Page 46 of Ice To Meet You

I glanced down. My chest looked like a snowstorm had slammed into it. “Oh.”

“And you have flour in your hair,” he said, lifting his hand to push a strand away from my face.

I looked into his eyes, my breath a little shaky as the room shrank around us. “Do I?”

Matteo nodded, a smile on his face. “Go and shower. I’ll stay here on dough duty.”

I gripped one corner of my lips between my teeth. “Are you sure?”

“Si,” he said. “It’s what I do best.”

With the cheeky grin accompanying his words, I highly doubted it.

16

MATTEO

The smell of spring flowers hit my nose, and I lifted my head to see Esmé. Her damp hair hung in loose tendrils around her face. She wore a necklace of beaded flowers and had changed into a green dress that clung to her body. She looked like a forest fairy.

I refocused on my work, wiping down her countertop before chopping herbs on an old wooden board.

Esmé looked around at her sparkling kitchen. “What are you doing?”

I smiled. “I’m sorry, but I had to put your pasta sauce out if it’s misery.”

She ran her eyes over the counter. “What did you do with it?”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry. It’s unharmed, but I put it into lockdown.”

“Sorry, what?”

“Let’s just say, I’d only recommend eating it in an emergency. Instead, you’ll be serving a burnt butter sauce with sage tonight.”

Her eyes widened. “I will?”

“Yes. I found some sorry-looking plants on your balcony. Thankfully, the snails hadn’t attacked them all.”

She sighed and wagged her head back and forth. “I’ve tried everything to keep the snails away, but they’re like a plague.”

“Coffee grounds,” I said.

“What?”

“Sprinkle coffee grounds around your plants. Snails hate the smell and the texture.”

A small line grew between her brows. “How do you know that?”

“I’m a good Italian boy. I listen to myNonna.”

A grin erupted onto Esmé’s face and heat crept up my chest. She really was the most beautiful woman.

“Burnt sage sauce?” she asked.

“Si.”

Esmé leaned against the counter at my side. “It sounds complicated. Are you sure I can manage? I mean, I can probably handle the burning bit.”

I chuckled and stopped my chopping, gathering the herbs to a pile with the blade of my knife. “Can you melt butter?”

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