He was a man who could easily take a girl’s breath away.
Standing there, looking at me like that, he’d never been more breathtaking.
“It was a Bianchi pie,” I returned and said no more for that said it all.
Ben’s grin got bigger.
Theresa made a noise and we both looked back to her.
She was fighting tears and I knew she’d win just because that was who she was, so I shut up and gave her time.
I was right. She won.
And when she did it, she lifted her chin slightly, took two more steps into the room, and declared, “That coffeecake was for sweet tooth snackin’. Not breakfast.” She looked to her son. “You didn’t make Frankie bacon and eggs?”
“She asked for coffeecake,” Benny replied.
“Tomorrow she gets bacon and eggs,” Theresa decreed.
“Tomorrow she gets what she got today, which is whatever the fuck she wants,” Benny shot back, and this was killing me because I liked his words, but more, I liked watching his banter with his mom.
I missed it and it hurt to have it back because I wasn’t going to be able to keep it.
Theresa crossed her arms on her chest and set her expression straight to severe.
“I am uncertain why you, your father, and your brother feel the need to include the f-word in every other sentence.”
At this point, Ben looked at me. “And there it is, tesorina—a woman askin’ a man ‘why’ when the answer doesn’t mean shit.”
I couldn’t hold it back.
I grinned at him.
The instant I did, I wished I’d held it back because his face changed in a way I wanted to remember for the rest of my life.
“The s-word is not much better, Benito Bianchi,” his mother snapped, but Benny didn’t look from me.
Instead, he came at me, bent in, grabbed me behind my head, and pulled me gently to him until I felt his lips on my hair.
He let me back and I tipped my head to catch his eyes.
“I’ll get to the restaurant so I can be back quick,” he said quietly.
“All right,” I agreed.
He gave me a smile and his hand cupping the back of my head gave me a squeeze before he let me go, straightened, and strode to the door.
“Are we done talking?” his mother asked his back.
“Yep,” he answered his mother by way of the hall.
She turned an exasperated look to me.
I grinned at her too and, again, wished I’d held it back.
Because her face took on a look I wanted to remember for the rest of my life.
“Later, Ma!” Benny yelled and, thankfully, the spell was broken.
“’Bye, Benny!” she shouted back, then looked at me. “Now, Frankie, is there anything I can get you before I call your doctor to make your checkup appointment?”
I shouldn’t have done it.
But I did it.
I looked into her eyes and, again, I smiled.
* * * * *
On his way home from the restaurant, Benny’s cell rang.
He leaned forward, pulled it out of his pocket, checked the screen, and took the call.
“Yo,” he greeted.
“She at your place?” Cal asked, and Benny shook his head at the windshield.
“Yep.”
“She spittin’ fire?” Cal went on.
“Occasionally.”
“Recuperating,” Cal guessed as to the reason it was only occasionally.
“Yep.”
“You’ll get it when she heals.”
He fucking hoped so. “Yep.”
“Vi wants a visit and the girls wanna meet her,” Cal told him.
Ben’s cousin’s woman had two daughters, Kate and Keira. Gorgeous. Sweet. Just like Violet. So Benny was not surprised by this request. He also wasn’t surprised by the fact that it wasn’t exactly voiced as a request. That was Cal.
“She just got through the reunion with Ma. Pop’s chompin’ at the bit. And she’s still got considerable pain, cugino. Doesn’t get ’round too good. Give us a few days.”
“You got until the weekend.”
At that, Benny grinned at the windshield.
Pure Cal.
“Just to say, man, it’s Friday so it is the weekend, or near on it.”
“I’ll rephrase. You got until Sunday.”
Suddenly, Benny wasn’t finding this amusing and he didn’t hesitate to get into why.
“You comin’ up to let your woman commune with Francesca, or are you comin’ up to make sure I’m not fuckin’ that shit up?”
“Two birds,” Cal replied.
Yes, he was no longer finding this amusing.
“Reminder, Cal, you let your life stay fucked for nearly two decades and it was only Vi pullin’ your head outta your ass that bought you what you got today.”
“Yeah, so, I learned. Now I’m makin’ sure a man who means somethin’ to me doesn’t waste as much time or more, and worse, lets the woman who should be in his bed waste her life waitin’ for him to pull his head outta his ass.”