Page 13 of Ciao, Amore

“Ciao, bella,” he greeted, standing to kiss her on both cheeks. Part of the training. Immediately, her lavender and cocoa butter combo enveloped him, tickling his nose.

“Ciao, caro mio.” Dani giggled. She was the first to step back and give him a once-over. He wasn’t dressed nearly as chic as her, wearing a plain black tee shirt, zippered jacket, black sweatpants from Target, and as always, his hat. “Huh. You look ready for them eight hours of sleep. But you didn’t tell me we were flying first class. Why’d they upgrade us?”

It wasn’t actually the airline’s doing; he’d already purchased the upgrade to first class for himself, and of course she had to sit with him. He wanted to be comfortable and get Dani’s epic quest of self-discovery started off on the right foot.

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “Maybe the flight was overbooked. Anyway, you look nice.” Understatement. She looked so hot, he felt like biting his fist like a movie character. “Think you brought enough?”

His smart-ass remark distracted her from noticing that there were hardly any other passengers on this so-called overbooked flight. “Ha. You know I checked in a giant bagfullof hair supplies,” she said. “I’m gonna have my mom and dad ship me everything else once I get settled in Milan.”

“Right.” Nico quieted at her mention of staying in Milan after the festival.

They sat next to each other, and the silence was slightly thick, weighted with the unspoken. In the conversations they’d had since the dinner, they hadn’t brought up the awkward moment outside her parents’ house or what the expectations were for the trip. Before he could start, Dani cleared her throat, clasping her hands around her knees.

“Okay. There’s a slutty elephant wearing a pink neon thong in the corner over there, and I think it’s time we talked about her.”

“What?” Nico laughed so hard he bent over his knees. “A slutty elephant?”

“I think you know what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, that,” Nico said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He did know what she meant. That fucking kiss. “Sorry. It was not my intention to do that. I got a little carried away with the act and did something impulsive. Won’t happen again.”

Well, that sounded fucking weak.

And he fucking wished it would happen again. That kiss had seared him to his bones. He hadn’t slept almost the entire night, thinking of her soft lips opening to his and the caramel taste on her tongue. Replayed on repeat the way she’d loosened under his hands, her body molding to his like warm clay. Stroked himself to spurting imagining he was inside her. He’d already been doing that since the day he’d first seen her.

“Okay, fair enough. But I think we should get clear on what’s allowed and what isn’t from this point on. All we said before was ‘no strings,’ and obviously, that means no s-e-x, but we’re supposed to be faking a three-month relationship. There are things we should know about each other. In case it comes up…you know, girl talk with your sisters-in-law.”

Nico swallowed hard. “Okay, like what?”

Please don’t ask for a body count, please don’t ask…

He grinned when Dani pulled out a rose-gold notepad and a floral pen, flipping the notepad open.

“You seriously made a list?”

She was as organized, he’d discovered, as he was competitive.

“You have a Daniela Grace notebook, and I’ve got a Nico the Donahue journal. Now, then. I’m on the pill, for reasons you might find TMI, but let’s just say it’s a monthly crime scene.”

“Okay, writing this down.” Nico whipped out his Daniela Grace notebook. “Periods likeCSI: New York. I hope you’re not on it right now.” Her eyebrows rose the second that statement was out. “Because I don’t want it to ruin your trip. Swim, wear white, go nuts. Anyway, do I tell them you do want kids at some point?”

“Yeah, sure. Three, if I have time to squeeze ’em out.”

Nico laughed awkwardly. He hadn’t missed the way her sister had stared at her with a knowing smirk when he was playing with her niece. Thinking about her round and swollen with new life inside her made him hot and jittery.

Not with his baby, though. It would have to be someone else’s. Maybe Uncle Nico would drop by for a visit sometime, if he still knew her by then.

Then he pressed, “Seriously. Do you want kids?”

Dani’s eyes stayed on her notepad. “I did. But without the husband part, it doesn’t look like that’ll be happening.”

He cleared his throat. “My sister’s having her kid on her own. If you want it, you could make that happen.”

After an uncomfortable shrug, Dani exhaled. “No. I know my family would help me out, but it would be tough. Terri can do the heavy lifting while I get to be cool Auntie Dani who flies into town at Christmas bearing a ton of unnecessary presents.”

Something told him that wouldn’t be enough for her, but it was her life. He wouldn’t keep pestering her about it. “Alright. Three fake kids for us sound perfect. What else? For the cheat sheet?”

Dani’s finger moved down the list. “PDA. What’s okay in front of your family? If they hate PDA, that makes it easier.” She said that almost hopefully.

---