That's Amore (13 page)

His grandmother was with his brother Sal, whose eyebrows were residing somewhere near his hair-line as he looked curiously back and forth between the two of them.

“Hi, Grandma Benedetto,” Jeff said in a cheerful, innocent voice she’d never heard him use. He leaned forward and kissed his grandmother on the powdered cheek.

His grandmother sniffed and shook her head, her steel gray hair never moving an inch from its frozen position. “Don’t you Grandma me,” she said in a cold voice.

“Why not?” He smiled at her in a charming and adorable manner that Paige knew was designed to make women melt.

It was possible it was working on her.

It didn’t look to work on eighty-five year olds. His grandmother narrowed her eyes. “I hear things. I know what’s going on.”

Justin squealed. Apparently he’d heard too.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, Jeffrey Antonio. Your father is probably spinning in his grave.”

“But…” Jeff started to protest.

One Grandma hand up in the air and he instantly stopped talking.

Mrs. Benedetto turned to her.

Paige’s pleasure at Jeff’s discomfort evaporated. She had the sudden unnerving feeling that she was about to be included in the lecture. Which sounded about as fun as watching the video of Justin being born that Gina kept insisting she’d want to watch.

Paige braced herself. She was right. There was a lecture coming.

She was so rarely right. Why did it have to be now?

Knowing black eyes pierced her, studied her up and down until Paige felt sweat trickling down between her breasts. She tilted Justin in front of her as a shield, wimp that she was.

She had her own Italian grandmother. She knew.

Grandma Benedetto said, “I think you and Jeff should get married before the baby is born.”

“
What
?” Paige squeaked.

Sal gaped.

Justin let out a loud string of indecipherable sounds in Grandma Benedetto’s direction.

Jeff threw his arms in the air and backed up, his head shaking back and forth.

That expression of horror better be because of the baby comment, not because he didn’t want to marry her.

Her life as she knew it was over. Heat rushed through her, rose into her face and spread out to every inch of her body. A baby. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Her legs went out and she wobbled in her heels.

Grandma Benedetto ordered, “Sal, take Justin.”

Jeff found his voice, even if it came out hoarse. “Grandma, I don’t know what you heard, but it’s wrong. There’s no baby.”

Paige surrendered Justin gratefully to Sal, whose eyes landed on her stomach as if he was trying to detect a baby growing in there. She glared at him.

He grinned.

While Justin had been heavy, she no longer had a protective shield in front of her. She felt naked.

Under the disapproval that hovered in the air.

Grandma Benedetto’s finger went up. “Are you trying to tell me that you and Paige haven’t been living together? And if you lie, God will strike you dead.”

Living together? It was worse than she thought. Thank the Lord her mother was in Florida and far away from these rumors that were spreading faster than the West Nile virus.

“We’re not living together,” Jeff insisted.

“But you’re sleeping together?”

Dead silence. Paige willed Jeff to deny it.

“Well, uh, I… you see.”

Even though he was well over a foot taller than his grandmother, Jeff managed to look vulnerable and sheepish standing in front of her.

“I’m waiting.”

“Yes,” Jeff mumbled to the sidewalk.

Paige looked around for a bus to throw herself in front of.

“Jeffrey Antonio.” His grandmother took a step towards him.

He backed up and said, “But there is no baby, I’m telling you.”

Oh, like that was going to make it any better. Paige started to shift towards the street. There was a handy elephant ear stand she could dodge behind and disappear into the crowd. She could have her apartment packed by dinner time and she could move far, far away where people ate spaghetti sauce from a jar.

“How do you know?” Grandma Benedetto demanded. “If you’re sleeping with her, how do you know there’s no baby?”

Jeff looked desperate. Suddenly he dug in his pocket and ripped something out, holding it high. “Because we used condoms!”

The plastic row of individually wrapped condoms swung in the air inches from Grandma Benedetto’s face.

“Holy…” Sal trailed off in shock.

“Ohmigod!” Paige covered her mouth in horror.

Nothing could be worse than this moment.

Her cell phone rang.

Thrilled at the interruption, Paige clicked the talk button. “Hello?”

“What is this I hear that you’re living with Jeff Benedetto?”

