“True, but I’d rather not,” she said as we hit the street. We walked side by side, and eventually, I gave in to the urge to link her pinkie finger around mine. She didn’t resist, even squeezing a little. “I didn’t realize quite how famous you are. Elena told me she knew about you, but I didn’t know you’ve been in the tabloids.”
“I don’t like to talk or think about it,” I replied, suppressing a shudder. “Getting recognition for simply staying in town after making something of myself is stupid. There are plenty of successful people in Tuscany, many who were born around here. I don’t understand why I get singled out.”
Addy pursed her lips as we reached my car, peering up at me with a coy expression on her face. “Could it be because you’re hot?”
“It’s good to know you think that, but no. I don’t think so. Besides, it’s really not such a big deal. A few magazines have done articles on me. That’s the extent of my fame. It’s hardly anything to write home about. I don’t like being in the public eye.”
“I can see how it might be annoying. Having a total stranger know your business must suck.” I opened the door for her after the lights flashed when I unlocked the car. “Thanks. Good to know chivalry isn’t dead.”
“No, it’s not dead. It’s just not practiced by cretins.” I shut her door and climbed into the driver’s seat.
Addy turned in hers after fastening her seatbelt. “Are you really not going to tell me about your brother? For example, is he a cretin?”
“Absolutely,” I said, shooting her a grin in the rearview mirror. “But he’s a good guy, too. We’re a lot alike, but there are several fundamental differences.”
“Like what?”
“I’m younger and definitely better looking.” I glanced at her in time to catch the end of an eye roll. “What? I am. You’ll see soon enough. Aldo’s a lot friendlier than I am. He’s funny, but his filter is broken.”
“Kind of like Elena’s?” she asked, amusement dancing on her expression.
I nodded. “Sure, but Aldo seems more dangerous. He says everything with a smile on his face. With him, you wouldn’t be sure if your balls were being threatened with a butter knife or if you might just enjoy having him cut them off.”
“So, he’s the charmer in the family?” she asked jokingly.
Aldo and I never really got jealous of one another. Every once in a while, the other did or had something the other envied, like my envy of his ability not to take himself too seriously, but it had never caused trouble between us.
Hearing Adaline refer to him as the charmer, even though I knew she hadn’t even met him yet, made the green monster deep inside roar to life. I suddenly had the urge to mark her as mine. I wonder if she’ll let me pee on her.
Dismissing the errant thought, which had been way more errant than I was proud of, I breathed through the weird urges passing through me. Why am I jealous of Aldo? Jesus.
I felt Addy’s gaze on me as my knuckles turned white on the steering wheel and my jaw clenched. Forcing myself to relax, I sent her a smirk that would make my brother proud. “No, I’m better looking and more charming. We’re here.”
I found parking not too far away from the starting line, and Addy and I stepped out into the midday sunshine to find a spot near the front. Throngs of runners and supporters congregated all around us. Addy craned her neck like she was looking for someone, then glanced up at me.
“Where is he? Am I going to get to meet him before the race?”
“Probably not. I texted him to let him know we’d be here, but he’ll be getting his head in the game. He’s going to need it, too. He decided to run this damn thing on a whim. He didn’t have enough time to train.”
“Spontaneity,” she commented. “I like that. Do you see him yet?”
Her compliment made the monster rise and bang his chest again. In an attempt to keep her from seeing my very irrational reaction, I turned in a slow circle until I found Aldo amidst the crowd of runners. “Yeah, I see him. He’s over there.”
Addy pushed onto her tiptoes to look at where I was pointing, then did a double take. She dropped back to her feet and stared up at me, her pretty red lips parted. “You’re an identical twin? Why the hell didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped you look for him. Holy fuck, you’re a twin.”
The expression on her face was impossible to read, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it either. Her eyes had narrowed in thought and she’d lifted a hand to tap the side of her mouth.
Meanwhile, the green monster stomped his feet and demanded we take out our nemesis. Never mind the fact that our nemesis, in this instance, was my twin brother and best friend.
Fuck. This was going to be a long-ass day if I couldn’t get that thing under control.
Chapter 18
Addy
Marco was a twin? How had I not known that?
Also, why didn’t I feel an ounce of attraction toward his brother?
I watched as his twin bounced on the balls of his feet, the muscles in his arms and shoulders pulling and rippling as he stretched. The lighter streaks in his hair caught the afternoon sun and shone like spun gold.
It didn’t escape my notice that several females in his vicinity had stopped to stare at him, especially as he bent over to touch his toes. From my vantage point, I could see the cocky smirk that tugged at the corners of his lips.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he knew he was drawing attention, and he liked it that way.
