The ensuing silence was deafening. We stared at each other for several long moments.
“Ally, I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did.”
There had been times when I couldn’t walk away. When we lived with our parents and I tried to shield her from all the bad stuff. When I officially became her legal guardian. Most recently, when her asshole ex-husband traumatized her so badly that she could barely think for herself.
Now, however, I totally could. There was nothing keeping me here.
“And you’re right,” I said quietly. “No one asked me to.” I slung my carry-on bag over my shoulder and grabbed the handle of my rolling suitcase. “Take care of yourself, Miriam.”
Chapter Fourteen: Paulie
I left the restaurant in a lousy mood.
I’d known the woman for less than a week, and yet here I was, feeling like I’d lost a good friend and a potential something much more.
To make matters worse, Irene had called earlier that morning and informed me she was probably going to be out another week. One grandson was on the mend, but now, two others had picked up the bug as well as her son and daughter-in-law.
On the positive side, I was in a very good place in terms of prep for the week. I might even get out of the office before dark once or twice.
Working with Allison had been an absolute joy. So much so in fact that I’d taken a few pages out of my brother Nick’s book and created some mental fantasies, fantasies where Allison decided she liked Cecilton over Boston and chose to work in my tiny office instead of the DA’s.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. I didn’t have quite the romantic slant that Nick did. That was one hundred percent true. I was more of a practical, methodical kind of guy.
That didn’t mean I didn’t have romantic notions about Allison. It just meant that her being around all the time had been the groundwork from which I built the rest of my fantasies because the really good ones involved a lot more than the kind of passionate, torrid affair that could be had in a day or two.
Yeah, I’d considered it. That was one of those fantasies. We’d engage in a night of passion that would convince both of us there was something incredible there, and she’d decide to stay.
With Allison in town permanently, I could satisfy every caveman instinct I’d been burying this week and pursue that something much more. We’d get to know each other on a more personal basis. I found myself wanting to know everything about her—what kind of books she read and the movies she liked. What she liked to do when she wasn’t working. Where she liked to go.
I’d discover other things too. Like where she liked to be touched and how. What parts of her body I could kiss to drive her crazy. The kinds of sounds she made when she came.
The truth was, I’d been attracted to her since the first time I saw her, and that attraction had only grown. However, I’d been very good about keeping things on a professional level, knowing that nothing could come of it.
Had I done the right thing, keeping it strictly business between us?
According to my grandfather, the answer was an unequivocal no.
That was the hot topic at the family dinner as a matter of fact. My grandfather and my mother grilled me mercilessly about Allison, and Nonno kept repeating how he was certain that she was the woman for me.
Nick and Vinnie didn’t have my back either. Teste di cazzo, both of them. They sat back, smirking and enjoying watching me squirm under our mother’s narrow-eyed glare. I supposed it was payback for remaining quiet while they had been the ones in the hot seat.
Tomayto, tomahto.
My other siblings—Dom, Gina, and Sofia—wisely kept their heads down and their mouths full, unwilling to turn the Cupido spotlight on their own lacking love lives.
“She’s already gone,” I told them irritably when my mother insisted I bring Allison to the restaurant so she could judge for herself, to which my grandfather clicked his tongue and shook his finger at me.
“’Cause you no give her a reason to stay. One kiss—that’s-a all it take,” he said confidently, “and she-a be yours forever.”
His words stuck with me.
Needless to say, I wasn’t in the best of moods by the time I left. I didn’t want to go back to my apartment and spend what was left of the day second-guessing myself, so I did what I always did. I went into the office and planned to bury myself in work.
You can imagine how surprised I was when I found the doors unlocked and Stella waiting for me. She looked like she had just come from my cousin Valentina’s salon and was dressed provocatively in skintight pants and a low-cut top that left little to the imagination.
I couldn’t help comparing Stella’s style to Allison’s jeans, modest sweaters, and Chucks. I certainly knew which I preferred.
I didn’t even bother with a greeting. I’d mentioned I was in a bad mood, right?
“How did you get in?”
Her smile faded somewhat. “I had some extra keys made, just in case I lost the one you gave me.”
“I’ll be needing those back.” I made a mental note to call my cousin and have all the locks changed ASAP. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Aw, don’t be like that, Paulie. Give me another chance. I know I let you down, but it won’t happen again, I promise.”
She was right. It wouldn’t happen again because I wouldn’t allow it. I liked giving people the benefit of the doubt, but I was no sucker, and Stella’s free pass had come to an end as far as I was concerned.
“How are the paralegal classes coming?” I asked, knowing full well she hadn’t been taking any. I had friends at the local university who had confirmed that.
She