It just got worse.

“Mom!” Paige turned away from the staring contest Jeff and his grandmother were engaged in and cringed. “It’s just a rumor, Mom. A false one.”

“Mary Dibiasio doesn’t lie. Why would she say that if it wasn’t true?” Her mother’s voice was shrill, six octaves higher than normal and shaking with hysteria. “How am I’m going to show my face in church again?”

Paige noticed for the first time that an interested crowd of about ten people had gathered around them, listening to every word spoken. All they needed now was a TV news crew.

Gino Lombardi’s daughter dead from humiliation. Story at eleven.

“Mom, this really isn’t a good time.”

“I don’t care, young lady! I want some answers.”

“I’ll call you later.” Closing her eyes, Paige hung up on her mother. She would pay for that tomorrow, there was no doubt about it.

But right now they had to deal with Grandma Benedetto, who if it was possible, was even more frightening than her mother.

“You’ll get married right before Christmas,” Jeff’s grandmother was saying quite clearly.

Paige waited for Jeff to stand up to her, to tell her he was a grown man who could make his own decisions about who and when to marry.

His grandmother went on. “I’ll buy you one of those big trucks, an SUV, as a present.”

Jeff, who thankfully must have shoved those darn condoms back into his pocket once more, looked his grandmother straight in the eye and said, “Okay.”

“Jeff!” Paige screamed. That’s what it took for him to make a commitment to her? A four-wheel drive vehicle free of charge?

Without warning, Grandma Benedetto pulled her into her paper thin arms and hugged so hard Paige was gasping for air. This was no wimpy old lady. And she had just manipulated Jeff into agreeing to marriage, something that twelve hours ago Paige would have loved to have heard.

Without the incentive of vehicle compensation, anyway.

Grandma Benedetto said, “Oh, I’m so happy for you. You’re such a good girl, Gino’s little angel.”

Paige felt her face being tugged down lower and she was repeatedly cheek kissed over and over, floral perfume and the scent of face powder wafting over her.

“You’ll make a beautiful bride.” Grandma Benedetto wiped tears from her eyes. “I only wish my Marco were here to see you and Jeffrey getting married.”

Paige had nothing to say. What could she say? Her brain felt like a squashed grape and her tongue was a dried out sponge.

“Sal, I’m ready now.” Grandma Benedetto stepped back and waved her other grandson forward. “Let’s go.”

“What about Justin? And what happened to his chin?” Sal asked.

“Minor accident,” Jeff said.

Grandma Benedetto tickled Justin’s arm. “We’ll take him to your mother. Give these two kids time alone.”

Sal grinned, tossing Justin up on his shoulders. “Being alone was what got them in trouble in the first place.”

“Watch it, Salvatore. You’re next.”

“Oh, no. Forget it, Grandma.” Sal protested as they started down the street.

As they left, Paige stared at Jeff. He looked at her. He shrugged.

She lost it. “What is the matter with you? Why did you agree to marry me?”

He ran his hand through his short hair. “You try and argue with your grandma standing on the street. I figured if I said yes she’d leave it alone for now.”

“She’ll have the whole wedding planned by tomorrow, as if we weren’t already in enough trouble. And how could you just pull those things out of your pocket?” She was fully aware she sounded like a complete shrew, but she had reached her breaking point.

She was more than broke. She was shattered into minute pieces and ground into dust.

“I was making a point.”

“This is insane!” Paige looked at Jeff, still clutching his half-eaten sausage sandwich in one hand. “Just take me home. Now.”

Jeff eyed Paige warily. She looked about ready to crack. He didn’t really blame her. It had been a strange twenty-four hours. He wasn’t even really sure what was happening, except that he had agreed to marry Paige and his grandmother was giving him a truck.

The two things he probably wanted most in life. Except Paige didn’t want to marry him.

And his sandwich was cold.

“We’ll have to walk to my apartment, I guess.” Where had he seen that lemonade stand? It was hot and he was getting thirsty from all those strangling noises he had made when his grandmother had asked him if he was sleeping with Paige. He looked around and wondered if he could buy a new sandwich to go with the drink.

