Page 28 of Whatever You Need

The room went quiet when the announcer started to call out the numbers. Everyone picked up their markers and started dabbing away.

“So, how long have you and my grandson been involved?” Sophia’s question jolted my eyes away from my bingo board.

I knew this conversation was coming, but I still wasn’t prepared for it. “Marco and I aren’t involved.”

“Then what are you kids calling it today? Shagging, bumping uglies? I’m not sure what the terms are because you can’t always trust the closed caption on the TV.”

I laughed. “Marco and I met a couple times. There isn’t anything between us, so get your mind out of the gutter. Besides,” I said, staring at the bingo cards like I was checking them over, “you know my situation.”

I had confessed to Sophia during my last visit that I was considering marrying Owen. There was something about our friendship that had me spilling my whole life story. Every messy detail. That was, of course, before I had slept with her grandson.

She shook her head in disappointment. “I saw how red your cheeks got when you saw him, and I saw the way his eyes lit up when he recognized you. The only thing I see on your face when you mention this Owen person is sadness. You are marrying a man that you don’t love.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she was right. “You’re not going to let this go are you?”

“Caro, you don’t love that man. Take a piece of advice from a little old Italian lady. Don’t live your life for anyone else but you.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “I loved my Giovanni.” She looked up at the ceiling and made a sign of the cross. “He was my beloved and I was his. If it’s one thing us Italians are good at, it is love. You marry for love not business,capire?”

The words caught in my throat. “What if I never find love?”

“You will, you just need to open up your heart.” She twisted her lips. “My grandson is a lot like you. A nanna knows these things. Give him a chance. If anyone can win your heart, it is my Marco. He is such a good boy. And handsome too, yes?”

I laughed. “He is. He must get his looks from Giovanni.”

She smiled. “My Giovanni was dapper and smooth with the ladies too. They all loved him, but it was me he loved.”

I pulled her in for a side hug, so grateful this woman came into my life when I needed her most. “Of course, he did. You’re a beautiful lady, Sophia. Both inside and out.”

“Now, I’m going to give you one more piece of advice. Food is the way to that man’s heart. Never forget that.”

I shifted in my chair and had a feeling she was referring to one man in particular. The one that was supposed to be just a hookup. Something in my gut told me I would be seeing him again.

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