Page 78 of Love Arranged
Lorenzo reaches inside his pocket and leans against the counter, looking unbothered if it weren’t for the small twitch in his jaw.
Now the bouquet in his house makes so much more sense, although I can’t say the same about the twinge in my chest at seeing his sentimental side.
His parents might not be here anymore, but he finds the smallest ways to acknowledge them, unlike me, who can’t visit my father’s garden without crying.
My mom’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “Your father never missed a single Friday.”
Lorenzo dips his head in silent acknowledgment, and I’m overwhelmed by the urge to pull him into a hug, although I hesitate after everything he has done and said to me.
Comforting someone else comes naturally to me, but comforting him…it feels like an instinct I hate to ignore.
Lorenzo and my mom carry on like the conversation never happened, but I obsess over it for the next five minutes, wondering what Lorenzo does with that second bouquet.
When Lorenzo finishes everything my mom asked of him, he starts to wipe the counter, but my mom pulls the rag from his hands and tells him to take a seat and relax.
“Sì, signora,”he says.
When my mom finishes rinsing the sink, she excuses herself to go use the restroom, but not before she reminds him not to help.
I bump him with my shoulder. “Who knew you could be such a gentleman?”
“I know it must come as quite a shock given our past, but Idohave manners.”
“Yet I haven’t experienced them firsthand.”
He tucks his hand underneath my chin and lifts it. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
“Imagine if you heard me telling another manyes, sirover and over again?” My face flushes at the wide smile on his face.
“In this particular scenario, is this man old enough to be a grandparent?”
“No!” I pull away with a laugh, and Lorenzo’s hold on my chin slips. He stares at his hand, which is still hanging in the air, as if he too was wondering how it ended up anywhere near my face.
I shouldn’t miss him touching me.
Shouldn’t so much as think twice about why he even bothered to do so since we don’t have an audience present.
And I most definitely should not, under absolutely any circumstance, think about when he will do it again.
* You scared me.
* Are you ready to pick strawberries?
* What Dahlia said is true. You speak Spanish.
* Yes. I learned that and Italian when I was little.
16
LORENZO
Phase One of Operation Fake Fiancée, a subtle title Willow came up with, is officially a go. I still haven’t pushed Lily on the subject of why she dislikes the Ludlows enough to help me win the election, but I plan on figuring it out tonight during our first official date.
Since I was too busy working with one of my clients—a man who needs an investor for his water-containment system that helps farmers save water—to plan a date tonight, Willow took it upon herself to fit Lily and me into a fully-booked cooking class in town.
It’s the perfect kind of setting for a date. A staged dinner would’ve been too awkward, so a cooking class gives us something to do while remaining in the public eye.
Tonight’s meal is one I could easily make in my sleepthanks to growing up with an Italian father who hated store-bought ravioli, but Lily looks excited about it.
