Page 29 of Whatever You Need

The past fewdays have been a complete blur. Whatever little free time I’ve had has been spent at the gym de-stressing or at home working on my addition. Regardless of what I’ve been doing, thoughts of Amelia have been creeping around in my conscience. What were the odds that she was the woman my nonna has been speaking so highly of? The young friend who paid her weekly visits.

I was just stopping by the other day to drop off her meal, say a quick hello, and get back to work. The last thing I expected to find was Amelia, chatting it up with nonna.

She looked as shocked and as surprised as I was. If this wasn’t a sign, I didn’t know what was. Normally, I didn’t give women a second thought, but lately Amelia is all I’ve thought about. I’ve never been one of those soul mate guys—especially after my last “soul mate” hooked up with my cousin. Was it possible to forge such a strong connection just after one night together? I never would have questioned it until recently. Something about this woman had captured my attention in a serious way. I ran my hand through my hair and looked at the townhouse from the windshield of my car.

Looking up her name and address in our database was a new low for me. It was borderline stalking.

I made my way up her short walkway leading to her door. The neighborhood was upscale, which didn’t surprise me given the family wealth she was born into. It was also unnervingly quiet, something I didn’t get to experience much thanks to my profession.

I knocked on the door decorated with an evergreen Christmas wreath with tiny little fairy lights, and a red velvet bow. I had a speech prepared in my head, but the second the door swung open, her beauty had me at a complete loss for words. Her face was soft and free of makeup. The sweater falling off her one shoulder was showing enough skin to tease me. I remembered the way she tasted, the way she smelled, and I wanted to reacquaint myself with her all over again.

“Marco.” She blinked those big blue eyes up at me.

“Hey.” I cleared my throat and stuffed my hands into my coat pockets. “I apologize for just stopping by unannounced like this. May I come in?”

I could only imagine what she must have been thinking. I realized that I was breaking one of my rules. It was the first time I had chased down a woman. Normally, they did the chasing. That’s not me being conceited either, it was the truth. Once I made it clear that I was only available for one night, it made women want me more.

“Sure.” She nodded with her long, blond hair falling forward. I had a sudden urge to push it back with my fingers.

She stepped aside, and I inhaled that smell that I’ve been craving since the second I woke up alone in that hotel room. I did my best not to draw too much attention to how nervous I was, but having her this close to me made that almost impossible. When I noticed a blush spreading across her cheeks, I took that as a good sign.

She took my coat and put it in a small closet next to the door. “Can I get you something to drink?” She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Unfortunately, all I have is water and wine. Unless you want coffee.”

“I’ll have a glass of wine if you’ll join me,” I said, because I was feeling out of my element here and needed something stronger than a glass of ice water.

“Is white okay?” she asked, holding up a bottle of Cakebread. I recognized the label because it was my mother’s favorite.

“I’m Italian, so I drink any kind of wine.”

While Amelia was in the kitchen, I took the opportunity to glance around. Her living room was warm and rich with a cream-colored sectional with gray throw pillows everywhere. I walked over to the fireplace in the center of the room and studied the pictures on the mantel.

There was a graduation photo with her in a cap and gown, an older couple on either side of her. The couple beamed at her with pride, but it was her smile that captivated my attention.

“This is a surprise,” she said, coming up behind me and handing me the glass of wine. She pointed to the frame. “That is one of the few pictures I have of me and my grandparents.”

I nodded. “You’re pretty close with them, right?” I remembered that little detail from our conversation that night.

“Very.” Her eyes got misty as she glanced at the picture. “My grandmother is in the later stages of Alzheimer’s.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine how tough that is.” I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it, so I skillfully steered the conversation in a different direction. “So, you and my nonna are pretty tight, huh?”

She let out a small laugh. “Sophia and I bonded instantly. Although,” she pointed a finger at me, “she cheats at everything, and her friends at the nursing home are a bad influence on her.”

I coughed on my wine. “Yeah, she’s pretty slick, so don’t buy into her innocent act. She taught me everything I know so don’t be fooled, or she’ll swindle you out of everything you own.”

She titled her head to the side. “Oh, it’s like that, huh?”

“Want a tip for next time? Check her pockets for extra scrabble tiles next time you play.”

She threw her head back, giving me a perfect view of that neck that my mouth spent a lot of time on. I was certain that I left a mark there, but she was gone that morning before I could confirm.

“So…” She gestured for me to sit down on the couch. I was disappointed when she took the seat opposite of me. “How did you know where I lived?”

I cleared my throat and sat up straighter. There was no sense in lying, so I told her the truth. “I looked up your information from the police report.”

“Ahh,” was all she said, and I was grateful she didn’t seem too bothered by that.

I pulled on the back of my neck, trying to relieve some of the tension. “Look, I know we weren’t supposed to see each other again, but I really enjoyed my time with you that night. And then when I saw you the other day,” I grinned, hoping she found it just as amusing as I did, “I knew that I needed to seek you out.”

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