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“Oh wow, sorry for being so snarky. How are things now that you’re away at school?”
“They’re managing okay.” Luke finally looked at Nico. “Rosalie is old enough now that she doesn’t need as much attention as before.”
“Gotcha.” He opened a cabinet, pulled out a round bottle, and showed it to Luke. “The most important part to great lemon chicken.”
Luke snorted. “What’s that? Some super-secret Amato sauce or something?”
“Hardly. It’s called Lemon Goddess dressing. The chicken tastes so much better than if you just use the lemon pepper.” Nico shook the bottle quickly and then poured some over the chicken. “I believe you were explaining your day and stopped at good.”
“Right.” He put the chopped vegetables in a bowl and watched Nico cover the chicken in the butter-soy sauce. “Bad because Kent wanted to talk during the break. Great because the partner I’ll be working with pulled me aside before Kent could talk to me. And interesting because I’m one of only a few interns that was assigned a partner.”
“Really? Did everyone else have to share a mentor?”
“No, most people were assigned senior associates.” One of them being Kent.
“And what is Mr. Partner like?”
“From my one whole day of working for him, Mr. Rayner seems super nice. He’s shown me a few things already for projects he wants me to work on.”
“That’s awesome.” Nico held out his fist and sounded more excited than Luke. “Sounds like they know who the superstars are already.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’ve heard more than a few people are jealous.” Including Kent. “I also don’t think I should read too much into it. From my conversations with Mr. Rayner, he’s been mentoring interns since he was an associate and enjoys it. I think it was just random placement that landed me with him.”
“Still, having the ears and eyes of a partner can’t hurt your chances.” Nico continued to smile.
“Probably true.” So long as he didn’t screw up.
Luke pushed back from the table, almost too full to move. “That was amazing.”
“Better than mac and cheese from a box?” Nico’s phone buzzed on the table near him. He leaned over and read the screen.
“Way better. I feel like I’m at home.”
“Right.” Nico stood and grabbed their plates. “Home.”
Luke almost grabbed Nico’s phone to look at the message as his friend walked to the sink. Whatever he’d read flattened his mood.
“Everything okay?”
“Huh?” Nico turned on the water and glanced over.
“I asked if you’re okay. You read something on your phone and now you look . . . different.”
“That? No, everything’s fine.” He rinsed off the plates and put them in the dishwasher. “My sister isn’t coming down this weekend. Her fiancé is going to New York.”
Luke carried the serving dishes into the kitchen. “Oh, no. Mrs. R isn’t going to get the world-famous Amato Pastry Sampler you promised her.”
“No, she’ll get them. I’m supposed to go up too.” Nico continued to clean in silence.
“Okay, now I know something is wrong.”
Nico stopped and looked over. “What?”
“You’re washing the pots.” He pointed at the soapy baking dish in Nico’s hands. “You said the plan was you cook, I clean.”
“I was only kidding about that. Besides, you helped cook.”
“What’s going on?” What was it Nico had said? Amato men never asked for help. “Can I help?”
Nico sighed. “Um . . . maybe.”
Luke leaned against the counter so Nico couldn’t avoid him.
“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just . . .” Nico stared hard at Luke, a tiny frown creasing his brow. Something flashed in his eyes, and his cheeks colored. Nico fidgeted with the sponge and hummed. “Remember when I said I might call in the favor from yesterday?”
Luke’s stomach lurched. “Uh-huh.”
“Well, I . . . the thing is.” Nico put the sponge down and wiped his hands on the towel. “First, if you can’t, it’s not a problem. I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything.”
“Nico.” Luke grabbed him by the shoulders. He’d never seen Nico so flustered. “Just spit it out.”
“Nonna wants me to come home for a family dinner.”
Luke rolled his hand in between them. “And?”
“They want me to bring my boyfriend.”
Nico
Nonna: Will you and your boyfriend be coming Friday evening or Saturday morning?
Of course Nonna assumed he’d come up. It was never a question. The boyfriend thing slapped him in the face, though. He never should have told Nonna he was dating anyone.
He never should have thought it would work out with Tomas.
“Your boyfriend?” Luke leaned against the counter with casual, easy grace, crossing his arms. “But you don’t have a boyfriend.”
“She thinks you’re the guy I was dating last semester.” Nico flashed him an embarrassed grin. “I never told her his name.”
Luke cocked his head, piecing the unspoken question together, probably.
Nico flushed. “Nonna wants to have a family dinner now that Elliott and I are finished with school.”
