“Ifidget with my hands while Enzo leads me up the grand steps of his brother’s home. I’m not usually an anxious person, but the nervous energy that runs through me while I consider how his family will treat me after everything that happened cannot be ignored.
After letting me in through the large french doors, we walk through the grand foyer that has an intricate chandelier as its focal point, then down a hallway that leads into a living room where voices are coming from.
When we round the corner, someone says, “Wow,” and my attention gets drawn to a beautiful brunette—Isabella DiMaggio—sitting on an ivory loveseat next to an equally attractive man who I recognize as Niccolò Silvestri.
“I can’t believe you finally decided to show up.” Isabella pushes herself up from the loveseat and walks toward us. “We were all just taking bets on if you’d ditch us or not.”
“Love the faith my own blood has in me,” Enzo says.
Ignoring her brother, Isabella comes up to me with open arms and a bright smile on her face. Her loose dark waves flow down over her shoulders. “I finally get to meet the mysterious Amalia.”
Before I can say anything, she wraps her arms around me and gives me a big hug. “It’s so nice to meet you,” she exclaims, then pulls back. “I’m Izzy.”
Returning her warm greeting with a smile, I say, “It’s nice to finally meet you too.”
Two more brunettes—Liana and Luxtyn—come up beside her. “Hi, I’m Liana,” one says, leaning in for a hug.
“And I’m Lux,” says the other, also leaning in for a hug.
“It’s nice to meet you both,” I say.
“That’s my boyfriend, Nicco, over there,” Izzy says, pointing over her shoulder.
“And that’s my husband, Teo,” Lux says, pointing to the head of the family who’s standing back with Nicco.
“Why aren’t you two coming over here to greet Amalia?” Izzy demands over her shoulder to Nicco and Teo.
“I think the three of you have swarmed her enough,” Enzo says, placing his hand on the curve of my back.
Izzy lets out a scoff and puts her hand on her hip. “Well, you’re the one who’s been keeping her locked up the past month. Excuse us if we’re a little excited to meet the woman who’s managed to get you wrapped around her finger.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says, then puts pressure on my back to move forward. “Let my girl sit. The three of you are too much at the same time.”
“Hey, we are not,” Izzy says while she and Lux step to the side for us to pass through.
When we round the couch, Nicco extends his hand and offers me a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” I say.
“It’s about time my little brother brought you around,” Teo says, shaking my hand. His tone is a lot more relaxed than I thought it would be. I’m not exactly sure what I expected going into this, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad bit nervous about meeting Matteo DiMaggio, especially with how things started with his family and mine.
“I’ve been intrigued to meet the woman who left him handcuffed to his bed, butt ass naked,” he says with a smirk.
Isabella chokes on her wine, Liana’s mouth drops open, and Lux says, “I’m sorry, what?” She does her best to bite back a laugh, but when I start laughing, they all join in.
“She left you handcuffed to your bed?” Izzy laughs out.
”For how long?” Liana asks in between spurts of laughter.
“Too fucking long,” Enzo grumbles.
“Butt ass naked?” Nicco says. “How the fuck did we not hear about this until now?” He laughs.
“I don’t see what the big fucking deal is,” Enzo says with a shrug.
“How long was it before you finally uncuffed him?” Lux asks me.
I shake my head. “Oh, I didn’t. I left him there all night. Teo’s actually the one who found him.”
Now it’s Lux’s turn to choke on her wine. “And you didn’t tell me?” she says to her husband.
“I don’t think you guys understand,” Teo says. “He was butt ass naked, which means I saw his fucking dick. I was doing my best to erase that incident from my mind.”
We all laugh.
“Alright, alright, everyone sit,” Izzy says, taking a seat on the loveseat next to Nicco. “We still have a few minutes before dinner’s ready.”
“You’re not cooking, right?” Enzo asks.
We both take a seat on the couch across from Teo and Lux, and Liana sits in the armchair next to them.
Izzy scoffs and her brows shoot to her hairline. “And what if I was?” she says to Enzo.
“Oh, babe, you cannot cook,” Liana says. “I love you, but that’s not your thing.”
