Page 147 of Falling for Mr. October

“Uh-oh.”

She kisses me softly, then gets off my lap and tugs me to my feet.

We walk to the front door together, but when I open it, I see my brothers, Enzo and Nico, grinning smugly at me.

“I’ve been talking to you both nonstop, and you never said a word, you assholes!” I crow, slapping them on their backs.

And behind them…

Well, holy shit.

I glance at Bianca in astonishment, and she winks at me.

Standing behind my brothers is one of the actual anchors of Good Day USA, Ella Williams, along with a couple of cameramen who are filming my every move.

“The Shirtless Chef himself,” the anchor says with a toothy grin, and Nico points to my shirt.

“You got some of those for us?”

I grin at him. “Yeah, and I got hats for you too.”

Turns out the show offered to fly my brothers in at the last minute, and my agent begged Bianca not to tell me so they could get my genuine reaction on camera.

Minus the swearing, which they’ll have to edit out.

After the initial shock of their arrival wears off, my brothers and I sit down with Ella for an interview in the farmhouse dining room. The three of us tell Ella all about our grandparents, Hidden Italy, and Nonna’s stories from the Old Country, and then Ella and I make eggplant parmigiana subs, with ingredients Bianca must have purchased on the sly.

Afterward, my brothers and Bianca join us for lunch in front of the cameras, and Ella asks Bianca and me about our love story.

I grin at Bianca. “She was the first girl I ever kissed, but she still doesn’t believe me about that.”

Bianca’s lips part. “You were being serious?”

“See what I mean?” I raise my brow at Ella, who’s watching us with an indulgent smile. “And earlier this month, she told her friends it was the worst kiss she ever had⁠—”

Nico crows with laughter at that and reaches across the table to give Bianca a high five.

“No way,” she says. “I can’t high-five you over that. My loyalty lies with your brother.”

I nudge her with my leg. “Give it to him, cara mia. He won’t stop unless you do. He’s like a golden retriever.”

Bianca rolls her eyes and high-fives him.

Ella laughs, clearly delighted by the good TV we’re providing, and asks me, “So you convinced her to give you another try?”

“I did, thank God. No one wants to hear that the prettiest girl they’ve ever kissed wasn’t impressed.”

“And I presume he did better the second time?” Ella asks Bianca.

Bianca fans her face, and my brothers both enjoy laughing at me, and my God, I’m a happy man.

We knew going into this interview that it was time to air out all of our secrets. So we talk about the hard stuff too. Miles’s accident and the apple fight heard around the county. Because we know that’s what’ll help us successfully take control of the map.

Emily will be proud.

Twenty-four hours later, my pie is baked. The scene is set. The tent that’s been in use as the pumpkin patch has been transformed into the “tasting pavilion” for the pies, and the barn we’ve been using to store the wagon is the site of the petting zoo.

My brothers are staying at the farmhouse with the nonnas. Nonna Francesca can’t take so much excitement so soon after her injury, and Nonna Rose wants to be by her side, so they’ll be sticking close to the house.