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She smiles sadly. “It’s easy, Rome. I think you need to make her fall in love with you.”
I snort out loud, the idea is so preposterous. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
She shakes her head. “Of course I’m not. It’s a lot simpler than you might think.”
“If it were that easy, why doesn’t every man do it?”
“Lots of reasons, Rome. Ego, ignorance, their egotistical dicks.”
I can’t help but smile. Fuck I’ve missed her. “Good to have you back here, Rosa.”
She sobers as she continues.
“Wish I could say it was good to be home.” She looks at the walls with a frown as if they have ears, as if they’ll rat her out. None of us has had an easy life, but I sometimes worry that being the eldest has scarred her permanently.
“Our needs are simpler than you might think, Rome. A woman wants to be valued, cherished even. She wants to be understood. Appreciated.”
“Yeah? Thought they wanted more than that,” Tavi says with a frown.
“Some, maybe, but if you make a woman feel cherished and valued, you can get away with a lot more bullshit than you think.”
I look at her curiously. Her asshole husband didn’t give her this. She deserves someone who would. I finally nod.
“How do I make a woman I don’t even know feel that way?”
She stands, brushing crumbs and flecks of powdered sugar off her hands.
“Tell you what, Romeo. You do your part and we’ll do ours.”
I grunt. “Who’s this we?”
She smiles. “Me and Marialena.”
“Oh fucking great,” I mutter. “You two playing Cupid?” I stifle a groan. This is gonna go over well.
Rosa rolls her eyes and walks to the door, but sobers as she leaves. “You’re a smart man, Romeo Rossi. Mama didn’t raise a fool.” She doesn’t say anything about Papa and sighs as she opens the door. “Think about it. You’ll figure it out. Oh, and Rome?”
“Mmm?”
“If she doesn’t come to dinner, you don’t have to go all Beauty and the Beast on her. Give her some space or she might hate you.” I suspect she’s talking from personal experience.
“What the fuck is ‘all Beauty and the Beast?’”
She rolls her eyes again and she’s gone.
I look to Tavi who only shakes his head while he eyes the last chocolate cookie. “Uh. So there’s like this scene where Belle doesn’t want to come to dinner and the Beast practically breaks her door down demanding she come…”
“So that makes me a beast?”
“This surprises you?”
I grunt.
“And you know about the movie how?”
“Watched it with Natalia,” he says, referring to Rosa’s little girl. He reaches his hand to the platter.
“You eat the last chocolate one and I’ll break your fucking fingers,” I warn him.
He only smiles. “Go ahead, brother. Eat it. Maybe it’ll sweeten your sour-ass disposition.” He shoves three more of the pink ones into his mouth before handing me the tray.
I glance at the clock. Dinnertime’s coming. I eat the chocolate cookie in one bite.
Chapter Nine
“Under love’s heavy burden I sink.” Romeo and Juliet
Vittoria
I wake the next morning to the sound of birds twittering outside my window. I roll over, trying to remember where I am. I’m not on the back seat of my car but in a bed. A gorgeous bed with elegant bedding, and… I sit up and gasp while it all comes back to me with vivid clarity.
I’m in the Rossi Castle.
I don’t even know who they are, but one night here means I only have twenty-nine more to go.
I can do this.
“Oh, ew,” I mutter to myself when I realize I’m in bed still fully clothed. I cleaned up a bit before I laid down but never even brushed my teeth. Yuck.
And I’m starving.
I blink, suddenly remembering Romeo’s stern reminder to come down to dinner at six. Will he be angry? Why does the thought of his scowl set my heart to racing?
Is it hot in here?
I throw off the covers, then realize I didn’t put those on me. I look to the door. It’s unlocked.
Someone came in here. Someone saw me asleep and covered me in a blanket. Huh.
I push myself to my feet, and my stomach growls. I haven’t eaten in way too long. My mouth waters at the smell of bacon, coffee, and cinnamon. If yesterday was any indication of the way they feed people here, I’m in for a treat.
I nearly trip over a large brown paper bag by the door, one of those fancy ones with a pink ribbon tied to the handle you might get at a boutique. I look inside and find a stack of clothes with a handwritten note.
You can borrow these until we can get your clothes sorted. Hope you like them! I made Romeo leave you alone last night but it’s probably a good idea to come to breakfast. ~M
She made Romeo… leave me alone last night.
