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She pops a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me. “Lorenzo? Sweet?”
“I mean, I rocked up in the middle of the night looking like this.” I wave a hand over my face. “But the guy barely batted an eyelid. Then I talked his ass off and he didn’t tell me to shut up once.”
“Hmm.” She narrows her eyes at me. “Brad set the bar way too low if you think Lorenzo Moretti is sweet.”
I nudge her in the ribs. “You left him in sole charge of your three little angels, so he can’t be that bad.”
“Oh, he’s a good guy. The kids love him. I love him. Just…” She wrinkles her nose. “Sweet?” Laughing, she shakes her head. “Anyway. Let’s go get some breakfast and you can say hi to Dante and my three little angels.”
The noise from the kitchen can be heard from the hallway, and the laughter and shouting makes me smile. When we get there, Dante’s holding Gabriella upside down and pretending to dip her into a bowl of oatmeal.
“No, Daddy!” she squeals with delight, and he pulls her into his arms and tickles her.
Joey sits on the other side of the table with her husband, Max. I met them both at Kat’s wedding, but they weren’t together then. Joey shouts to Marco that he needs to save his sister from their monster Daddy while Max laughs at them all. Lorenzo is seated at the head of the table, holding baby Micah in his arms and shaking his head in bemusement. He says something to Micah, who smiles up at him in response, but the kitchen is too noisy for me to hear what he said.
“Our guest of honor has arrived.” Kat cuts through the sea of noise, and everyone stops and stares at us. I self-consciously lift my hand to my cheek, aware of how hideous I look right now, but before I have time to wallow in my embarrassment, Joey jumps from her chair and rushes toward me.
“Mia. It’s so lovely to see you again,” she says, wrapping me in a warm hug.
I squeeze her back. “You too!”
When she steps away, Dante’s there waiting for a hug. “I’m glad you came here. Kat’s family is our family too,” he says, his tone full of genuine affection.
I blink to clear my unexpected tears. “Thank you. I really appreciate you all having me here.”
Gabriella eyes me warily until Kat picks her up and explains that I’m her auntie Mia and I’ll be staying here for a while. She asks about my face, and I tell her I had an accident, which she doesn’t question because she’s three and a half. I give Marco a squeeze too, but Lorenzo keeps hold of Micah, so I guess I’ll have to get my baby cuddles later.
Dante scoops Gabriella up from the floor. “Time for your lessons, princess.”
“Aw. I want to stay with Auntie Joey and Auntie Mia.” Her lower lip pokes out, making her look utterly adorable.
“Lessons,” he says sternly, even though he’s still smiling at her. The love he has for Kat and their kids is so tangible, I can practically touch it. It radiates out of him.
“Do what Daddy says, sweetheart,” Kat adds.
“You too, little dude.” Dante picks Marco up in his other arm. “I’ll be back in five. Don’t start without me,” he says to Kat before giving her a sweet kiss.
A lady with gray hair who’s been standing quietly by the stove shoos me toward an empty seat. “Sit. What would you like for breakfast? We have everything you can think of.”
“Waffles, please,” Joey announces loudly.
“Sophia makes the best waffles,” Kat tells me, giving the older woman a quick squeeze.
I sit in the chair Sophia indicated. “Fruit’s fine for me, thanks.”
Joey scoffs. “That’s like a snack. Not breakfast.”
“You only say that because you can’t function without coffee and sugar, baby girl.” Max teases her good-naturedly, and she flutters her eyelashes at him in response.
“Are you sure I can’t fix you anything more substantial?” Sophia asks.
I eye the plates of food on the table. It looks like Kat, Dante, and Lorenzo had bacon and eggs, and even the leftovers look amazing. But my ass will get fatter than it is now if I start indulging in waffles or bacon and eggs for breakfast. And I was so hungry when I got here last night, I inhaled a plate of risotto right in front of Lorenzo. He must think I’m a glutton already.
“Fruit is fine.” A flush creeps across my cheeks. “Thank you.”
Smiling at me over her shoulder, Sophia goes to the fridge. “Of course.”
I glance around the table, and I’m surprised to find Lorenzo staring at me. He doesn’t attempt to disguise his scrutiny but continues watching me with a curious expression on his face.
