Page 31 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

Tony looked dismayed. “I just looked away for a second.”

“Move over, let me see what I can salvage,” Mrs. Moretti said, taking over and effectively shoving her son to the side.

Ava sidled up to her brother, nudging him in the ribs and smiling. “Were you distracted from texting Zac?” she asked in a singsong voice.

“Zac again?” Mrs. Moretti asked as she worked over her burnt sauce. “For Pete’s sake, Tony, when are you going to bring that boy over so we can all meet him? It’s almost like you’re ashamed of us or something. Look at your sister, she brought her boyfriend, and Lord knows that we are going to have some questions for this young—” she stopped short, smiling slightly, before continuing, “well, younger than me, anyway, man.”

Ava smiled at me sheepishly.

“Spencer,” Mrs. Moretti called out, “you may want to ditch the suit jacket since things get messy in here. As soon as you get that off, I’m putting you on stirring duty. Ava, Tony, you two take those dishes to the table.”

I did as I was told, even as Ava eyed me warily. I could tell that she was nervous leaving me alone with her mother, but I maintained my ease. I’d dealt with sharks before in the boardroom, and I could tell that Mrs. Moretti smelled blood in the water, but I wouldn’t show fear.

Once Ava and Tony cleared the door of the kitchen, heading for the dining room, Mrs. Moretti turned to me. “So, you and my daughter, huh?”

“Um, yeah, me and Ava…”

“Listen, there’s not a lot of time because my daughter is too smart for her own good—but I’m sure you know that. You need to understand something: Ava has never brought a guy home before, and her father isn’t here anymore, so it is my job to make sure that you are good enough for my daughter.”

I nodded solemnly, holding eye contact as I continued to stir. “Understandable. What can I do to ease your worry?”

She surveyed me quickly. “Look, Leo wasn’t wrong, you’re a little long in the tooth. My daughter isn’t just some mid-life crisis for you, is she? Because that girl has dreams and goals, and I will not have some middle-aged bozo break her heart or deter her from those aspirations just so he can have some fun.”

For the briefest of moments, I felt a pang of remorse for the fact that this whole thing was a charade. Mrs. Moretti was right to be concerned for her daughter because I did want to do some truly wicked things to Ava. But I had absolutely no intention of breaking anyone’s heart, least of all Ava’s.

“I understand your concern, Mrs. Moretti, and I understand most people’s assumptions when they see someone like me with someone as young as Ava, but I can assure you that as beautiful as I know your daughter to be, it’s her personality that draws me in. Her fire, her compassion, her loyalty to those she cares about, I’m endlessly impressed by all of it. If I’m being completely honest, a part of me kind of hopes that some of those traits will rub off on me. I could use some of that fire during business negotiations.” I smiled and found that I meant every word of it. For a woman I could barely stand to be around just a short while ago, I now found myself intoxicated by Ava’s presence. The change was still causing whiplash for me, but I was holding on for the ride, intrigued by all that was Ava and almost forgetting why we’d started the charade in the first place.

Mrs. Moretti softened her stance somewhat. “Hmm, that’s a good answer. I’ll try to pave the way for you for now, Mr. Ashbury, because the Moretti men can be a handful. I kind of feel sorry for you on that, but I am telling you now, if you hurt my little girl in the slightest, I will sick all four of her brothers on you.”

I tried to keep my expression neutral. “Four? I’ve only met three.”

“Alfie had to work tonight, which is lucky for you because he’s my bruiser, and he’s particularly fond of his baby sister.”

I nodded. “I understand completely, Mrs. Moretti.”

I made a mental note to talk to Ava about how to handle the inevitable break-up once we’d accomplished what we set out to do, but that thought caused yet another pang that I was forced to tamp down when I saw Ava pop her around the doorway, looking worried. “Everything okay in here?” she asked worriedly.

“Of course, sweetheart,” Mrs. Moretti sang out. “What did you think would be happening, that I would take the melon baller to him while you were gone? We had a lovely conversation.”

My eyes stay trained on Ava, who noticeably relaxed. “Now, be a dear and show your guy where to pour that sauce,” Mrs. Moretti said as she scooped up a basket full of rolls and left the kitchen.

Ava looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Well, I don’t know what all you said, Duke, but it looks like you passed the test.”

I smiled down at her, but that smile sobered when she reached across me to turn off the burner on the stove, and in the process, her breast brushed my chest. “Now, we just have to survive dinner with my brothers, and you’re off the hook.”

What if I didn’t want to be off the hook?

Where the fuck had that thought come from?

We finished up in the kitchen, and I trailed behind Ava, who carried the sauce while I carried the hot lasagna. It was unnerving carrying the main course to the table because that meant when we entered the living room, all the eyes of the Moretti men swung to me, looking at me carefully and with judgment.

Ava directed me on where to put everything, then on where to sit, and I was happy to be right in between her and her mother.

Mrs. Moretti grabbed my hand and Leo’s, who was on her other side, as she said grace.

I didn’t remember the words she said in that moment, but I did peek at the table and the people around it. It was so warm, if not a little fraught with angst in case Leo and Mikey started beating up on each other, but there was also an abundance of love, that much was clear.

Even though her brothers were trying their best to intimidate me, I couldn’t fault them for it. I’d spent most of my adult life metaphorically tearing off the head of anyone who dared threaten the happiness of my little sister. But it looked like I was going to have to do much more than just tear off a head pretty soon.

---