Page 26 of Whatever You Need

Marco smiled mischievously. “She lost a set of keys and I was able to help her out of a jam.” I pinched my lips together, hoping to keep my facial expression blank. I could tell Sophia was growing suspicious and the last thing I wanted to do was give her a reaction. The woman didn’t miss a thing, and I would never be able to look her in the eye again. He put his hand on his hips and looked between us. “I didn’t realize you two had formed a friendship or that you even knew each other, for that matter.”

“Amelia’s grandmother is in the other building,” Sophia explained. “We met one day when she was wandering around. She’s verybella. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I’m pretty sure that meant cute or pretty. I glared at her. “Sophia—” I started to say when Kristina poked her head through the bathroom door and rounded the corner.

“Hey, handsome. This is a surprise.” She beamed at him and adjusted her pink scrubs to give him enough of a preview of her chest.

Marco quickly averted his gaze to mine. He seemed guilty for some reason, and I didn’t know what to make of his reaction to her.

“Kristina.” He gave her a small smile that showed off his dimples. Irritation made its way through me. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, but her stare lingered on him longer than necessary. Her tone was also way too friendly for my liking. It seemed like she knew him personally. Up until today, she never bothered me, but now I was hoping she would get reassigned to another floor, or hell, another building would be better.

“I didn’t know you were stopping by today.”

Marco dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I was supposed to stop by with this soup last weekend but time got away from me.”

His eyes floated to mine, the insinuation in his gaze was clear. He was with me last weekend and I was suddenly transported back in time. I bit down on my bottom lip and had to look away. I could feel the blush creeping up my neck.

“So,” Sofia said brightly. “How’s my favorite grandson?”

He laughed. “I’ll pretend you don’t say the same thing to Matteo.”

“You bring my food over a week late again and you won’t have to pretend to hear nothing.” Her voice was threatening, but the crinkles around her eyes deepened with affection.

“Easy there, tiger. I’ve been working twelve-hour shifts for the last five days. This is the first opportunity I’ve had to visit. And don’t worry, Mom made a fresh batch.”

“Oh, you poor thing.” Kristina reached out and ran her hand along his shoulder like she was looking for an excuse to touch him. My eyes did an internal roll in the back of my head. She inched closer, confirming my suspicion from earlier. “A few friends of mine are going out tonight. We would love to have you join us. It sounds like you could use a night out.”

Annoyed, I stood to go fetch a bottle of water out of the fridge. “Kristina.” I crossed my arms and leaned up against the counter. I leveled my eyes on hers and gave her a pointed look. “Do you have everything you need to send over to the pharmacy?”

My behavior was petty and I was acting like a possessive girlfriend when I had no right to.

She shifted on her feet and looked down at her notepad. Did she finally remember that she was here to take care of her patient and not hit on the guests? “Yeah, I am all set.”

“Great.” I slammed the fridge door shut with a little more force than necessary. Marco squinted at me. “I’m going to be here for a few more hours, so if the pharmacy doesn’t have what she needs, let me know and I’ll run out and grab it for her.”

I unscrewed my cap and took a huge sip of my water. Since when did water taste so damn sour? A bit of guilt bubbled up inside me. I wasn’t a family member; I was just a friend who stopped by once a week. I didn’t have any authority over Sophia’s care, but I’d already shown my claws, so it was too late to bring them back in now.

Kristina’s teeth sunk into her bottom lip. She blinked her big doe eyes at Marco, and I really didn’t like the way she looked at him.

When he didn’t say anything, she clutched the notepad in her hand and moved toward the door. “Stop by and see me before you leave,” she said over her shoulder on the way out. Clearly, I hadn’t intimidated her at all.

Marco plowed his hand through his thick, dark hair, messing it up perfectly. His remorseful eyes met mine. Confusion and something else mixed together, reminding me why I didn’t do one-night stands.

How was I supposed to explain this to Sophia?

Feeling her eyes on me, I turned my head. My elderly friend’s lips curled up slowly. I braced myself because you never knew what was going to come out of that woman’s mouth.

“Amelia, why don’t you come over and sit with me and Marco?”

“Nonna, as much as I would love to stay.” He smiled, but I could still hear the disappointment in his voice. “I’m on a quick break. I really need to get back to the station.”

I looked around the room, trying to ignore the blow to my self-esteem that he seemed pretty eager to get the hell out of here.

“You work too much.” She frowned. “Please tell me you’re being safe.”

Marco’s eyes softened. “You worry too much.”

“Excuse me, but my grandson has a dangerous job that sometimes requires him to use a gun. So, don’t tell me not to worry.”

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