“Hey, I can cook,” Izzy defends.
“Like what?” Enzo scoffs out.
“Nicco and I made gelato just the other day.” She gestures to Nicco. “Tell them, babe.”
“We did?” Nicco asks, raising a brow at Izzy.
We all start laughing, and Izzy rolls her eyes at Nicco, joining in with us and says, “Okay, fine. So maybe I just handed him the ingredients when he asked for them.”
“Exactly,” Enzo laughs out.
“It’s okay, Izzy. You know I’m useless in the kitchen too,” Liana says.
“And all I can do is make a stiff drink,” Lux adds.
“What about you, Amalia?” Izzy says.
“Can I cook?”
Izzy nods.
“Yeah, I actually love it,” I say, a smile creeping on my face as I think about all of the time I used to spend in the kitchen with my mom. “My mom taught me how to cook. Our favorite dishes to make were arepas and obleas.”
“Oooh, what’re those?” Izzy asks.
“Arepas are corn cakes. I just like to melt cheese on them, but they’re great with meat too. And obleas are these thin crispy wafers sandwiched together and filled with arequipe.”
“Okay, both of those sound amazing, but you had me at wafers. What’s arequipe, though?” Izzy asks.
“Dulce de leche. They’re delicious.”
“Oooh, sold,” Liana says.
“So when are we making this?” Lux asks.
“Oh, we should have a girls night and we can make them then!” Izzy exclaims.
“Hey, wait a second. You guys are already trying to steal my girl away from me?” Enzo says, throwing a possessive arm around my shoulders.
“Amalia’s been stuck with you for the past couple months. I’m pretty sure she needs a break,” Liana says.
“Yeah, Enzo. She needs some girl time. Don’t be so selfish,” Izzy adds.
“Selfish? She—”
“Would love to have a girls night and make obleas,” I interrupt.
I’ve never had a girls night before, but the thought brings a smile to my face.
Enzo looks at me and I smile brightly at him. “It was only a matter of time before I knew I’d be forced to share you,” he mumbles so only I can hear.
“You might have to share me, but I’ll always come back to you.”
After dinner we all gather on the back deck to enjoy the surprisingly nice spring night. Izzy and Liana are telling us about their plans for their bridal line and how they’re planning on taking on an intern from Centennial University to help with their growth when Enzo lowers his lips to my ear.
“You ready to get out of here?” he asks.
I look over at him and there’s a dark haze that’s taken over his eyes. “I’m ready whenever you are,” I say.
He looks deep into my eyes and brushes a loose strand behind my ear. “You know … I’m ready for that promise you made to me earlier.” The sexy headiness in his voice is already getting me excited.
“Oh, yeah? I think you might have to remind me what that promise was,” I say, biting my lower lip.
Enzo jumps up from his seat on the couch, pulling me up with him. “Well, dinner was delicious, company was great, but we gotta get going.”
“We all just got out here, though,” Izzy says, but Nicco places a hand on her thigh and gives her a look as if he’s trying to silently tell her something.
“What? … Oh,” she says, her eyes widening in horror as if she just realized why Enzo is suddenly in a rush to leave. “I shouldn’t have said anything because now I’m just grossed out,” she says, taking a sip of her wine.
After we all say our goodbyes, we get in Enzo’s car and head back home.
Home.
I still can’t believe my home is here in New York City with Enzo, and I can’t believe how happy it makes me. For the first time, I’m beginning to think this life is exactly the one I was meant to live.
“What’s going through that beautiful mind of yours?” Enzo asks, taking my hand in his.
“Just thinking about how much has changed and how happy I am. I was a little worried going into dinner tonight because I wasn’t sure how accepting your family was going to be of me since we started off on the wrong foot. But everyone was so great and they really made me feel like I was one of them.”
Enzo gives my hand a light squeeze. “That’s because you are, baby. My family would go through the depths of hell for each other. You’re no different. You’re one of us now. Always remember that.”
Leaning over, I give Enzo a kiss on the cheek, then peer back out the window, watching the passing lights as we head back home. Finally feeling like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be in life, and I couldn’t be any happier.
