Page 25 of Matteo
“When did you get so bossy?” I murmured.
“I’ve always been bossy, Ari.” He paused as he looked down at me. “You just never bothered to notice it before.”
I chuckled. “I kept my distance.”
“Why?”
“I worried you’d tell your dad that I broke your nose. No offense, Matteo, but your dad can be scary.”
He snickered. “Trust me, I can be scarier.”
Before long, we were back in my room and he was tucking me in again. “Want me to stay here until you’re asleep?”
Yes.“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” I turned to my side, placing my palms under my cheek. “Matteo?”
“Yes, Nutella girl?” It was a nickname from our childhood. And despite not eating it as frequently anymore, he refused to give it up.
“The shooter.” He remained still, waiting for me to continue. “Did you know him?”
His brow furrowed as he watched me with a puzzled expression. “Why would I know him?”
I yawned tiredly. It would seem he was right when he claimed I needed sleep. “He asked if I knew your family.”
His expression quickly darkened to one that vowed he’d get to the bottom of whatever that meant.
“Are you sure?”
“Mhm.”
With a terse nod, he squeezed my arm and pressed his lips to my forehead, the heat of them searing through my skin.
He slipped out the door, and I released the breath I’d been holding since he placed me down on my sheets like I was something precious.
I shouldn’t want him, so why was my heart suddenly craving him?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ARIANNA
“You’ll need to attend online courses,” Mom started, twisting her fingers—a nervous tic of hers that started when Gian… well, it started about five years ago. “You can come home or stay at St. Jean D’Arc. Your choice.”
“All taken care of,” Dad stated. “All your stuff has been packed too. I was just waiting to inform my men whether to take it to D’Arc or home.”
“Wow, you really don’t waste any time. Want to change my English literature degree to online courses too?” Hannah grumbled. “Never mind that Arianna is a legal adult and she has the right to decide what she wants to do and where she wants to do it.”
Our parents shot her their most stern glare.
I waved my hand. “It’s okay. I agree, it’s for the best. It’s not a major change from what I’m used to, anyway.”
“I’m surprised you’re taking this so well,” Hannah remarked, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Unless she’s hiding her true feelings,” Dominico deadpanned. “Are you?”
I shook my head and plastered on my brightest smile as I faced my brothers’ and my dad’s towering frames, studying me with identical expressions. The twins were the perfect clones of our father, while Gianna was the spitting image of our mother. Hannah and I… We were mutts with our biological father’s coloring, but our personalities were a blend of our mom and adoptive father.
