We’d barely had time to make ourselves at home here before Arianne and Nicco got engaged. Swallowing the pinch of loneliness, I walked over to the window and pulled the blinds, letting the winter sun pour into the room.
“You don’t have to stay,” I said to Maurice when I noticed him hovering.
“Mr. and Mrs. Marchetti—”
“Asked you to stick around?” The words caught over the lump in my throat.
“They thought you might like the company.” He gave me a stiff nod.
“Maurice, I’m fine.”
Fine.
The word was cotton in my mouth.
I needed to do this—I needed to be here alone, without Maurice standing watch.
“Miss Ab—”
“Maurice,” I snapped. “I said I’ve got this.”
His expression softened. “Very well, Miss—”
“And for the love of God, stop calling me Miss Abato. I’m Nora, just Nora.”
“Very well, Nora.” His mouth quirked. “I’ll be right outside.”
“That wasn’t what I… yeah, okay.”
I knew Maurice wasn’t going to defy Nicco’s orders, so he could stand guard outside for all he liked, and I could go on pretending my life was normal.
I set to unpacking my case. Mom had insisted on doing all my laundry, so all I had to do was hang things back in my closet. Halfway into it, a knock at the door startled me. My brows furrowed wondering what Maurice could possibly want already.
Stomping to the door, I pulled it open. “Yes—you’re not Maurice.”
“No, I’m Luca.” The guy smiled, and I swear my knees went a little weak. He was handsome. Tall with thick dark hair that fell over his eyes a little. Hazel eyes sparkled with humor as he took me in.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snapped, feeling my anger levels rise as he blatantly ogled my chest.
“Uh, your shirt.” His gaze lifted to mine.
“My shirt?” I balked.
“Yeah, I like it…”
I looked down, my cheeks burning when I realized I was wearing my boo bees t-shirt.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, clapping a hand over my mouth. “I didn’t… I wasn’t expecting visitors.” And humorous shirts were my favorite thing, I had an entire collection.
“Relax, I dig it.”
“I… really don’t know what to say to that.” I forced a smile, slightly mortified that he’d caught me wearing my little ghost-bee motif t-shirt. “What can I do for you, Luca?”
“I just moved in across the hall, and it would seem I forgot all the important things like coffee, cream, and sugar.”
“There’s a coffee shop right along the street.” My brow lifted, and he chuckled.
“Okay, you got me. I’m just trying to introduce myself to the neighbors and asking for some coffee sounds way better than being all creepy.”
“Are you… a creep?” A smile played on my lips.
“Depends on your definition, I guess.”
Our mutual laughter filled the space between us. “Well, since you’re here, do you want to come in for coffee?”
“Yeah?” His whole face lit up. “That would be great… I mean, in a totally non-creepy way.”
I glanced down the hall and noticed Maurice trying to make himself inconspicuous. He caught my eye and shook his head.
“Relax, Maurice,” I called. “Luca is my new neighbor. I’m sure you know all about him.” Nicco’s team probably ran background checks on everyone living in the building since Arianne spent time over here.
“Uh, do I need to be worried about the fact you have armed security standing out in the hall?” Luca’s brows crinkled as he followed me into the kitchen.
“Who, Maurice? He’s nobody. How do you take your coffee?”
“Extra cream, one sugar please.”
I switched on the coffee machine, suddenly feeling out of my depth. Here I was, dressed in my lounge pants and my oversized boo bees t-shirt, with a hot guy waiting for me to make coffee.
It wasn’t exactly the New Year’s Day I’d imagined.
“So Luca from across the hall, what’s your story?” I asked as I poured us both a mug of coffee, adding sugar to his and creamer to mine.
“I just moved from Pawtucket. I work for a marketing company and they had a promotion opportunity… and here I am.” He pushed his hair out of his eyes, smiling. “What about you?”
“Well, I didn’t just move, as you can tell.” I glanced around the apartment. “Born and raised in Verona County. I’m a freshman at Montague University.”
“A freshman, wow, I thought you were older. Now, I do feel all kinds of creeper for being here.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-three. I graduated a year ago.”
“So old.” I rolled my eyes. “Well, you picked a good neighborhood. It’s a busy student