Thirst (The Calvettis of New York 1)

“I was the captain of the chess team.”

“You weren’t.” She shakes her head, her eyes now pinned to my left bicep.

“I was.” I finally lower my hands to the table. “I ran the debate team too.”

“Damn,” she drawls through a grin. “I had no idea you were such a nerd.”

I laugh aloud. “Now you know.”

She lifts a finger to her chin. “Something tells me that there’s a lot more I don’t know about you and most of it will surprise me.”

She’s right. There’s a lot she doesn’t know about me. The surprise is that a part of me wants to tell her everything.

Chapter 34

Dexie

“You two are conspiring.” Marti takes a seat next to me, across from her grandson. “What’s going on here?”

The woman must be a mind reader because I was vigilant about not talking about her upcoming birthday gift whenever she was within earshot.

Rocco didn’t specifically say that her gift is a surprise. I assumed that.

“Nothing gets past you, Marti.” Rocco reaches to cradle her hand in his. “I heard you tell Gina that the strap on your purse broke again.”

“That’s not news to me.” Her brows jump expectantly.

“Dexie makes beautiful handbags.” He gestures toward the red tote hanging from the back of my chair. “I’m going to get you a new bag from your birthday.”

My assumption about it being a surprise was way off base.

“No.” Marti shakes her head adamantly. “I’ve had that bag forever. I’ll tape it back together again.”

“Tape,” I say aloud, even though I didn’t mean to.

Marti nods. “Tape does the trick.”

Tape can destroy the structure of leather. It weakens it and fades the color.

“It’s time to replace your bag.” Rocco leans back in his chair. “Let me do this for you.”

“Let us do this for you,” I interject with a smile. “You can tell me exactly what you want, Marti. You design it and I’ll build it.”

That sets her up and out of the chair.

I look to Rocco for reassurance that I didn’t just piss his grandmother off.

He smiles, giving his head a curt shake. “She’ll be back. Give it a minute.”

I take a sip of the water that Marti brought when she dropped off a piece of the most delicious tiramisu I’ve ever had.

I’ve never ordered dessert when I’ve dined here. I’ve also never met Marti. I’ve seen her bustling around the place, but until tonight we’ve never spoken.

“She likes you,” Rocco assures me.

I should tell him that I like her too, but I stop myself. I don’t know where I stand with Rocco. The kiss we shared last night was intense and the flirting tonight has been fun.

I still have an important decision to make regarding my business. After my meeting with Rhoda, I’m beginning to wonder if Rocco is the person who will help make my professional dreams a reality.