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I started the engine, and like I’d done on the drive at the beginning of our date, I put my hand in the middle. Rory glanced at it, then put her palm in mine, and I closed my fingers around hers.
Fucking perfection.
Before I dropped her off, I turned to her, our hands still linked. “I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a night that didn’t involve blood more than tonight.”
“I enjoyed our date as well,” Aurora admitted.
“So you’ll go out with me again?”
“Yes.”
“This is probably breaking protocol but I don’t care. I need to do this.” I tugged her toward me and kissed her, then with a monumental effort, I pulled back.
“Thanks,” Aurora said quietly as she stepped up to the front door.
“Thank you for giving me a chance I didn’t deserve.”
Nevio had surprised me with our date. He’d nailed it. Maybe some women wanted a fancy restaurant and all that stuff, but for me, low-key made me feel like myself.
Nevio had broken my no physical rule by kissing me, but the kiss had been so sweet and chaste, so un-Nevio-like, that I couldn’t even be mad at him, especially because I had almost lost control and deepened the kiss myself.
But this time, I wanted to do things right and not allow my desire for Nevio to overrun everything else.
Nevio and I went on two more dates that he planned, another fun evening at the Play Playground with games for adults like a doctor game, and the second time, he even took me to a museum I’d once mentioned to him, which definitely wasn’t his thing.
I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the dates, especially as each one showed that he knew my taste better than I’d ever thought possible.
I decided to organize our fourth date, a movie night at the apartment with homemade tacos and Nevio’s favorite sour beer.
“Are you thinking about moving back here?” Nevio asked as we settled on the couch with our tacos. I turned on the TV to watch the horror classicNosferatuthat Nevio loved. I wasn’t a huge fan of black-and-white movies, but I enjoyed the occasional masterpiece from the past, and this was one of them.
I looked around the small, cozy living room. It had felt good to live here with Carlotta, but with her complicated health situation and me taking care of Battista, it didn’t seem clever to move out of my home anytime soon. The support from my parents plus the Falcone clan made daily life with Battista so much easier. Of course, now that Nevio was back, we’d all have to figure out a new routine.
“I don’t think so. I wouldn’t want to live here alone. I really appreciate everyone’s support.”
Nevio nodded. He and I sat very close, our shoulders touching. “I could move in with you.”
My eyes widened. “You want to move out of the Falcone mansion, away from Alessio and Massimo, to live in this small place? Why?”
His eyes were serious, and it was still strange to see him this responsible and thoughtful. “I’d do it for you. And that way, we could work out how to be a family with Battista.”
My throat became tight and my chest felt as if it might splinter from the force of my heartbeat. I cleared my throat, trying to find words. “Shouldn’t we figure out how to be a couple before we live together and try to be a family?”
“Aren’t we on our way?”
It felt like we were. “It’s still too soon to say.” I could see the disappointment, maybe even frustration in Nevio’s eyes. I understood him. I too wanted to speed up things, to throw myself headfirst into this, but the past had taught me caution, especially when it came to Battista’s well-being. “I don’t want to give Battista a family he might lose.”
“He won’t lose it, Rory. I want you, and I’ll do everything to make us happen. I know we can be a family for Battista. Maybe not the one you see in cheesy commercials. We’ll always be an unconventional family, but unconventional doesn’t mean bad. My family is a bunch of weirdos, and I loved growing up among them. Fuck, I couldn’t have wished for a better family.”
I chuckled. “They are great, and you gave them a hard time over the years.”
“I did, but they handled it as best as anyone could. And if Battista is anything like me, he’ll need a family to have his back.”
“I want us to be a family,” I admitted. “Let’s work on us a bit more before we think about including Battista, okay?”
Nevio nodded slowly. I turned on the TV. After a while, Nevio put his arm around my shoulders. I snuggled against him, allowing the closeness because my body yearned for it more than I could put into words.
“I think I’ll open your presents tomorrow,” I whispered. His Christmas and birthday presents for me were hidden in the back of my closet. I hadn’t had the heart to throw them away, and now that Nevio and I seemed to be working on our relationship, I was glad for it.
