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15
CATERINA
To my surprise,Elio is amazing during our beach day. He even gets pretty close to smiling, which I pretend doesn’t make my stomach twist into knots. He’s handsome, even more handsome than I remembered from his time in the pool.
Watching him with Luna makes something inside me just… shake. I feel like my heart, or my chest, or something is just made out of Jell-O. It makes me anxious and fluttery, and it takes everything in me to breathe and not think too hard about it.
I’m pretty sure that I’m having this strong of a reaction because well… Elio is just sexy. He’s hot as a boss, as a man, and I can’t pretend that’s not true.
But as a dad?
Shoot.
There must be something special about this man that attracts me on a cellular level. Some quirk of biology or science or heck, maybe even fate, because there’s something about watching him playing with our kid that just makes me melt.
I grit my teeth and try to ignore it. Eventually, Luna comes back to the picnic site.
“Francesca really outdid herself,” Gia chuckles as she unloads some of the containers. “She even made lemon biscotti for dessert.”
“Uh huh,” I murmur, my eyes glued to Elio’s chest as he emerges from the ocean.
“You know, I bet if we brought her a body she would just roast it, and we’d all happily eat it, she’s that good of a cook,” Gia continues.
“Sure, sounds good,” I say. Jesus, the way that he moves in the ocean should be outlawed. He’s got muscles along his side that I didn’t even know existed. Did he have those when we…
“Caterina,” Gia says. Loudly.
I turn back to her. “What?”
“I just discussed making our beloved housekeeper dispose of a body via cooking. You just agreed. You good over there?”
I blink, then look away, hoping she doesn’t notice the blush in my cheeks. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh,” Gia laughs. “It’s okay, I know you were staring at my brother.”
“I wasn’t,” I say quickly.
She hands me a plate of salad, with something that looks like a stromboli on it. “Sure. The Italian seaside is beautiful, but it’s not captivating enough to pull your attention that much.”
Primly, I nibble the stromboli. It’s pretty good; once Luna comes back from making sandcastles, I’ll try to get her to eat some. “I happen to be very fascinated with seascapes.”
Gia laughs. “Sure you are.”
“Mommy!”
Luna’s voice makes me turn. “Yes?”
“Come play with me!”
I laugh at the demand in her tone. “I should make her wait.”
“Nah. Go play. I’ll keep your plate for you.” Gia smiles.
I smile back. “Thanks, Gia.”
Putting my plate down, I walk over to where Luna has created a full excavation at the edge of the surf. “Hey baby.”
“Hi Mommy,” she chirps.
