Senior Year Box Set

“Go tell Aunt Pia dinner is ready. Ask her to help you wash your hands,” Tony said as he put his son down to go announce the food was ready.

I smiled when he scampered out to tell everyone it was time to eat.

“He’s already a handful. He’s also too smart for his own good. Nancy must have had a talk with Junior for him to be on his best behavior,” Tony said.

“I thought he was awfully polite.”

“You have no idea.”

“My brother has two his age, so I have a pretty good idea. You’re just lucky you don’t have a daughter. It seems they somehow know before they’re born how to get Daddy wrapped around their little fingers. My niece thinks her Uncle David should buy her a horse.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t,” Tony admitted.

“If it weren’t for my mom, I would have. I’m scared of what my daughter will do to me.”

Tony looked at me with a helpless expression. Yeah, I was done for.

◊◊◊

The dinner was excellent. For starters, we had a soup called ‘Pappa al Pomodoro’ and my bruschetta. The soup had a tomato base with bread added to make it thick. For the main course, we had fish and pasta. Pan-seared branzino had been covered in cherry tomatoes, capers, and olives in a butter and wine sauce. For dessert, we had Italian cookies and gelato.

After dinner, Erika asked me to join her on the roof so we could talk.

“It’s official. I’m no longer engaged. He had the gall to blame me for calling off the wedding,” Erika said as we looked out over the park.

“Was your brother upset?” I asked.

“No. He’s decided that since he has an heir, I can find someone I love. He apologized for arranging for me to marry that ass.”

“So, what’s the plan now?”

“Get my degree and go home, I guess,” she said and then gave me a sideways look. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you about my engagement. I honestly didn’t think you would care. Most guys don’t.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I think most guys would rather not mess things up for a couple if they had a choice,” I said.

“And I didn’t give you a choice,” Erika read into what I said.

“If I’d known …” I left hanging. “In the end, what happened, happened. If I’d been the actual cause of your breakup, I would probably be upset. We both know Harry didn’t take your engagement seriously, and you didn’t do anything until you knew it was over. I’m okay with how everything turned out.”

She came to me and gave me a kiss.

“You’re a good man, David. I hope we can remain friends,” Erika said.

“You can never have too many friends,” I admitted.

“Pia said you plan to add her to your group of friends.”

Erika seemed disappointed when I didn’t react to that revelation. What women told each other no longer shocked me.

“I hope you gave her a glowing report on my skills.”

“Kendra had that covered,” Erika shot back.

I bet she did. I debated whether to go find Pia or not. In the end, I decided not. I didn’t need another clutch of women comparing notes. Besides, Pia scared me a little. If our relationship went south, she had resources that could make me disappear.

We walked downstairs, and I told everyone I had to get going.

“I’ll walk you out,” Pia said.

Once we reached the hall and had our privacy, she stopped me.

“I just wanted to tell you that Umberto and his family are safe. He asked me to pass on how thankful he is and not to worry if you don’t hear from either Alex or Nat for a while,” Pia shared.

“Good. Thank you for helping them.”

“Before you go, can I ask one small favor?”

“Sure. I said I would do whatever you needed,” I assured her.

“Can I get a goodbye kiss?” she asked.

I intended to give her a quick kiss, but soon found her hand on my butt and tongue in my mouth. No regrets, right? We made out until we were both breathing hard. Finally, the big brain was able to retake control of the body.

“I really should go,” I said.

Pia blinked a few times and then sighed.

“Just remember that now you owe me a favor,” I teased. “At some point, we’ll have to continue our ‘talk.’”

“I think I like your kind of favors,” Pia replied as she gave me back my phone.

I got on the elevator and sent Paul a text. He’d been across the street at a coffee shop. He took me back to Adrienne and Tyler’s. They were both out, so I decided to hit the rack. My sleep cycle had been off last night, so I was more than ready to get some sleep.

◊◊◊

Chapter 15 – Heavy Meddle Sunday April 2

After more than a week on the road, I looked forward to going home. We had a ten o’clock flight that would get us to Chicago by eleven-thirty, so I would get home by one or two. With that in mind, I was up early, and Adrienne found me in the kitchen making a bagel.

“You about out of here?”

“Yeah. I appreciate you letting me crash at your place again.”

“Before you leave, I wanted to thank you for working with Jill yesterday. I also want to talk to you about renting your condo in Tribeca,” Adrienne said.

“My mom handles all of that for me. I’ll have her call you,” I said to get that off my plate.