "No, I didn't know that." I glance at Florence with an amused smile. "Are you good at chess, too?" I ask the girl.

"Not yet," she scrunches her face up, "but Daddy says Auntie Florence will teach me." She tugs me toward the table. "Can I sit by you!?"

"Lena." Joe, the brother I met at the penthouse, comes over, ruffling the girl's hair. "Let Dr. Mueller breathe. Nice to see you again, Doctor. The loud one over in the kitchen is my wife, Rosie." He gestures to the brunette woman arranging bread on a platter.

"Call me Josie." I notice how his eyes crinkle at the corner the way Florence's do when she smiles.

"Mamma mia,Florence. Are you going to let yourfidanzatajust stand there?" Florence's mom swoops in, pulling me into a rough hug. "I'm Lucia."

"Thanks for having me." I catch Florence's eye over her mother's shoulder. She looks amused.

"Sit, sit!" Lucia waves me toward the table. "Florence, get your Josie some wine. The good stuff,non quella merda scadentethat yourfratellodrinks."

I sink into a chair, and Lena immediately claims the spot next to me. Florence appears on my other side with a glass of wine, leaning over and giving me a chaste kiss.

"How's Nonna feeling?" I ask quietly.

"Better, mostly." She squeezes my shoulder before sitting down. "It's just a cold—but at her age, we worry."

"Speaking of worry," Rosie pipes up from across the table, "Paola's teacher called today." She gives her older daughter a pointed look.

The teenager slumps in her chair. "Mom, it wasn't a big deal."

"What wasn't a big deal?" Florence asks the girl.

"She got caught reading inappropriate material in class." Rosie sighs.

On the other side of her, Joe snorts. "She was reading lesbian romance novels."

I nearly choke on my wine. Florence's hand finds my knee under the table.

"They're not inappropriate," Paola argues. "Sarah Waters has won literary awards!" She's not wrong.

"Tipping the Velvetmight be a bit mature for fourteen," Joe says diplomatically, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing.

"It's Charles Dickens with lesbians." Paola shrugs. "We read Dickens. There's nothing wrong with it."

"You were reading worse at her age," Hettie cuts in, arriving with a bowl of salad and setting it in the middle of the table. She winks at me. "Nice to meet you, Doc."

Lucia appears in the doorway. "Dinner's ready." The next few minutes are chaos—the rest of the family finding their seats and passing dishes, with rapid-fire Italian I can only half follow.

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