Instead of fresh squeezed lemons, he saw none other than Johnny Romano stuffing a piece of elephant ear into his mouth no more than fifteen feet away.

“Uh-oh.” He grabbed Paige’s hand and pulled her in front of him, turning his back to Johnny.

“What’s the matter?” Paige came to him, but was straining to see around him.

Her red suit and blond hair were sure to stand out in this summer crowd of people wearing shorts and tank tops. He whispered, “Stop moving. Johnny Romano is over there.”

Paige’s eyes went wide and she clapped her hand over her mouth. “Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod.”

“Shh. He hasn’t seen us yet. Just start walking slowly.” He didn’t think Johnny would concern himself with them now that the kidnapping of Gina was resolved.

But then again, he had given Johnny the slip and ripped his best silk shirt. This could be personal now. Jeff had no intention of hanging around to find out.

Paige’s hand felt clammy in his, and her breath was hitched from fear. He didn’t know what he would do if this creep hurt Paige. Whatever it was, he was sure it wouldn’t be legal.

He glanced back. Hell. Johnny was looking right at him.

“Walk faster, Paige.”

Johnny called after them, “Hey!”

He put his arm around Paige and moved her protectively in front of him.

“Jeff, is he following us?” There was fear in her voice.

Jeff shot another glance over his shoulder.

Johnny had his arm in the air waving and he was yelling, “Hey, Benedetto, I need to talk to you!”

Like Jeff was stupid enough to stop and shoot the breeze with an irate hitman.

Then Johnny reached inside the pocket of his pants. Jeff saw a flash of black and knew it was Johnny’s gun. He remembered it vividly from when it had been pointed at his head the day before.

“Run, Paige!”

Tossing his sandwich in the general direction of a nearby garbage can, he started running. Paige gave a low scream, tottering on her heels next to him, struggling to keep up. Jeff dragged her through the crowd, weaving past kids licking ice cream cones and around a handful of women with luggage-sized purses.

A glance behind showed Johnny hot on their tail.

Johnny was overweight and breathing heavy, but Paige was in high heels and stumbling. It was possible Johnny could catch up with them.

Jeff pulled Paige behind a kid’s game booth and hunched over. “Bend down,” he told Paige.

Then he ran straight into an alley that lead them around the back of a row of shops. He didn’t look to see if Johnny was behind them until he had counted doors and ducked inside the fourth, dragging Paige along with him.

No Johnny. He shut the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Is he gone?” Paige clutched her throat.

Her legs wobbled. Jeff gathered her into his arms and hugged her close. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he would do. He’d never forgive himself.

“Yeah, he’s gone.”

“Where are we?” She looked around.

“My Uncle Leo’s bakery.” Jeff leaned against the kitchen counter and settled Paige in front of him, between his legs. “We’ll be safe here.”

“Where is everybody?”

The kitchen was quiet and empty, the air still and warm. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re out selling on the street instead of in the shop today because of the Feast.”

“Oh,” she nodded. But she still looked in need of a stiff drink.

Or some comfort.

He could comfort her. With a kiss.

It was a bad idea. Paige was mad at him. Vulnerable. Frightened.

But her lips were so soft and round, and so close to him. She was nestled into his thighs, her little belly pressed against him.

She was trembling.

He was moving. Slowly, waiting for her to push him away, or tell him to stop.

No hand shoved, no words of protest came.

He went in for the kiss.

Oh, yeah. He loved her mouth, plump and moist and molding against his with an eager grind that thrilled him.

Paige moaned. Paige pressed against him. Paige gripped his head like she would sink to the floor without the support.

His control snapped.

Wait a minute. He had never been in control. Around Paige, he was always desperate and irrational.

Which is why he made big-ass mistakes like walking out on her three years ago or lying about the phone call and condoms last night.

She whimpered and gripped his T-shirt.

His jeans were way too tight in front.

“Are you done being mad at me?” he asked.

“For now.”

That was good enough for him.

Jeff touched her hair, stroking its softness over and over. The blond strands spilled over his fingers as he kissed her until his thoughts centered on nothing but Paige.

Eager breasts were thrusting against him, and he let a hand slid up her side and cup the soft flesh. She sighed.