AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nonno, who had been standing there, hadn’t rejected the idea, but he hadn’t exactly embraced it either, remaining uncharacteristically quiet, which made Liza suspect her grandparents had discussed the invitation prior to Penny’s arrival.
Penny had given a very noncommittal “we’ll see” because neither she nor Liza expected Gage to voluntarily step into the lion’s den. They should have known better because Gage, the charming idiot, had been thrilled by the invitation, asking Penny to call Nonna immediately to accept.
When Liza had told her brothers and cousins about the possibility of a Russo coming to Christmas Eve dinner, they’d started a betting pool on how long it would take before one of the older men broke their promise to Nonna to be on their best behavior, then they debated who it would be.
Of course, none of the older men had taken that vow to mind their manners until Nonna had started threatening to cut certain favorite dishes from the Christmas dinner menu. Then, suddenly, they were all singing a different tune, begrudgingly promising to be civil.
Luca leaned toward Liza. “I’ve got Uncle Cesare losing his shit after twenty minutes.”
Liza laughed, sure Luca was going to lose that bet. Cesare, Liza’s dad, had gotten an earful from her mom before they’d arrived tonight, Mom swearing up and down that she would make his life a living hell if he embarrassed her by being rude to “the Russo boy.”
Gage would probably love that he was being referred to as a boy, even though he was in his mid-thirties.
“That’s hilarious,” Liza said. “Because I picked your dad. Uncle Frank will be the first to crack, but he’ll make it a whole forty minutes.”
“What are we talking about?” her cousin Joey asked, perching on the edge of the coffee table in front of them.
“Gage is on his way,” Luca replied. “We’re comparing our bets.”
Joey’s eyes lit up, the damn pool his idea in the first place. “I’ve got Nonno blowing a gasket within the first ten minutes.”
They all laughed, Keeley shaking her head. “You guys are terrible. You should be ashamed of yourselves. This is a historic occasion, and I think it’s wonderful of your nonna to try to build a bridge between the families.”
Joey snorted. “You know, your little speech might make me feel guilty if I didn’t know you’ve also put money down on Nonno.”
“Yes, but I have more faith in the dear man than you. He’ll make it an hour, for sure,” Keeley replied, giggling.
“I think you’re all going to be disappointed,” Rhys, Penny’s brother, said, as he and Tony joined the conversation. “My money is on Gage winning them all over.”
Tony chuckled. “I’m with Rhys. This is Gage we’re talking about. Now, if it was Matt Russo, it would be a different story.”
Joey stood up, punching his older brother on the shoulder playfully. “Nobody would have bothered with a betting pool if that had been the case. Everyone would have picked you, kicking Matt out within the first sixty seconds.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” Luca gestured toward Liza. “My money would have been on her, and Matt wouldn’t have even cleared the front door.”
Everyone, with the exception of Liza, laughed at Luca’s joke, though she understood why they would believe that to be true. She’d made no bones about her disdain for Matt.
Unfortunately, the mere mention of Matt’s name had her insides fluttering.
If the same conversation had happened a month earlier, Liza would have been leading the charge, but then…a week ago, the Snowflake Gala had happened.
Well, not the gala, per se, but what came after.
She’d slept with Matt Russo. She’d been saying those words to herself constantly since that night, trying to make them sink in. Even now, every second of that night still felt like…God, like a fever dream, though it sure as shit hadn’t been unpleasant.
Anything but.
Because it had been the best sex of her life.
Liza had replayed it over and over until she’d gone nearly mad. She didn’t even bother putting her vibrator away anymore. Every night, she crawled between the sheets, reran the memory of Matt Russo going down to his knees before her, giving her that orgasm that rattled every bone in her body, and within seconds, she was going off like a bottle rocket. Then she’d replay the second and third and—God help her—fourth orgasms, and before she knew it, she would be there again and again, her heart racing, her sheets soaked in sweat.
He’d awakened something inside her that she couldn’t silence.
No. The truth was she didn’t want to silence it, which was dangerous and terrifying and even a little bit exhilarating.
Matt had been a demanding lover, more so than any man in the past, and she’d responded to it in ways she didn’t fully understand or expect.
Liza didn’t have a submissive bone in her body. She forged her own path, knew her own mind, and did as she pleased. She didn’t let others dictate to her. Ever.
