Page 48 of Bellini Born

Navigating the hallways until we reached the kitchen, I was surprised to discover we had a guest. Or rather, Summer did.

The minute I entered the room, the eyes of the girl who captivated me by merely existing did a quick sweep of my body, and the unmistakable flare of hunger in their blue depths had me biting back a groan.

Hiking Serafina higher on her hip, she announced, “Look who’s home.”

Bianca was seated atop the island, talking animatedly with a dark-haired woman whose back was to me. My daughter’s tiny head whipped in my direction, and the most brilliant smile lit up her face as she exclaimed, “Papa!”

“Hello, my beautiful girls,” I said in greeting as I stepped closer to drop a kiss on each of their foreheads.

It took a herculean effort not to give Summer one as well. God, what I wouldn’t give to place my lips on her skin, even if only in a chaste show of affection.

Eyeing the dozens of cookies filling containers laid out on the island, I remarked, “Looks like you’ve been busy.”

Teeth descended on that plush lower lip of Summer’s, and a blush crept onto her cheeks. “Sorry, we got a little carried away. I’ve never had a kitchen like this to work with before.”

“No apologies necessary,” I reassured her. “What’s mine is yours,dolcezza.”

A loud scoff reminded me we weren’t alone, and I turned to find Summer’s guest glaring at me. Which was strange considering I didn’t even know this girl.

Deciding to be the bigger person, I extended a hand. “Matteo Bellini.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware.”

The venom in her tone had me rearing back. “Is that so?”

Summer widened her eyes at her friend, hissing, “Gabi!”

Enzo reached past me to snag a biscotti. “So we meet again, Gabriella.”

The pieces clicked into place. This must be the D’Amico girl, Summer’s ex-roommate.

Gabriella’s lips pulled into a thin line. “Enzo. Why don’t you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of?”

Ooh, she had a sharp tongue on her. Though I would expect nothing less of a woman with Bellini blood coursing through her veins.

“Pretty sure I have more of a right to be here than you do, sweetheart.” Like the man hadn’t just cheated death, he booped her on the nose.

In the blink of an eye, she lunged, and I was forced to put my body between the pair of them.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” I boomed so loud that it startled Serafina, and she began to whimper.

Summer’s lower lip trembled like she, too, was about to cry. When she spoke, her voice wavered, and it was like a punch to the gut. “I didn’t mean to stir up any trouble by having Gabi over.”

Dragging a hand down my face, I let out a heavy exhale. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” With a jerk of my chin toward the door, I said to Enzo, “You just cost yourself dinner. Get out.”

“Great,” he huffed. “Thanks a lot, Gabi.”

As soon as he was gone, Summer said softly, “You should probably go too, Gabs.”

The girl’s jaw dropped. “What did I do? He’s the one who touched me without permission!”

“While you have a point, you also went out of your way to provoke him.”

“Ugh! Fine.” She threw up her hands.

Gabi moved toward the table where she’d slung her purse over one of the kitchen chairs before returning to where I stood. Narrowing her eyes, she lowered her voice so that Summer couldn’t hear her. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

There weren’t words to describe how satisfying it was that she involuntarily stepped back when I got in her face. She might act tough, but she was smart enough to be scared of me.