I planned to fix that.
Slowly but surely.
And my family, they were going to help.
“What’s this?” Nino asked when Josie pulled herself together and dropped her arms, letting him see her neck for the first time. His fingers grabbed her chin, yanking it up a little roughly. “Who was it? Is he dead? If he’s not dead, give me a name and location.”
“He’s… not with us anymore,” Josie said carefully, a little confused since no one really explicitly talked about Family business in mixed company.
“Good. I hope he’s in hell getting hot pepper enemas.”
That got another snorting laugh from Josie who clearly needed some sleep. She was emotionally exhausted.
Luckily, Aunt Adrian was on my side at this point, picking up on Josie’s complete overwhelm.
“Josie, love, how about Matteo runs you a nice bath, and you take your tea—or some gelato—in with you to relax?”
Josie, a little embarrassed at her outburst, was eager to get a few moments away, even following me into the bathroom as I went in to spray down the tub then run the water.
“You okay?”
“I know I probably seem a little mental right now,” she said, shaking her head at herself.”
“You seem overwhelmed and tired,” I told her. “I didn’t expect a greeting party. But they aren’t completely clueless. They see that you need some rest. After your bath, I will bring you to bed so you can get some sleep.”
“Do you think someone is going to make breakfast?” she asked, sounding eager.
“Baby, I suspect Massimo’s mom and sister are going to be here, rolling up their sleeves, and stuffing you until you can’t fit into your pants anymore.”
“Luckily, I don’t seem to be in possession of any pants at the moment,” she said, waving at the hoodie dress thing I brought in for her to change into.
“If you got favorites, tell me now. I will casually drop a comment to Nino. He will tell his mom.”
“I really like French toast,” she admitted. “Lots of powdered sugar.”
“You got it,” I said, pouring some liquid soap that Smush must have bought for Josie into the water, watching it bubble up as the water continued to rise.
“He’s intense.”
“Nino?” I asked. “Yeah. He’s a good guy.”
“You all are,” she said as I pulled her forward by the hem of her shirt, then reached up to start pulling the zipper down. “But you’re the best of them,” she added, giving me a sweet smile, her whole heart in her eyes.
It was right that moment that I realized it was mine to have.
I’d never really wanted it before.
And no one had ever offered it to me either.
But seeing it there in Josie’s eyes filled me with this overwhelming sense of rightness.
Not only was I flattered that she wanted to give it to me, even after all she’d been through because of me, but I’d never wanted anything more than I wanted to keep seeing her looking at me like that, to be able to show her how much I felt the same way, even if I couldn’t find the words to say it yet.
“Me? I’m not even the best in my immediate family,” I said, playing it off because it wasn’t the time for declarations. “That honor goes out to my father.”
“I’m still a little upset that I haven’t gotten a chance to meet him yet,” Josie admitted as I got to my feet to slide her shirt off her shoulders.
“Tomorrow, babe. I can guarantee you are going to meet more Grassis than you even knew existed. My father included,” I told her, setting her tea on the edge of the tub. “That seems like enough water,” I added, cutting it off.
“Hey, Matteo?” she called, voice soft, small, as I slid off her panties.
“Yeah?” I asked, trying my damnedest to keep my gaze above her neck because this was not the time to be rocking a raging hard-on.
“Can you take a bath with me?” she asked.
I couldn’t deny this woman anything.
She earned a thousand baths.
I reached up, starting to pull off my clothes as a sweet smile spread on her lips.
“Thank you,” she said as I held her hand as she stepped in, then moved in behind her. “I owe you a new shower liner in the guest bath, by the way,” she said as we both lowered down.
“You have better taste than I do anyway,” I said, reaching for her, and pulling her back against my chest, letting my legs wrap around the sides of her body.
“That’s true,” she agreed, turning her face into my neck, and taking a deep breath. “That tile is not great, by the way,” she said, waving toward the shower enclosure I’d just finished a couple weeks ago.
“Well, then I guess I am going to have to redo it with your input.”
“Yeah?” she asked, and the question was heavy, even if she didn’t say the words.