All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(15)
“You, too.” I invited him to join us for a drink, and was surprised when he took me up on the offer. He pulled over a chair from an adjacent table and Jessie and I made room between us. I caught a faint whiff of sexy aftershave when he sat down.
“Luca, I’d like you to meet my cousin Fiona, my friend Jessie, and my grandmother Stana, who almost everyone calls Nana. She’s the person responsible for the fashion choices you’ve been witnessing. Everyone, this is Luca. We met earlier today.”
After Luca said hello, he took my grandmother’s hand and kissed the back of it, then did the same to Fiona. When he merely shook Jessie’s hand, my friend pretended to sulk. Luca chuckled and kissed Jessie’s hand too, which made the blond very happy.
My grandmother exclaimed, “Doesn’t Nico get a kiss on the hand? Go on now, don’t be shy. We already know you’re a gay homosexual because Nico said you play for his team, so if you want to kiss his hand or anything else, don’t hold back on my account.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Luca said before he scooped up my hand and kissed it, lingering for a moment, his eyes meeting mine. He gave me a wink, then squeezed my hand before returning it to my thigh.
His leg brushed mine, possibly on accident, and he said, “Back in leather, I see. Shall I ask the waiter to bring over some pots and pans? I want to be prepared to defend you against passing hordes of poodles and wiener dogs.”
Jessie chuckled and asked, “What on earth does that mean?”
Luca launched into the story of the bacon pants, telling it with such flair that even I was laughing by the end of it, along with everyone else. When I finally caught my breath, I said, “Sadly, that’s all true. Luca saved me from both the dogs and from arrest for public indecency when my bathing suit turned invisible on me today. Apparently he’s my guardian angel.”
“Someone has to be,” he said with a teasing grin.
“So, Luca, you single?” My grandmother asked.
“Yes ma’am, quite,” he said.
“Do I detect a bit of a British accent?” Nana wanted to know.
“I spent a number of years in boarding school in Britain,” he said, “but I’ve lived all over. That’s why I speak five languages and why my accent is a jumble.”
The waiter came by to take Luca’s drink order, and Nana ordered one of every appetizer on the bar menu. “I’m starving,” she told us. “I never did get dinner tonight, since my sister Isabella is such a putz.”
“We’re supposed to be at a big family dinner right now with about four dozen relatives,” I told Luca, “but there was an argument and we left.” I turned to my grandmother and asked, “What were you and your sister fighting about?”
Nana sighed and said, “Isabella told me she was sorry so many of my grandchildren had turned out to be gay, and I went off on her. Every single one of my gay homosexual grandsons is a blessing! I told her that, and then I called her a bigot! She tried to backpedal and say she only said it because it meant they wouldn’t be giving me great-grandchildren. I pointed out that my grandson Vincent and his husband Trevor have their sweet son Josh, and she said it’s not the same if the kids are adopted. Oh hell no! You do not say ignorant shit like that about my precious Joshie! Next thing I knew, I was screaming and she was screaming. I wish I’d done a better job tryin’ to educate her, but I just got so mad!”
I’d never thought about all the crap my grandmother must put up with from her family, just because of how fiercely she loved her gay grandkids. I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Thanks for sticking up for us, Nana.”
“Always, Nicky, you know I got your back. I just shouldn’t have to deal with shit like that from my own sister.” She looked upset, but then she tried to change the subject away from herself by asking, “You got any brothers or sisters, Luca?”
“One, an older half-brother.”
“Are you two close?”
“Yes and no. I love him, but Andreo is a total control freak. He’s only five years older than me, but he’s always tried to act like a parent instead of a brother. He would completely run my life if I let him. I guess that’s because my father wasn’t in the picture when I was growing up, and I know that’s just Andreo’s way of showing he cares about me, but it’s incredibly frustrating. We usually end up fighting whenever we’re together,” Luca admitted.
Nana said, “I know how that is. It seems like my sister and I are always fighting about something. If it hadn’t been this, it would have been something else.”
Luca paid attention politely as Nana went off on a long story about her sister that I’d heard a dozen times. I snuck glances at his profile as he listened to her. He had a strong, masculine nose and jaw, which contrasted beautifully with long, thick eyelashes and full, sensuous lips. He snuck a sidelong glance at me at one point and grinned when he caught me looking, then returned his attention to my grandmother.
About an hour into our little cocktail party, I pushed back from the table and excused myself to use the restroom. Luca stood as well and said he’d go, too. But when Jessie started to get up, Fiona caught his wrist and pulled him back down. “Whatcha doing, Fi?” he asked her, and she answered him with an emphatic look and a head-tilt in my direction. That seemed to clue him in, and he said, “Oh, I get it. Never mind, I can hold it.”