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Yes. “No.”
Emilia lopes her arm through mine, and together, we walk into the dining room, where Hannah is laying out food. “How was your day?”
“I mostly read. You?”
“I mostly slept.” She grunts as she takes her seat. “God, being this pregnant kind of sucks. I can barely move.”
The chatter of voices can be heard in the hallway coming towards, and moments later, Marco and Leo walk into the dining room, with Marco going straight to Emilia and kissing her on the head. For such a big, muscular, scary looking man, Marco is really a softie when it comes to Emilia.
Leo sits beside me.
“What are you doing?” Emilia asks him as Leo makes a big show of grabbing a dinner roll and taking a huge bite of it.
“Leo invited himself to dinner,” Marco explains, keeping his hand on Emilia’s back as he takes his eat. Marco and Emilia share a moment as they look at each other. After a beat, Emilia nods.
“Just be polite,” she tells Leo.
“When am I not?” He throws the roll into the air and catches it with a cheeky grin.
Marco snorts but doesn’t say anything.
We all dig into the food Hannah made. Roast chicken, asparagus, and a simple salad. I take small bites while Leo practically funnels food into his mouth like he might die if he doesn’t eat fast enough.
I’m so aware of his body next to mine that it makes it hard to eat. Leo has a dangerous air about him that both excites and terrifies me.
“How are you enjoying this illustrious estate?” Leo asks. It takes me a second to realize he’s talking to me.
“It’s a beautiful house,” I offer. I turn to Marco and Emilia. “Thank you for letting me stay with you.”
“You don’t have to thank us,” Emilia says as she takes a sip of water. “You’re my sister. You’re always welcome.”She’s a little weird …
I force the words from my head. Emilia has always been there for me and is there for me now. I can’t be mad at her for something she said to her husband in private.
“You know, when I first met Emilia,” Leo says after swallowing a bite of food, “I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.”
“Careful, Leo,” Marco warns.
He holds up a finger. “But that was until I met another Moretti sister.” I can feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look at him.
Marco tosses down his napkin. “Leo, enough. You’re making Francesca uncomfortable. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Understood?”
Leo leans back in his seat, not at all affected by his boss’ order. “Understood. No more comments from me.”
“Thank god for that,” Emilia teases.
The rest of the meal goes by without Leo commenting about me or my appearance. I can’t tell if he likes me or if he’s just messing with me. Marco and Leo turn to talk about business, which I’m grateful for. It means I can eat my dinner in peace without having to talk.
Once dinner is done, Marco walks Leo to the front door. Marco and Emilia tell me they’re heading to their room for the night, and I think the coast is all clear to go to my room when Leo’s voice calls out to me.
He’s outside the house, looking through the window. What the …?
“Francesca.” I can just barely make out his voice through the window. I should keep on walking, but curiosity gets the better of me.
I open the door, and Leo grabs my hand, tugging me outside. I pull away instantly, even though his hand on mine feels nicer than I want to admit.
“Did you need something?” I ask.
“I just wanted to see you again.” He leans against the door, preventing me from leaving. I can’t tell if it’s deliberate or not. “I didn’t get to say goodnight.”
