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Julietta sighed. “I still remember being fascinated by the kitchen. I’d sit at the chair and watch Mama mix and knead dough for hours, hoping to get a taste of everything.
She was always covered in white powder. When papa would go to a meeting in his suit, he always complained everyone knew he was coming from the cloud of white dust he brought with him.”
Sawyer grinned. “Did he bake, too?”
Mama Conte nodded. “We all helped in the kitchen. My children learned early, but none of them had the passion for baking needed to be a chef. Venezia suffered through it, always more interested in clothes and heels and makeup.
Michael did it out of responsibility. Carina was too young at the time and always attracted to her art.” Her mother gazed at her from across the table with a proud glint in her eyes. “Julietta showed great talent, but she is most like her papa. They were very close and seemed to enjoy the business side of La Dolce Famiglia more than the creation of pastries.”
Julietta chewed the last of her ravioli and blotted her mouth. “Papa started taking me to work with him when he finally bought the headquarters building. He always fought with Michael. Used to tell me his last hope was me, and I needed to be the rational one in the family.”
“Did you start working after college?” Sawyer asked.
She shook her head. “oh, no, there wasn’t time for college. I graduated high school and went straight to work.
Papa showed me everything I needed to run a successful bakery. By that time we were expanding and he needed someone to trust.”
“Did you ever want to do something else?”
Julietta whipped her head around at Wolfe’s voice. The boy had finished his ravioli and asked the question with a curiosity that puzzled her. She blinked, thinking about the question. Did she? No, she was never given a choice to do anything else. How many people did she know who whined and groaned about their parents choosing their future? Sure, she sometimes wished for a more carefree youth—with college dorm parties and late-night drinking.
When she remembered her teenage years, most of them were taken up with learning how to cope in the big world of business. Making sure she exhibited confidence, dressed appropriately, and brought honor to her family name.
Instead of going on dates, she pored over spreadsheets because Papa counted on her. There was no room for error or to disappoint her father. Michael and Venezia had already broken his heart with their refusal to work at La Dolce Famiglia. She always knew she needed to step up and make him proud. A choice?
No, there had been no choices. But she refused to disrespect her papa’s memory by whining about something she never had. Her opportunities and upbringing were a gift— one that Sawyer and Wolfe never experienced.
The table quieted, and she realized her mother and Sawyer also waited for her answer. Was that a glint of regret in her mother’s eyes or a trick of the light? Julietta lifted her chin with pride and spoke. “I’ve never been happier with my decision. And I have no regrets.”
Her mother cleared her throat and rose. “I will serve secondo corso.”
Wolfe cranked his head around. “Huh? There’s more?”
Mama Conte cackled with delight. “Silly Americans.
Pasta is first course only. There are three more to go.”
Julietta winked at Wolfe and helped clear. As each plat-ter was bestowed on the table, the fine tension in the young boy relaxed, and Sawyer let down his guard even more.
roasted, tender lamb with a hint of mint, bowls of escarole soaked in garlic and oil, and creamy polenta was passed around as Mama Conte talked of her youth and the antics of her children.
“Sawyer, you may get a chance to see Maximus again.
He is planning a visit soon. Ah, how Carina and Julietta had such crushes on him!”
Julietta snorted. “only for a bit. Carina was mad about him for years. They were meant to be together.”
Sawyer turned his full attention toward her. “Is that so?” he drawled. “Seems my old friend Max was quite the ladies’ man.”
She rose to the challenge. “oh, you don’t seem too far behind. I heard Sawyer courted Carina himself in Vegas, Mama. Maybe there was even an old-fashioned duel over your poor daughter.”
Mama Conte looked up from her plate with interest.
“yes, I think Max mentioned this to me before the wedding.
Something about a fight.”
“Did you lose?” she asked Sawyer. He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug, and Julietta clucked her tongue in mock sympathy. The knowledge Sawyer once lusted after her sibling and fought Max cut deeper than she thought. She tried to act disinterested and not embarrass herself. Now that their two nights were over, they hadn’t discussed another encounter. Perhaps it was even over between them. It wasn’t like they had a real relationship. Not the kind he had probably wanted with Carina. “Too bad. Though I’m sure you found a decent consolation prize in place of the real thing.”
His fork clattered to the plate. She lifted her gaze. His eyes snapped with male irritation and blazing heat. Her heart clamored while she fought to remain unaffected under the magnetized sexual tension pulling her in. The naughty part of her fantasized about crawling across the table, climbing onto his lap, and riding him hard.
Mama Conte clucked her tongue. “Julietta, what has come over you? That was a rude thing to say to our guest.”
She squirmed at the scolding. This man made her lose her temper in ways she’d never experienced. “Sorry,” she muttered.
“Accepted.” He pinned her with his merciless gaze. “But let me make something quite clear. I don’t settle for consolation prizes, Julietta,” he stated softly. “Understood?”
The hidden meaning behind his words soothed and aroused. Heat flooded her cheeks so she ducked her head and concentrated on her meal. Maybe this whole thing had been a bad idea. She’d only meant to invite Wolfe to a family meal, but now her complicated emotions regard-ing Sawyer were causing an undercurrent of tension. even her mother seemed to notice something off, her sharp gaze bouncing back and forth as if trying to figure it out.
Julietta stood and cleaned up, keeping herself engaged with the dishes and sorting the leftover food into contain-ers. Her mother chatted with Sawyer and Wolfe while she made the espresso and pulled out a variety of fruit, cheese, figs, and apple tarts.
What was wrong with her? Did she want a relationship with Sawyer Wells? The idea seemed impossible, but her body craved him on a regular basis. She’d never thought she’d be the type of woman to be comfortable with a purely sexual relationship, but then again, she’d never had a man able to give her an orgasm. And even if she was interested, Sawyer had clearly communicated his desire to avoid long-term commitments. It was probably best they end their whole affair now, before she got too pulled in. Julietta refused to allow herself to become one of those weak-willed women asking for affection. She had too much pride.
