Page 41 of Blood Money

Sure, he did a lot to me over my clothes—one time over my panties—but he never went further.

The mere thought of his touch sent an excited awareness through my limbs. Because I’d made up my mind.

I wanted Vittorio to be my first, and it was going to happen today.

Nonna would be taking me out to eat, and then I told her I was going to the movies with a few friends I’d met this summer. It wasn’t a total lie. I mean, Vittoriowasmy friend, and his younger brothers were coming too.

Alessio was my age, and the others were younger, but I didn’t know exactly how old they were. I just knew the twins were the youngest.

“Happy birthday!” Nonna shouted from behind me, and I spun to face her. She held a beautifully decorated cake that had to have taken her hours—time that she could’ve been making cakes for other people that would pay her bills.

“Thank you!” I gushed before I rushed to her. “But you shouldn’t have. You should’ve focused on things that made money for the bakery.”

With a dismissive huff, she set the cake on the counter.

Happy beyond belief, I threw my arms around her neck and squeezed her tightly. Then I stepped back to go around her to see the cake better.

“Goodness! What was that for?” she asked with a curious smile.

“Because you’re the best, Nonna,”I told her with a little jump in place.

“You ready to go down to Horatio’s for your birthday lunch?”

“Is the pope Catholic?” I teased.

“Kendall! You shouldn’t make jokes about the pope,” she admonished as she made the sign of the cross and rolled her eyes. She muttered in Italian that my soul be protected, and I fought my giggle, wondering if she knew I understood everything she said. I might not have been able to speak Italian well, but I understood it since I’d heard it from birth.

We left the cake for after our meal and walked down to the restaurant. As we waited for our table, an awareness sent a tingle over the surface of my skin. I scanned the restaurant, and my breath caught as I saw Vittorio at a table against the back wall. He was there with what looked like his family, but he only had eyes for me. He smirked, and my cheeks burned as I scratched my nose to hide my smile.

As we followed the hostess, Nonna glanced over and saw Vittorio’s family. Her spine stiffened, and she turned up her nose as she averted her eyes from them to the young girl seating us. When we reached our table, she had her back to them, which left me trying not to stare at Vittorio. It was hard because his presence was magnetic.

When the waitress brought the hot bread and asked for our drink order, I jumped slightly because I’d been pretty oblivious. As I reached for a roll, I caught my nonna studying me with a narrowed gaze. “What?” I asked her.

She glanced over her shoulder at Vittorio’s family, then back to me. “You know them, Kendall?” Her tone was deceptively calm, and after the way she’d essentially snubbed them, it put me immediately on guard.

“Should I?” I asked, intentionally not answering so I didn’t have to lie.

“No. You absolutely should not,” she insisted.

Dropping my attention to the menu, I shrugged like it was no big deal and I wasn’t interested. “They’re cute,” I replied, as if it was a casual observation.

“So is a polar bear, but it’ll slaughter you without blinking,” she muttered.

“Geez, Nonna. Violent much? Do you know them or something?” I played it off like I was joking, but now I wanted to know.

“They aren’t someone I want to know.”

The server approached, and we placed our order. When our food was delivered a little while later, Vittorio and his family were preparing to leave. My eyes zeroed in on him, and he winked. Again, my cheeks heated, and I quickly returned to my meal, intentionally ignoring him to the best of my ability. Thankfully, Nonna didn’t seem to have noticed our exchange.

“As always, this is delicious, Nonna. Thank you.”

Her smile and relaxed posture told me she hadn’t seen me gawking at Vittorio again.

“Are you sure you don’t mind me going to my quilters club meeting tonight?” she asked as she finished her meal and dabbed daintily at her mouth with her napkin.

“Of course not. I’m going to the movies with my friends, I don’t expect you to sit home alone when this is a scheduled thing for you. I’m a big girl, Nonna.” The corner of my mouth quirked up, and she relaxed.

We boxed up our leftovers, and Nonna paid for our lunch. Then we made our way home.

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