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Gabi covered her mouth and chuckled. “No way!”
Nodding, I said, “It did.”
She laughed. “Nick, that is impossible. I’ve done my family tree back for hundreds of years. I’m full-blown Italian.”
He winked. “Let’s just let her believe.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and guided her into the kitchen.
“She’s going to expect me to fall in love with Greek food now.”
I tossed my head back and let out a roar of laughter before I said, “Hell, she’s going to expect you to give up Italian cooking for Greek.”
Moaning, she dropped her head against my shoulder.
“Welcome to the family, baby.”
FOUR MONTHS LATER
“WHAT DO YOU mean you’re making Irish desserts?”
Glancing over to Katerina, I stared at her for a few seconds. By now, I was starting to figure out Nic’s mother. She was a hard nut to crack, but I was somehow making my way in and learning how to maneuver around in this family.
It was the pretend three percent Greek in me.
“Well, Kilyn is Irish, so I thought for her baby shower, a few Irish desserts would be fun to do.”
She stood there staring at me with her mouth gaped open. “What is wrong with baklava or katifi?”
Shrugging, I replied, “Nothing.”
“Most of the guests will be Greek!”
“Probably,” I said with a chuckle.
“Then why not make a Greek dessert. Something everyone would enjoy?”
I was having a hard time holding back my smile. “Katerina, you’re more than welcome to make the desserts if you’d think everyone would prefer Greek.”
Narrowing her eyes at me, she forced a smile and waved her hand around. “No. Kilyn specifically asked for you to handle the desserts.”
I smiled. “Besides, it will be fun for everyone to try something new.”
Katerina huffed.
Going back to reading Kilyn’s and Thano’s baby registry, I couldn’t help but notice Katerina glancing around the house.
Peeking up, I watched her walk over to one of the kitchen cabinets and open it. Any other woman would have been pissed, but I knew this was part of the Nic package. And I knew that privacy was something his family didn’t do. I learned that the day Nic practically had sex with me in front of his mother and aunts when they decided to come over and cook him some meals so he didn’t starve.
“Did Nic get new mixing bowls?”
I fought to roll my eyes.
“Nope. Those are mine.”
Another cabinet opened. “He bought new plates?”
“Those are my plates.”
Grunting, she looked through a drawer then another cabinet.
“Your pasta bowl?” she asked.
“Yep.”
She shut the cabinet. “Have you officially moved in, Gabriella?”
Her eyes shot right to my left hand.
“I guess you could say I have since I’m here every night.”
“What about your place above the bakery?” Katerina asked as she took a seat at the kitchen island.
“Charity is living there. With the baby coming, she needed the extra room.”
Katerina smiled. She loved babies, and I knew she was counting the days until Kilyn had her second child. It killed her Thano and Kilyn hadn’t told anyone the sex of the baby.
“How nice of you to do that. It’s the Greek in you.”
I smiled. “Don’t you think it is strange, Katerina, that I’m ninety-seven percent Italian, and three percent Greek?”
“No. Someone in your family history had the good sense to sleep with a Greek man.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “We both know how well they are in bed.”
Dropping my mouth open, I gasped. “Katerina!”
She brushed me off with her hands. “Oh, don’t pretend you are shy and innocent now, Gabriella. I’ve heard my Nicholaus and how he talks dirty to you.”
I wanted to crawl under a rock. I’d never live that moment down for as long as I live.
“If my Nic makes you as happy as my Dimitris does, I know why someone in your family went Greek. You know what they say about Greek men.”
Grinning, I asked, “No, what do they say?”
“Once you’ve had Greek, you can’t walk for a week.”
I could feel the heat on my cheeks as she sat there and stared at me with a deadpan face.
When she lifted her brow, as if to challenge me, I closed my eyes and wished for a time machine to go back an hour and not answer the door.
My phone beeped, causing me to open my eyes and glance down at it.
“It’s Max.”
Katerina chuckled. “It’s always Max.”
I couldn’t argue with her on that.
Standing, I knew she was waiting. “Would you like to drive over there with me?”
A smile exploded on her face. “I’d love to.”
Katerina and I talked a little more about Kilyn’s baby shower on the way to the bakery. It was a short drive. Less than five minutes. I was lucky enough to find a parking space right out front so we walked in through the front door.
My eyes immediately went to the display cabinets.
Oh. No. She. Did. Not.
Snapping my eyes up to Charity, she was making a face like she tried to stop it, but failed.
