Page 33 of The Pretender

“Did we miss something?” Nantes asks.

“I met Balt earlier,” Brogan explains. “I always figured Deo would end up with a nerdy guy, and I guess he did. A nerdy guy who looks like a supermodel. Well played, cuz.”

Balt chuckles, twirling his fork in his pasta.

“How long have you been dating?” Guiliano asks.

“Four months,” I say. “We hit it off quickly.”

Balt turns his gaze to me. “I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him, so I had to talk to him.”

I smile, even as I feel my cheeks heating. “I know it seems fast, but it works for us.”

Nonna waves her hand dismissively. “I met your grandfather and married him six weeks later. Almost sixty years together, rest his soul.”

“Things were different a thousand years ago, Nonna,” Nantes says lightly. “There was nothing else to do but get married.”

Nonna chuckles. “Well, that’s true, but still, we were happy. We just knew.”

“Sometimes it works out that way,” my aunt Sofie says. “We only dated a few months before we were engaged, right, Salvo?”

My uncle nods, scooping up sauce with a piece of bread. “Yeah. Seven months, I think.”

“All that matters is that you think it’s right,” my mom says, smiling. “It’s obvious you two are compatible.”

I glance at Balt and he smiles.

“The sauce is amazing, by the way,” Balt says. “It’s been ages since I’ve had proper sauce.”

“Your mom doesn’t cook?” Nonna asks.

“My mom is deceased,” Balt says. “My father too. It was a house fire.”

“Oh my dear,” Nonna says, squeezing his hand. “You poor thing. Were you home when it happened?”

Balt shakes his head. “It wasn’t recent. Seven years ago.”

Everyone is silent for a moment until my dad speaks up. “We’re sorry for your losses.”

“Thank you,” Balt says. “I’d rather not discuss it further, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is.” Nonna pats his hand again. “I’m happy you like the sauce. It’s my mother’s recipe and her mother’s before that. Every generation we add a little something to make it our own.”

Balt nods, chewing thoughtfully on a meatball. “Is there balsamic in here?”

Nonna’s face lights up. “A cultivated palate. There is. That’s my addition. I think it adds a nice depth.”

“It’s delicious.”

I smile as I dive back into my pasta. Balt is smooth.

“You’re staying around, huh?” Nantes asks me.

“I am. I’m home for good.”

Here we go. Time for all the critical comments.

“That’s cool,” Nantes says. “I know you’ve been missed around here.”