All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(18)

“Why are you staying in a hotel, instead of with him?”

“We’re not close. My mother and I would always stay at the Hotel Conchiglia whenever we came to town to visit. She and her father had a strained relationship after I was born, and they both needed some space. He and I have learned to get along now that I’m an adult, but I’m still not his favorite person.”

“I’m surprised their relationship became strained at that point. It seems like babies usually bring families together.”

“Not when the grandfather’s old-school Sicilian and the baby is born out of wedlock.”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” I said.

“You didn’t, and I don’t mind talking about it. My mother passed nine years ago, when I was twenty. She was his only child. His wife had died years earlier of breast cancer, just like my mom, and I guess…I don’t know. He doesn’t have a lot of people in his life, so apparently he decided having a bastard grandson was slightly better than having no one at all and started to begrudgingly reach out to me.”

“How does your older brother fit in to this?”

“He doesn’t. We have the same father but different mothers.”

“I see.”

“What about you? What’s your family like?”

I thought about that, and finally answered by saying, “My immediate family is scattered to the four corners. I have a brother and sister. She’s married with children and living in Florida, and he’s doing God knows what in New York. Our mom’s remarried and living in Seattle. Last I heard, my father was living in Phoenix, and I live in San Francisco. We didn’t do it on purpose, but we all managed to end up as spread out as possible while still in the continental U.S. I have a great extended family though, and I’m really close to them.”

“Where does your grandmother live?”

“In San Francisco, too,” I said. “I’m actually living with her while I attend law school.”

“How is that?”

“Colorful.”

He grinned and said, “Does she always try to dress you?”

“She’s probably always wanted to, but until the airline lost my luggage, she really didn’t have the opportunity.”

“How do you normally dress?”

I let go of his hand, pulled my phone from my pocket, and flipped through a few photos. As I pointed the screen at him, I said, “Like this.” It was a full-length shot, in which I was of course dressed in khakis and a light blue button-down shirt.

“Aw, you’re so cute! All preppy. Are those penny loafers?”


“No. Just loafers.”

Luca asked, “Should I be jealous of the insanely hot guy in that photo with his arm around your shoulders?”

I grinned and told him, “That’s my best friend and cousin Gianni.”

“Why does he seem familiar? Is he famous?”

“His boyfriend is. They’ve both been in the news a lot since Zan came out of hiding.”

“Oh right, Zan Tillane. I love his music. His reappearance was all over the news a few months back after, what, a decade or more where everyone thought he was dead?”

I returned the phone to my pocket and said, “Yeah. It stirred up all of our lives when Gianni and Zan first got together. Nana’s house was inundated by the paparazzi for a while, but now things have returned to normal. Well, for us, anyway. Gianni’s life will never be normal again, but he’s totally in love, so he’s okay with that.”

We reached the hotel, and as we put on our shoes Luca said, “I’m going to go in through the side door and meet you upstairs, if that’s okay with you. I’m in the Corallo suite, seaside on the top floor. Please say goodnight to your family for me.”

“I don’t blame you for not wanting to be seen with a seventies porn star in the hotel lobby,” I told him.

He rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t have a thing to do with how you’re dressed. If you must know, I can’t face Nana right after giving her grandson a blowjob. She’s going to know, and I bet she’ll ask for details.”

“Chicken.”

“I’m going on ahead to clean myself up a bit, too. There’s sand in places it has no business being.”

“But mostly you’re just too embarrassed to face Nana.”

“Absolutely.” He flashed his perfect smile before retreating to the side entrance.





Chapter Four




My family was right where I’d left them, but considerably more drunk. “Hey there, Nicky!” Nana called cheerfully as I approached the table. “What happened to that tall drink of water? He was a major fox!”

“I, um, I’m going to go meet him in just a minute,” I admitted, “but I wanted to say goodnight first. Luca said goodnight, too.”

Nana jumped up and exclaimed, “Do you need supplies? Should I ask the waiter for some butter? You know where the condoms are that I brought along, right? I left them on the shelf in the living room. I think technically, butter and condoms are a bad combination, it might break down the latex. So, maybe double-bag it. Safety first!”

She said that so loudly that a couple bar patrons turned and looked in our direction. I just hoped they didn’t speak English and couldn’t understand any of that. “Thanks, Nana, but I’m all set. Good night, everyone. Fi, let’s have lunch tomorrow.”