Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
“Ah, yes,” Matteo says. “Valentine’s Day. In Italy, it’s called La Festa Degli Innamorati, the Feast of Lovers.”
“Ooh, I like that. That’s very inspiring to my planning,” Katie says with a smile and a quick private wink in my direction.
“Perhaps we should return here for this Valentine’s dinner.” Matteo’s looking at me, his smile hinting at his hidden reserves of wickedness.
Katie looks at the men, then back at me. “They don’t know, do they?”
Both Of You
Fiero was already frowning at his brother’s dinner invitation, and now he turns to me. “Know what?”
I’m blushing again, for an entirely different reason. “My birthday is on Valentine’s Day.”
The men’s expressions undergo near-identical transformations, from surprise to pleasure to naughty scheming. It’s such an adorable thing to witness that I almost burst out laughing from sheer delight, but I rein in my response and instead shoot Katie a look. Her grin tells me she saw it too and completely understands.
“What is funny?” Fiero demands.
“Oh, nothing. Come on, let’s get going. The food here is really good, and I’m going to be starving by the time we get back.”
We wave goodbye to Katie and set out along the main trail that winds into the woods beyond the parking lot. At the first fork, I follow the path that leads to the lake, the brothers on either side of me.
The men have winter jackets in addition to their jeans, sweaters, and boots. No hats, no gloves. They wear their jackets unzipped, seemingly impervious to the cold. I keep my jacket unzipped too, since the walk will warm me up, but I’m also wearing a knit cap and matching gloves, as well as a lightweight thermal shirt under my sweater.
Our pace is more leisurely than brisk, just fast enough that I’m full of endorphins from the cold air and my beautiful surroundings, very much including my companions. Since I can’t solve the dilemma of their competition today, I vow to ignore it as best I can and enjoy our time together.
We walk in silence, but it’s comfortable, the stillness of our surroundings under a fresh blanket of snow encouraging us to join in the quiet. Not until the lake comes into sight does Fiero speak.
“Truly, this is glorious. It is very different from Italy, and yet it reminds me of home somehow. We used to go up into the mountains outside our village.”
“Yes,” Matteo muses. “We spent many happy hours, along with Giovanni, wandering in the woods.”
I’m glad the scenery reminds them of home. It feels as though my heart expands as we stroll along, to encompass them and also their brother, so far away now. Not for the first time, I wonder about Giovanni.
His two brothers are so different from each other, and yet very much alike in some ways. What is it like when all three of them are together? I wish I could have been at that party, not to witness the outrageous behavior, but to watch the brothers interact.
Oh, well. Maybe someday, if I ever travel to Italy, I’ll be able to visit the Bestia brothers there. Of course, by then they’ll all be married with families, probably, so my presence might be the teensiest bit awkward.
Unless they just call me an old friend.
Pain stabs my chest. I’m not ready to surrender my connection to these men, not yet. I’m bizarrely jealous of their hypothetical future spouses, the women who will be the ones to settle down with them and have those ordinary, blissful lives.
Not that I can imagine life with either Matteo or Fiero ever being truly ordinary.
We reach the shore of the lake and linger a while, looking across its frozen surface to the woods on the far side. Blackbirds and robins dart through the air, undaunted by the snow, in search of food.
It’s so peaceful that I could stand here forever, but my stomach decides to rumble, the sound obnoxiously loud. Both men laugh. “We had better feed you before you perish,” Matteo says teasingly.
“No danger of that,” I assure him, but we start back all the same, our pace even slower now. We’re in no rush to leave the outdoors behind, hunger notwithstanding.
As we walk, my mind goes back to the fall, when the Kings first appeared at Callahan Crest, just before I went back to school. I really should try to talk to Katie soon about the situation with the Bestias; if nothing else, she’ll be a sympathetic listener who understands what I’m dealing with.
By the time we reach the resort, I’m as hungry as I predicted. “I think I’ll order one of everything on the menu,” I announce as we go inside.
“And I will order two of everything.” Fiero’s slow smile gives me quivers in inconvenient places. “Except dessert.”
Matteo reads his brother’s mind effortlessly. “You are delectable, Daniela,” he agrees. “All the sweetness I need.”