XOXO (The Calvettis of New York 3)

She’s always joked to me about how I will marry Mr. Calvetti.

He may be dreamy to look at, but he’s not my type at all.

Yesterday proved that.

Spite is drove him to assign me the task of shifting the entire filing system to electronic mode. He never wanted it before I sent that email. His goal was to steal my weekend away from me. He succeeded, but I feel like I won our latest battle.

I still have my job, and the new filing system makes that job much easier.

“It was a mistake.” I run a paper napkin over my lips. “I messed up. He forgave me, and we’ll never talk about it again.”

I hope.

When Dominick left the office last night with a smug grin on his face, he wished me a good weekend.

I did the same to him, but as soon as he was out of view on his way to the elevator, I flipped up my middle finger.

It was childish and harmless since he couldn’t see it, but it made me feel better.

“He’s seen you without your clothes on,” Maren points out.

I was going to leave that out of the story about what happened yesterday morning, but Sinclair piped up and added it in.

I can’t blame her. She’s Maren’s sister-in-law. They share everything with each other.

“I was wearing a bra and panties in the photo.” I stab another piece of beef with my fork. “Besides, the picture was grainy, and the lighting was bad.”

That’s a fib.

Maren and Sinclair will never know that since I deleted the picture from my phone after realizing I sent it to my boss.

I lean back in the chair I’m sitting in and cross my legs. I’m dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and a white T-shirt. I’d never come to the office like this on a regular workday, but since I’m the only one who has been here all day, I knew my wardrobe choice wouldn’t matter.

“Do you want to know what I think?” Sinclair asks with a glimmer of something mischievous in her eye.

Shaking my head, I answer first. “No.”

Maren laughs. “Yes.”

Sinclair points at her sister-in-law. “Good answer. I think Dominick Calvetti is hot for you. I think that picture did something to him. What man in his right mind wouldn’t want to do you after seeing your body?”

I narrow my eyes. “Were you writing and drinking again before you came here?”

Maren barks out a laugh. “You do that, Sin?”

Shaking her head, Sinclair scowls. “Never. I took too much cough medicine once and tried to write, but that’s a story for another time.”

I laugh for the first time today. “Let’s hear it now.”

“No.” Sinclair waves a finger at me. “Let’s talk about how Mr. Calvetti has stroked out one or two to that picture of you.”

I drop my gaze to my lap. “He hasn’t.”

“I’d bet money that he has.” Maren reaches for my forearm and squeezes. “You have a gorgeous body, Arietta.”

I agree. I love my body. I work to keep it toned and strong.

I don’t agree with the idea that Mr. Calvetti found it alluring. The man has a different lover almost every night. That picture of me in my underwear did nothing for him. He didn’t even bring it up when we spoke about the email.

It wasn’t important enough for us to discuss, so it’s a moot point.

“Lowell will agree with us once he sees it.” Sinclair winks at me.

Maren turns to her. “Who?”

“He’s the guy Arietta should have been banging last night.” Sinclair arches a brow. “Calvetti put a stop to that, but Arietta is determined to get a piece of Lowell.”

Chuckling, I add, “Lowell is a guy I met on a dating app, Maren. I was supposed to go out with him last night for dinner. It was just a dinner, but I had to postpone. I’ll talk to him tonight to set up a new time for our date.”

Maren rubs her small baby bump. “Do you think he might be someone special?”

I can read between the lines. Maren wants me to find the same type of happiness she did. She’s six years older than me. She didn’t meet Keats until she was twenty-eight. I should point that out, but I don’t.

“Time will tell,” I say with a grin.

“You’ll tell me how your date goes, right?” She questions me before she shifts her attention to Sinclair. “What about you? Have you met someone on a dating app too?”

“When the hell would I have time for that?” Sinclair raises both hands in the air in mock frustration. “Berk works my ass off. I swear my brothers never want me to meet a man.”

We all laugh.

“You two are the best,” I say softly. “Thank you for the food and for coming down here. It means a lot to me.”

“You mean a lot to both of us.” Sinclair reaches for my hand. “If you’re stuck here on a Saturday night, we’ll stick around for you.”