Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
CHAPTER TEN
Amaranthe watched in a kind of dazed shock the way the Ferraro family prepared breakfast. Taviano and Emmanuelle clearly were the designated chefs. That didn’t mean the others didn’t help. Valentino and Mariko very efficiently chopped vegetables. Nicoletta and Ricco were doing something with dough and appeared quite skilled. Dario and Elie made lattes and coffees. Salvatore, Lucca and Stefano added leaves, making the dining table much longer, and put out plates, silverware and napkins on the long sideboard. It was obvious they had all worked together before. No one seemed to get in anyone’s way.
She felt a little useless even peeling the already-cooked potatoes along with Geno. For every potato she managed to peel, he had three done. All the while the family worked together, they talked, teased and laughed. She let the talk and laughter surround her like a cloak. She’d always dreamed of a having a large family, one that got along and looked out for one another, but she never believed she’d ever be part of one. It felt surreal to be standing in the kitchen helping to make a huge breakfast while the members of the Ferraro family and their chosen trusted friends worked together.
She felt Geno’s gaze on her, and she lifted her lashes. At once, the intensity of his dark blue eyes sank in. When he focused on her, he did so completely, and it always set off a chain reaction in her body.
“You always have to be careful what you wish for, Danzatrice Ombra. You now have the crazy family.”
Emmanuelle glanced up. “Not all of us are crazy, Amara, only a couple.”
“More than a couple,” Nicoletta murmured. “Tell the truth.”
“If she knows the truth about your family, she’ll run for the hills before he can marry her,” Dario said, without looking up. “In fact, if you’re smart, you’ll knock her up so she can’t go anywhere.”
“Do you have to be so old-fashioned, Dario?” Emmanuelle asked. “Women raise children on their own all the time. They don’t need men if the men are overbearing.”
“Not in my world they don’t, princess,” Valentino said unexpectedly.
“Or mine.” Dario stated it as fact.
“I’ll agree with that,” Stefano said.
“That’s a dictatorship,” Amaranthe objected. “Geno, do you agree with that?” She kept her tone very mild.
Lucca and Salvatore both looked up sharply. “Don’t answer,” Lucca advised. “That’s trouble right there. Real trouble. Remember what we talked about last night? I suspect that little ballerina of yours has a very bad temper.”
Amaranthe raised an eyebrow at him. “I know what you’re doing, Lucca, and it isn’t going to work. I’m not going to be distracted. Geno must have an opinion on this subject.”
“You already know my opinion on the subject, Amaranthe. If we have children, we’ll raise them together. You don’t like something I do, you tell me, and I’ll fix it. I believe in communication.”
Emmanuelle stopped working and stared at him. “I didn’t know you were aware there was such a word as communication, Geno.”
His cousins laughed. Geno gave her his death stare. “I believe, Emme, there’s only one way to communicate with you. Hopefully, Val is familiar with it.”
“There’s two ways,” Valentino corrected. “I’m more than familiar with both out of absolute necessity.”
“Hey!” Emmanuelle glared at her husband as the room once again erupted into laughter. “You’re going to pay for that.”
Valentino didn’t look the least bit intimidated. He flashed his wife a very intimate grin and passed the cutting board with the vegetables to Taviano. “Looking forward to you trying, Emme.”
Mariko giggled and glanced at Amaranthe. “It took me forever to get used to the way they tease each other.”
“I think it will take me even longer to get used to the way they can cook,” Amaranthe said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be that skilled. Not ever.”
“Geno’s a very good cook,” Salvatore reassured immediately. “You don’t ever have to be great at cooking. I’m not bad. Even Lucca’s pretty good on a grill.”
“What do you mean, pretty good?” Lucca demanded. He scowled at his brother. “I’m hell on wheels on the grill. Not even Taviano rivals me on the grill.”
Laughter broke out again at the deliberate outrage in Lucca’s voice.
My brothers are going to any length to ensure I don’t lose you. They don’t have much faith in my ability to keep you.
Amaranthe touched Geno’s mind. He didn’t really think his brothers believed he wasn’t able to keep a woman interested, did he? Any woman would want to be with you.
For my money. I have a lot of money, Amaranthe. My name. Our family name comes with quite a bit of prestige.
Women want you, silly. But they don’t get you because you’re taken now. Your brothers love you and want you to be happy. They have complete faith in your ability to keep me. They just want me to know they accept me into their family. It’s nice. I love how they love and champion you.