Page 7 of The Home Game

“You eating.” He nudged the empty plate toward Antoni again.

“Sorry.” Antoni reached for the dish. “This was so generous of you. Will you eat with me, at least? There’s no way I’ll finish all this on my own.”

“Sure. I had brunch about an hour ago but I could snack.”

Matty turned away to grab a plate for himself, and Antoni’s gaze darted to his backside.

God, the man had an ass on him.

Getting laid had been the last thing on Antoni’s mind since that awful day last spring but that was a butt that couldn’t be ignored. When Matty had bent over to rummage in the refrigerator earlier … well, Antoni had felt all those months of celibacy slam into him.

But the guy was a hockey player. Obviously straight and it was stupid for Antoni to even get caught looking. He’d probably get beat up or something.

Well, maybe not. Matty didn’t seem like the type.

But it would probably make him uncomfortable. And he’d been so nice.

So Antoni tore his gaze away and began piling food on his plate. “You feed people like my Italian grandmother,” he muttered.

Matty laughed. It was a big, warm laugh that made Antoni smile.

“Too much?” He shot a sheepish grin at Antoni.

“Ask me that when you roll me out of here,” Antoni said, but his stomach rumbled as he debated what to try first. It all looked so good.

“Well, my Polish grandma would be proud,” Matty said, loading up his own plate.

“Yeah?” Antoni glanced up. “I had one of those too. Italian on my dad’s side, Polish on my mom’s.”

Matty perked up. “Ohh, really? Think your grandma could teach me how to make pierogi? I was too busy playing hockey to learn from my grandma and I regret it now that she’s gone.”

Antoni smiled. “They’re both gone but my mom probably could.”

His Grandma Krawczyk and his Nonna Bianchi would have approved of Matty trying to feed him, that was for damn sure.

They were both silent as they ate, Matty easily devouring twice what Antoni managed, though by the time Antoni pushed away his plate, he did have to admit he felt better with his belly not aching with hunger.

He’d skipped breakfast today.

During the school year, he got a free breakfast and lunch, but since it was summer break and his budget was strained, he skipped meals sometimes just to make sure there was enough for the kids and because groceries were so damn expensive.

It felt like the price of everything just kept going up and up and he was drowning …

God, he needed a break.

Antoni nibbled at a few more bites and let the worry slide away, enjoying the variety of food, even if he didn’t really need to eat more.

“Thanks,” Antoni said with a contented sigh as he finally sat back. “I barely made a dent in all this but I’m stuffed.”

“You can take the rest home with you, if you want,” Matty offered.

“Oh that’s so nice but I can’t—”

“I insist.”

Antoni protested, but before he could blink, the food was packed into containers and stuffed in a bag that Matty placed on the floor beside him. The look in Matty’s eyes said he wouldn’t take no for an answer so Antoni thanked him.

Antoni would just conveniently “forget” it when he left.

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