“Definitely not,” she replies. “You can try, but—” I cut her off with a kiss.
A few months ago, I warned myself one taste from her would be it. I would be undone by her, and I was right. I can’t get enough. Every little piece of me is drawn to her now, even more so than before I first felt her lips on mine. The moment I had the feeling of utter and undeniable completeness in my chest from the way we fit together was the first time in my life everything started to make sense. I went twenty-eight fucking years perfectly alright with the belief of being incapable of falling in love. Then, Chiara and I kiss, and suddenly, it doesn’t seem like something I can’t do. It’s become something I didn’t want to do with anyone but her.
“Siamo arrivati,” the driver says after minutes of Chiara and me making out in the back. I lean away to find her cheeks red and her lips perfectly pink.
“Not immune after all,” I whisper, and she rolls her eyes playfully.
“Well, you stuck your tongue down my throat, what did you expect?” she replies while I hand the driver some money and get out of the car with her. Her taste lingers on my lips, and I can’t help but smile like someone who just won the lottery. Because I did.
I really fucking did.
* * *
Anger courses through me,along with shock and a sliver of fear I’m trying to ignore. Tim is here. He’s cooking in the kitchen with Chiara’s Nonna, and I’m sick to my stomach. Part of me wants to run back to the entrance where Starling is still hugging her Mamma, another part of me is unable to move.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I say, fixating on the rage inside of me so my voice is steady and threatening. Tim smiles at me.
“Don’t you know? Giulia and I are dating.”No.“Oh, so you didn’t know. That’s interesting. I guess she wanted to keep us secret for a bit longer.” I storm toward him.
“I’m going to give you an option here, Tim. Either you get the fuck out right now, or I will have my friends in law enforcement make your life very, very difficult.” I feel something hard smack my arm and turn to see Nonna with her cooking spoon cocked in attack mode.
“You two, plates on the table,pronto,” she says with a heavy Italian accent.
“Tim,” Chiara says, her voice shaky and full of fear.
Instinct takes over, and I step away from the gross man in front of me to shield her with my body. Starling is a lot more skilled to protect me and herself, but it doesn’t matter to me. All I care about is putting a buffer between Tim and my little demon.
“What’s going on?” Giulia asks, and I give Chiara a look that says ‘You need to tell her’ because this has gone too bloody far now.
“Mamma,” Chiara starts before ending the sentence in Italian. I don’t manage to grasp any words, but I’m also too busy keeping my eyes trained on the creep glaring at me.
“I don’t understand,” Giulia says, catching Tim’s attention.
“What did she say, my love?” he asks, and I feel more anger spreading through me. I don’t know Giulia very well. I shouldn’t care about her just because she’s Chiara’s Mamma, but I do. She’s important to the woman I’d die for, therefore she’s important to me. Simple as that.
“My options remain the same, you piece of shit. I’d suggest you leave before I break a few of your bones,” I warn, but, suddenly, a wave of calm overwhelms me as Chiara slips her hand into mine.
“It’s okay,” she whispers and turns to her Nonna and Mamma again, saying something in Italian that makes the two women leave the kitchen. I can’t explain it, but they look like the same person aged three different ages. “Tim, it’s time for you to leave. Grab your things and get out. Once I’ve told Mamma everything you’ve said and done to me, she’ll never want to see you again.” Chiara attempts to walk out of the room when he takes a step toward her and then another until his fingers are around her elbow. All I see is red as I cross the room to move between them again to punch him in the face. Starling beats me to it, throwing a perfect right hook into Tim’s face.
“You bloody bitch,” he curses, but I’m already raising my phone to show him I’m a second away from calling the police.
“Get out,” I warn, and he flashes me one more glare before grabbing his keys in the entrance and then slipping out of the front door. Chiara locks it without hesitation, and I notice her hands shaking violently. “Sweetheart,” I say, and she looks up at me, a serious look on her face as she tries to hide how scared she is.
“I’m fine,” she lies and rubs her knuckles.
“Come here,” I say and open my arms. Her green eyes study me for a brief moment before she sucks in a sharp breath.
“Really, it’s fine. I should go explain to Mamma and Nonna what the hell just happened. They’re probably confused and—” I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her.
“I’m sorry. I kind of needed a hug,” I tell her, and Chiara melts into me, her fingers tangling together at the small of my back.
“You don’t need a hug, Leonard. You want to comfort me,” she replies, and while she’s half-right, she’s also half-wrong. I always need a hug from her.
“I’ll make some tea while you speak to your family,” I say and kiss her forehead once before making my way into the kitchen and finding a kettle to place on the stove. Chiara disappears into a room I assume is the living room, and I let out a heavy breath.
Tim hadn’t shown his face in months. I thought he’d finally understood Chiara was not interested in him. I would have never expected him to date her Mamma and make her fall for him. That’s fucking disgusting. Tim is a vile man. Part of me is glad I can’t hear everything Chiara is sharing with her family at the moment. If I were to hear what he’s done to her in more detail than Chiara’s shared with me in the past, I’d lose it. I’m already debating asking my PI friend to dig up enough dirt on Tim to put him behind bars for a long time. Someone like him probably has a lot of criminal activity going on.
Half an hour later, Chiara, Giulia, and Sofia, Starling’s Nonna, walk into the kitchen again. They’re all silent as they take the cups of tea I’ve prepared—it took me twenty minutes to find tea bags. My little demon looks exhausted, and I hate that her time with her family has already been tainted by what happened. I also notice redness around Giulia’s eyes, causing my heart to sink a little. I can’t imagine what must be going through her head. A man getting close to her because he’s been stalking her daughter in a way. I’ll have to speak to Chiara about potentially getting a restraining order to keep Tim as far away from her and her Nonna and Mamma as possible. I need them all safe.
