Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
It’s almost unfair how sexy he looks when he clearly has just gotten out of bed himself, his hair all messy from sleep.
Jack laughs for no apparent reason like he often does. “Mommy!”
“Hey, Jack. I was looking for you.” I step closer until I hold Jack’s hand, painfully aware that Matteo’s arms are just a feather away. I need to get ahold of myself.
“Where did you think he was?” Matteo asks in that deep baritone that made my whole body vibrate last night.
“I . . . When did he come home from Lily’s?” I ask, feeling irresponsible. I need to stop getting distracted by Matteo and pay more attention to Jack.
“After you fell asleep last night.”
“You . . . put him to bed and everything?”
“It wasn’t a big deal. He was all tired out after playing outside all day.” Matteo gives me a smile that melts my insides. “Want some coffee?”
I feel like I’m in an alternate dimension where things magically materialize without me doing anything. Matteo is a guest in my house, and yet he’s taking care of everything for me. I feel guilty but so well-rested I can’t deny I needed the sleep.
“Sure.” Following behind Matteo, my eyes feast on the ropes of muscles under his tanned skin. Two hollows at the bottom of his back make me want to reach out my hand and touch him. His long legs look amazing in a pair of jeans.
“Here.” Matteo’s voice as he offers me a steaming mug of coffee interrupts my thoughts. When I look up to find his eyes, he says nothing, but the smirk on his gorgeous face tells me he knows I’ve been checking him out.
“Thanks.” I stare down at the most interesting coffee I’ve studied in my life, hiding my flushed face behind the mug. I need to say something. “Did you have to change him?”
Matteo laughs. “Yeah. We got to know each other on a deeper level this morning, didn’t we, Jack?”
Jack giggles. It’s like they share some kind of a secret now. The sight of them looking at each other, grinning, fills my chest with warmth.
I stare at them. “You know how to change a diaper?”
“Well, that was my first time,” Matteo admits sheepishly. “I didn’t want to wake you up, and there were videos on YouTube, so I just gave it a go. I got something on my shirt but Jack looks great, right?”
So do you, I want to say. I bite back the words. I can’t just tell him he looks better naked in front of my toddler.
Instead, I laugh at a mental image of Matteo, slouching over the changing table while a how-to video played on his phone.
This feels nice. Coffee in the morning, Jack giggling happily, a sexy, half-naked man in my kitchen. I could get used to this.
The problem is things can’t stay this way forever. Not for Matteo and me.
Later that day, when Jack is taking a nap, Matteo proves my point.
I perch on the barstool in the kitchen as Matteo whips up some adult food. He’s wearing a shirt now, but I still remember every little contour underneath.
He leans across the breakfast bar and holds a spoon up to my mouth. “Try it.”
The stew he’s working on tastes amazing. Rich and complex. “That’s way better than I expected.”
He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or a diss.”
I laugh. “I just didn’t expect you to cook; that’s all. I mean you’re this big, scary, mafia guy.”
Matteo cocks me a lopsided smile, his gaze dark. “Are you scared of me, kitten?”
When he speaks like that, my core reacts. I can’t help it. He makes me crave sex like I never have before.
Heat suffuses my cheeks. “No.”
“Liar.” Matteo laughs. He moves the food onto two plates and sets them on the counter between us. “I had to cook for myself when I was living away from home. My mom taught me some recipes. This is one of them.”
I think about Matteo in the kitchen of his bachelor pad, working on an Italian stew as he follows a family recipe. “I can see why you’d crave something like this when you’re away from home.”
He smiles. “Grace, come home with me.”
“So you’re only being so nice to me because there’s something you want, huh?” My tone is light, but I’m only half-joking.
Matteo has been great to me. Amazing. Gentle, kind, and understanding. Too good to be true.
What if this is just a trap? What if he’s just trying to get me to do what he wants so he can take Jack away from me? What if he wants revenge for what I did to dishonor his family, or for my family’s part in this stupid war they wage against one another?
I mean I almost got teary-eyed watching Matteo and Jack this morning. My eyes misted. But of course he’d treat Jack well; Jack is his son after all.