Page 42 of Broken Mafia Bride

“Kinda.” He smiles back.

I sigh, and when he steps forward, I don’t hesitate to press into his chest, allow myself to relax in his hold and take whatever comfort I can find. We stand like that for endless minutes, his fingers running up and down my back soothingly.

“We should both go talk to her,” he eventually says, and I agree.

“She’s probably building a pillow fort under the dining table and sulking right now,” I say.

His chest rumbles with a laugh. Just as we pull away from each other to start heading to the living room, the sound of a knock echoes through the house. I glance up at Marco in surprise. “Are we expecting anyone?”

“Mrs. Amato mentioned during dinner last night that she’d be baking a farewell cake,” he says as his phone starts buzzing. He pulls it out distractedly. “It’s probably Paolo bringing it—maybe that’s him at the door.” He steps back toward the hallway. “Can you get it? I need to take this call.”

“Go take your call. I’ll check it out.”

“Just—check the peephole first, okay?” he says quickly, glancing at the door with a furrowed brow before answering the call.

I hurry over to the front door and press my eye to the door hole. The woman knocking is unfamiliar. I sift through my memory for any hint of who she is and come up blank.

“Anyone home?” she calls.

I open the door just a crack. “Hello.”

“Hello.” The woman flashes me a bright smile. “Good morning, dear. I’m Nelly. I just moved into the house at the edge of the woods, close to the chapel.”

“Oh, really?” I say excitedly. “That house has been empty forever. It’s so cute too.”

“I know, right?” she says, clearly pleased.

The woman looks to be in her mid-thirties—brown hair, brown eyes, a plain blue dress with damp patches clinging to the fabric.

“Did you fall or something?” I ask, gesturing toward her dress.

She sighs. “Or something. You won’t believe that I was trying to turn on the kitchen pipes, and it suddenly burst and spilled water everywhere. The owner of the house assured us that everything was in perfect condition too.”

“I’m so sorry,” I tell her. “You’re probably here for the plumber’s number?”

“I’d appreciate it,” Nelly says with a small smile. “My husband accuses me of being careless, and I’d rather avoid having a fight about it today when he gets back in the evening. I don’t mean to be careless. I’m a little clumsy, mind you, but I swear, I have the worst luck.”

Laughing, I open the door wider. “Come on in.”

Now that Sienna’s married with her twins, she’s more occupied than ever, and sometimes I can’t muster enough energy to go all the way to the Amatos’ house for dinner.

I’m grateful to Marco for leaving us his house, but without him here, it becomes very clear that the house is quite isolated from the rest of the town. Nelly seems nice and funny, and I’m sure we’ll get along well. And honestly, I’ll feel much safer knowing someone is close by in case of emergencies.

“Give me a minute, let me grab my phone. His contact is in there.”

Her shoulder drops with relief. “Thank heavens. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Just happy to help.” I grin at her before hurrying into the house to grab my phone.

“Who is it?” Marco asks, stepping out of his room.

“Turns out, we have a new neighbor.” I snatch my phone from the table excitedly. “Hey, can you help Noemi get dressed while I sort her out?”

“Sure.”

I make my way back to the foyer where I left Nelly but I still when I see that she’s no longer standing there. Confused, I step out the house, glancing either way in search of Nelly.

“Nelly?” I call.