Page 87 of The Fall Affair

“Porky?”

I shook my head. “Just a dumb nickname.”

My sister couldn’t wait to chime in. “It’s short for porcupine. And not because he’s prickly, which he is.” She grinned. “Back when we were eight or nine, Matteo had a crush on Maria Rosetti. We’d all just watched the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. Do you know it?”

Allegra nodded. “I loved it.”

“Well, Maria and all the girls had a crush on Marcello, the handsome actor who plays the love interest. He wore his hair slicked back, so my brother decided he was going to do the same to impress his Maria. He slicked it back with way too much gel, and walked to school on a windy day.” She put her hands up, forming a point on top of her head. “All his hair, it hardened to a pointy spike. One of Matteo’s friends went over to tell Maria that Matteo liked her, and she said, ‘Who? The porcupine kid?’ The name stuck.”

I closed my eyes. “God forbid anyone in this family ever forget anything.”

Allegra laughed. “Awww… Don’t be embarrassed, Porky. I think it’s sweet.”

“It didn’t deter him, though,” my sister said. “I’ll give him that much. At least not until middle school when he again tried to impress Maria by rollerblading at a backyard birthday party for one of their classmates. He tripped over the hose and accidentally turned on da water. It sprayed all over Maria and got her white shirt soaked. Poor girl didn’t have a bra on, and her little boobies were pointy. The kids all started calling her Spike.” Luciana laughed. “Such a shame. They were a match made in heaven—Porky and Spike—but Maria hated him after dat.”

One stupid story led to another and, before long, my family had filled the entire meal with embarrassing tales from my childhood. They all took turns. Allegra laughed so hard her cheeks were pink. I might’ve minded being the brunt of the jokes if I didn’t enjoy staring across at her smile so much. She’d come here nervous but had slipped right into the chaos of my family like she’d been here a dozen times before.

As the meal wound down and people started to get up from the table, I used the opportunity to try for some alone time. I took Allegra’s hand and guided her down to my mother’s garden, which wasn’t visible from the loggia because of the cypress trees.

“Thank you for coming.” I kissed her lips.

“I’m glad I did. This was fun.”

“Everyone loved you.” I pushed a lock of hair back from her face. “What made you change your mind?”

She smiled. “My grandmother, believe it or not.”

I smiled back. “I believe it. That woman had a way of making people do things when she was here on Earth. A little thing like death would never stop her. It means a lot to me that you came.”

“Good. Because you mean a lot to me.”

My eyes widened. I wasn’t sure what Sophia had done, but I’d be thanking her later.

“Being here…” Allegra motioned to the loggia, where the noise was so loud we could hear it even through a dozen cypress trees. “It’s a reminder of how important family is. My grandmother used to entertain at the house all the time—family and friends. I only have one aunt left on my mom’s side, and I need to do a better job keeping in touch with her, but I do have family here. I’ve also been looking at discovering I have a sister the wrong way. I’m disappointed in my father, and that’s not going to change for a long time, but nothing that’s happened is Camilla’s fault. I have an opportunity for something I never thought possible—having a sister.” She shook her head. “I think I’m going to call her and see if we can get to know each other, spend some time together.”

I nodded. “That sounds like a great idea. I can’t wait to meet her.”

Allegra looked up at me, her eyes soft. “I spent the evening with my boyfriend and twenty-five of his family members, and I don’t feel like hightailing it out of here.”

“Boyfriend, huh?” I liked the sound of that coming from her lips. A lot. But it didn’t mean I wasn’t going to bust her balls about it.

“Oh,” she said. “We didn’t talk about it, so maybe I over—”

I wrapped a hand around her back and yanked her flush to me. “Kiss me, girlfriend.”

A smile spread across her face, right before I kissed it off her. She blinked when we separated. “I’m happy, Matteo. But I don’t know what I’m going to do about where I live, a job… I don’t want to lead you on to think I’m staying forever. Because I’m not sure yet.”

I shook my head. “You don’t need to remind me all the time, Allegra. I’m aware of da risks we’re both taking here, and I’m not worried.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m a man who knows what he wants, and I’m willing to do the work to get it. Whatever it takes, Allegra.”

I saw fear in her eyes, but today it was a little less. I let the quiet between us stretch without pressure.

Eventually, a cheeky smile returned to her lips. “I have a boyfriend. An Italian one with a dreamy accent and a vineyard. I feel like I’m in a rom-com.”

I chuckled. “Does that mean I have to do romantic things?”