Page 35 of Hello Goodbye Amore

Tio rolled his eyes, and Chase took a step back. Tio’s dealings with his friends were none of his business. It was up to Tio to decide what he wanted to tell them.

“You’re the one who hasn’t been around,” Tio said with a smile. “Have you been busy?” Paolo nodded, and Tio smacked him on the shoulder. “Who is she?”

Paolo lowered his gaze, and Chase crossed his arms over his chest. There was a real story here. “Gemma,” he finally said.

“Gianetti?” Tio asked and grinned when Paolo nodded. “My mother was trying to fix me up with her, but we never went out.”

“Yeah… well. My mother invited her to dinner,” he mumbled. “And we’ve been going out for three weeks.” He seemed disconcerted.

“What’s the problem?” Chase asked.

Paolo sighed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “I like her, and she’s feisty….”

Chase grinned, and Tio actually laughed. “You got hooked, and now you’re wondering if she’s the right one.”

“It’s worse than that. Mamma swears she is, and if I actually marry her, then she will know she was right and I will never hear the end of it.

” He held his head in his hands. “What do I do?” He shook his head for a few seconds.

“Give me some good news. Who is it that you have been seeing… and don’t tell me your mamma fixed you up. My heart cannot take it.”

“No, my mother most definitely did not introduce us,” Tio said, looking right over at Chase. Their gazes met for a second, and Paolo followed Tio’s eyes to him.

“What?” he asked. “Where’s the girl?”

“There is no girl,” Chase said flatly and figured he’d make it easy on Tio. “What Tio is trying to tell you is that he and I have been seeing each other.”

Paolo turned back to Tio in what could only be described as an imitation of a large-mouth bass in disbelief.

“No.” He broke into Italian, and Tio nodded slowly.

Paolo immediately went silent, and Chase held his breath, hoping like hell that Paolo wouldn’t turn his back.

He knew that would hurt Tio more than just about anything else.

He could have taken his parents’ not accepting him, but Chase saw in Tio’s eyes the very beginning of heartache that grew more real and deeper the longer Paolo just sat there. “This is a joke?”

“It isn’t,” Tio finally said. “I’ve had feelings for women, but I also have them for men, and Chase most of all.” He stood up, wobbling a little.

“So I guess neither of us is going to be going out to pick up women,” Paolo said with a shrug. “We could go out cruising for guys, though, if that’s your thing.”

Chase growled, and Paolo put his hands up. “I joke.”

“You better be. Gemma deserves someone to be good to her.”

Paolo turned to him. “How you know what she deserve?”

Chase shook his head. “Because all women do. Sheesh. Is he another one like your cousin Lorenzo?” he asked Antonello. Tio explained in Italian, and Paolo put his hands up again.

“If he does something like that, his mamma will make sure the family line stops with him,” Tio explained, and Chase nodded.

“I think I wanna meet his mamma sometime.” Chase grinned, and Paolo slipped off the desk.

Paolo smiled. “She’d probably cook for you, and if you make Antonello happy, she’ll love you forever.” He patted the top of the desk. “My mother always adored Antonello here, and she’d want him to be happy.”

“Doesn’t she want you to be happy?” Chase asked. Maybe it was the language barrier, but sometimes he didn’t understand these people even when they were speaking English.

“What my mother wants is grandchildren—lots of them. And she is determined to get me married so my wife can start providing them for her.” He groaned and shook his head. “At least Tio has an excuse.” He went to the door.

“You know, maybe the four of us could go out sometime,” Paolo said, and Chase nodded. He’d like that a lot, and Tio was even smiling. “What? Did you think I’d throw you over or something?” He rolled his eyes. “Hell, bring on the gay guys. That leaves more women for the rest of us.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Gemma that when I see her next time,” Tio said. Paolo made what Chase figured was a rude Italian gesture before leaving the office.

“I really thought he’d flip out,” Tio said softly, looking after his friend. “So far things have been okay.”

“Well, you haven’t really dealt with your mother yet,” Chase said.

“No, but she did say to come to dinner on Friday, so that is a step in the right direction. I think she wants to talk with you.”

Chase groaned. “Your mother wants to roast me over a spit and pick my bones before throwing them out for the dogs in the street.”

“Really vivid.”

“But accurate. She would be happy if I disappeared so she could determine if Ricky was her grandson. And if he was, I bet she would figure out a way to have him raised in the same repressive way she raised you. And that isn’t going to happen.

I’ll meet your parents and play nice, but I’m not backing down or giving up my son. ”

Tio closed his office door. “Of course you aren’t. Now I think we need to finish up the workday. Then we can go to your place, and at your kitchen table, you and I will figure out options and a plan for dealing with all of this.”

“I see.” Chase hadn’t ruled out getting the hell out of the country, but he was keeping that in reserve at the moment.

Still, he intended to be prepared for Ricky’s sake.

He was the most important person in this whole situation.

Chase returned to his office and closed the door, cursing Elaine quietly for leaving him in this mess in the first place.

“If you had been up front with us, then none of this would have happened and we could have avoided the entire situation.” But then he would never have crossed paths with Tio again. He sat at the desk, holding his head, knowing now that having Tio in his life had so far been worth it.