Page 14 of The Mobster's Nanny

Romeo lets out a loud and indistinguishable whine in response, and I laugh and ruffle his hair before getting into the car.

The second half of the day turns out to be more active than I expected, but I like it. As soon as we get back home, I feed Romeo a light lunch, not failing to notice that Matteo has already grabbed his portion, and start planning dinner right away. Romeo brings his textbooks and notes to the dining room, close enough so I can check on him every once in a while, and there we dive deep into arithmetic and past tenses.

Romeo turns out to be quite a smart boy who just gets distracted very easily. It only takes him two or even one explanation to understand the rules, which helps him a lot. But every time I murmur something about the recipe or Dolce comes to ask for pets, Romeo immediately abandons everything to focus on something new. So I remind him, again and again, to come back to studying, and we spend the rest of the day like that until Romeo is done with his homework and I’m done with the pork loin and mashed potatoes.

“It smells so good!” Romeo is all but salivating, watching the dishes I place in front of him before looking up at me. “Are we gonna have dinner together?”

“Oh, no, I have to go,” I say with an apologetic grimace, and Romeo pouts.

“But you’re gonna be back, aren’t you?”

“Of course! I’ll help your dad put you to bed.” I give him a smile, but Romeo turns away, digging into his plate with much less enthusiasm. “Where is he, by the way? It’s time for dinner.”

I place my hands on my hips and look around as if expecting Matteo to show up out of nowhere. Not that I care about his nutrition, but I don’t want Romeo to think that I intentionally left him out. He showed up at the kitchen only once since we arrived, and even then he seemed to be so deep in his thoughts that he barely even noticed our presence.

“He’s probably busy with work.” Romeo shrugs, still swirling his fork through the potatoes. “He doesn’t like to be distracted.”

Yeah, that much I’ve noticed.

“Well, I’m going to ask him anyway.” I drop the kitchen towel on the table and turn to Romeo with a pointed look. “And you, my dear, stop playing with the food and start eating. It’s potato, not Play-Doh, I promise.”

He mumbles something in response, but I don’t even try to figure out what he’s saying and walk to the stairs. The weight of the day starts bearing on my shoulders, and as soon as I’m out of Romeo’s sight and hearing, I let out a deep sigh and allow my smile to disappear. God, it's been one hell of a day, and it's not even over yet. I forgot how draining this work can be—but I can’t let myself slip. I gotta keep going so Matteo doesn’t figure me out.

So I take a new breath and step onto the second floor, focusing on the door of his office. I wonder if I should try and listen to him again. No, better not risk it and just—

“Oh, careful!”

“Sorry.”

As soon as I reach the door, it suddenly opens right in front of me and Matteo walks out in a hurry and almost bumps into me. Goddamnit! It startles me, and I instinctively step back, trying to grasp what just happened. Matteo stands before me with his eyes tired and his hair in disarray, looking like a perfect example of a single man working from home.

“Oh, Liss, yes, I was looking for you…wait, what are you doing here?”

Shit. Is he suspecting me of something?

But Matteo frowns, trying to focus on me, and I can see in his eyes that his mind is still on his work. “Is everything alright?

“Yes, everything’s great. Romeo is downstairs, having dinner.” I gesture at the stairs before turning to look up at Matteo. Damn, he’s tall. “We’ve already finished homework, so I told him he can play games if you let him.”

“Sure, sure.”

“Also, I prepared enough for both of you, so if you’re hungry you can join him.” God, how annoying it is to be so polite all the time! But I bite back my bitterness and keep smiling, clutching my hands behind my back. “It looked like Romeo wouldn’t mind company.”

“Oh, of course. Thank you.” Matteo frowns harder, processing my words, and rubs his face before looking me in the eyes. “Yes, uh, I mean it. I was too busy with work to talk to you earlier, but really, thank you for your help.”

Just look at how thoughtful we are, huh.

“It’s nothing.” I force my smile a little wider and wave a hand. “I’m just doing my job.”

“Well, you did much more than I expected.” Matteo smiles a little and looks around, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’d be happy to share dinner with you if you are—”

“Oh, no, I can’t.”

He blinks in confusion when I cut him off, and god, why does it look so cute?

“Thanks for your offer, Matteo, but I have plans for the night. Remember, I told you about it?” I force myself to look away from him and glance down the hallway, trying not to look too impatient. “I really have to go.”

“Ah, sure. Of course.” He nods, frowning at himself, and reaches for his phone. “It’s already seven, isn’t it? I don’t want to keep you for longer.”

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