thankfully not paying any attention to us. While stirring, I reply quietly, “Well, I felt bad after our meeting Friday. You did a lot to help me out, and I don’t know why I blew you off like that.”
“You don’t know why?” Narrowing his eyes, he watches me carefully.
“I mean…I know why.” I inhale deeply, trying to force away the desire I feel every time this man is around me. I clear my throat and add, “But it doesn’t matter because I know nothing will happen between us.”
He pushes himself off the counter to join me by the stove and stir the second pot. It’s an innocent enough motion, but his arm brushes against mine, and the sensation causes those flutters to rush through my belly again. “Are you sure nothing will happen?”
I swallow the knot in my throat and feign bravado. “Yes, I’m strong enough to resist your charms, or I wouldn’t be here right now.”
He turns to look at me, a smug grin spreading over his roguish face. “You think I’m charming?”
A growl vibrates in my throat. “I don’t think you’re charming. It’s clear that you think you’re charming. But I think you’re just an arrogant pain in the arse.”
He laughs softly, and his voice is warm and wicked when he replies, “I think you’re merely stirring the pot, Tilly.”
When my family showed up at my flat today with crates of tomatoes, jars, and salsa di Pomodoro supplies, I was in a sour mood. It doesn’t help that every time Nonna walks in my flat, she tells me everything that is on her mind, good, bad, or otherwise…mostly bad.
“Your pants are too tight, this salad is too salty, you need more sunlight on your face, a white sofa is not a smart purchase. Good windows here.”
It’s a treat.
However, I always know where I stand with Nonna, so that’s something to be respected.
Then my mother snapped at me for cutting the tomatoes wrong while Angela did nothing but moan about the fact that her boyfriend wasn’t invited to help out today. And Bart, bloody hell, my stepfather is a kind man, but he does more eating than working, and it drives me absolutely mental to watch him riffle through my pantry like he owns it.
Nevertheless, this is my family. This is what they do. They show up a few times a year on Sundays to stock my shelves with whatever essentials they think I need. In today’s case, it’s sauce. So, we work for several hours, eat, and they leave me with a giant mess to clean up.
Normally, it’s a process I enjoy. Nonna and Mum taught me how to cook at a very young age, so being in the kitchen is never a bother.
However, today, I was not in the mood to deal with everyone. I just wanted a quiet day alone to brood with my thoughts.
Then…Tilly showed up.
And fuck me if my mood hasn’t cheered right the bloody hell up.
Which brings me to my next point. Why is the sight of Tilly dumping scoops of boiled tomatoes into the electric strainer with my nonna so fucking hot?
Wait…shit…that sounds wrong.
It’s not my nonna that’s hot. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s a lovely woman, but Tilly with my nonna…asking questions, following directions, doing whatever is asked of her without hesitation…it’s causing me to feel things.
Things I’ve never felt before.
It’s not love. Christ, that’s insane.
It’s just…chemistry. Pure, undeniable chemistry that I am struggling to gain control of. Has any woman ever rocked my control like this? I know the answer to that question.
Tilly and I work alongside each other for the next couple of hours, laughing and flirting as we strain and jar tomato sauce. When a large chunk splatters her nice, painfully tight tee, and both of us react like a couple of immature teenagers under the glowering eyes of Nonna, I realise that just being friends with Tilly is too hard. My patience is spent. The more I’m around her, the more I want her. And seeing her get out of her head and have some fun with me again is all the sign I need to know that we have the potential to be more.
Going back to our previous arrangement with rules and limits is out of the question. Too much has changed. And as nerve-wracking as it may be, I need to know that she feels the same way. Otherwise, we may need to stop whatever this is right fucking now before she truly