Page 47 of Resisting the Temptation
“Mrs. Rossi, you look dazzling as always,” Drew says as Mamà wraps him in a hug.
“¡Basta!Drew, you charmer.” Mamà swats at his arm with a smile.
“Theboy is right,vita mia,you are more dazzling than all the stars in the sky.” Papà places a gentle kiss on Mamà’scheek, causing her to blush.
“Gracias, mi amor.” She returns his kiss, then turns her attention to me. “Mi hijo,you look so handsome. Did you bring a date tonight?”
“Gracias, Mamà.You look as beautiful as always.” I place a gentle kiss on her cheek, careful of her meticulously applied makeup. “No date for me.”Unless you count the appointment I have to fuck my coworker.
Mamà tsks and pushes her lips out in a disapproving pout. Camila Rossi’s only wish for her children is to have a great love like she has with my dad, but so far, only my younger sister, Cecelia, has found her happily ever after, leaving my younger brother, Mateo, and I open for my mother’s scheming.
More than once, Mateo and I have gone over expecting a nice family dinner, only to be set up on a blind date with someone Mamà deemed the “right match.”
Papà leans in and whispers something in her ear, and Mamà’sface breaks out into a sly grin. A grin I know means she has something up her sleeve. Her brown eyes twinkle with mischief before she schools her expression.
“Ah, well, that’s okay. You are a busy man. Love will come along before you know it.” She pats me on the arm and gazes around the room.
My eyes immediately trail to Emma, and my heart does a weird kick.
Papà clears his throat. “Oh, look,vita mia,there’s Emma. Ben, will you introduce yourMamàto Emma? I must use the restroom.”
I don’t get a chance to respond before Mamà loops her arm through mine and tugs me in the direction Papà pointed, chattering away about how excited she is to finally meet the new project manager. How she’s heard such wonderful things about her.
Emma is in the middle of a conversation with an older couple I don’t recognize. When she sees us approaching, she politely ends the conversation and walks in our direction.
Mamà, disregarding the rules of society, immediately wraps Emma in her strong embrace. In her heels, Emma is about the same height as my mother, and I expect her to pull away or look uncomfortable, but to my surprise, she matches Mamà’s energy, wrapping her arms around her waist.
“Emma! It’s so nice to finally meet you. My husband has told me so much about you. But he and Benjamin failed to tell me how outrageously gorgeous you are,”Mamà gushes, brazenly looking Emma up and down before shooting me a knowing look.
Emma blushes but gives her a warm, genuine smile.“Hola, Señora Rossi. The pleasure is all mine. The picture in Enzo’s office doesn’t do your beauty justice. And thank you.”
“Thank you,bella.Call me Camila, please. And please excuse my son and his lack of manners.” She leans in and stage-whispers, “Sometimes pretty women make him a little tongue tied.”
Emma’s blue eyes, alight with humor, meet mine as she replies, “That explains why he has such a hard time with words around me.”
I roll my eyes. The two of them meeting is already on my list of top five things I wish never happened, but there’s no stopping it now.
Mamá cackles, then abandons me to loop her arm with Emma, leaving me to my own devices.
Without anything else to do, I trail behind them like a lost puppy, trying not to stare at Emma’s ass and the way her hips sway as she walks.
Chapter 23
Emma
Mrs. Rossi—Camila—and I walk around the room as she introduces me to people she knows. Ben, who seems even grumpier than usual, follows us and gives a curt nod when he’s introduced.
Enzo joins us soon after, and Camila switches from my arm to his, giving him a peck on the cheek in greeting.
“So, Emma, I see you’ve finally met the love of my life, Camila Rossi?”
“I have, and she is a delight. You’re a lucky man.”
“Don’t I know it.” Enzo gazes at Camila with so much love it makes my heart clench.
I used to want a great love like that. Someone who would look at me like I’m the only person in the room, even surrounded by a hundred people. Someone who, after so many years together, still thinks I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to them.
I’ll never admit out loud that part of me—a big part, unfortunately—is still a hopeless romantic who wishesto be swept off her feet like a heroine in a romance novel. But life isn’t a romance novel. There’s no prince or princess charming who’s going to magically show up and save me from myself.
