Chapter 19

**Lily**

“So, he didn’t say anything? Not a single clue on where he is taking you?”, Norah asked me for the third time already. I sighed again.

“No, like I said. He told me he would pick me up at six, and then left before I could even blink.”, I said annoyed. I was shocked, not stupid!

“Fine, we’ll just have to go for the save middle ground.”, she huffed, as she opened my closet and started to browse through my clothes. She was mumbling to herself, undoubtedly telling herself just how boring my clothes were. I knew her opinion on that.

“Okay, you undress and put on the first outfit I give you.”, she ordered me. I gave her a mock salute, but she only glared harder at me. I sighed and pulled myself up from my bed and trudged to the bathroom taking the outfit of her hands.

I looked at myself in the mirror, and as much as I didn’t want to, I needed to give credit where credit was due. Norah is managing something with my boring clothes. She put me in a midi skirt with a top and a cardigan in case it got colder. And this was only the first outfit she pulled together. This woman is missing her calling!

I walked out of the bathroom to show Norah. She cocked her head to the side, and then shook her head. “No, just take it off. Here try this.”, she said, and she pushed a new outfit in my hands. I reluctantly walked back to the bathroom. I really thought that I looked nice!

Next up: a maxi dress with short sleeves, and buttons all the way down. I walked out of the bathroom to face Norah. She watched me for a bit and went back into my closet. She had a chair to get up on to search in the crooks of my closet. “Got it!”, she shouted, and at the same time her elbow knocked down a box. As she climbed down, I saw my jean jacket in her hands to add to my outfit.

“What’s that Lils?”, she asked, looking at me already trying to pick up the things that fell out of the box that she knocked over. “I’m not sure.”, I said. “It must be something I took out of mom’s house.”

We both sat on the floor going through the contents of the box. It was a mixture of photos, letters, and papers in there. So, I just pulled one out randomly. A photo of a man and a woman. I recognized the woman as a much younger version of my mom, but the man I had never seen before. I also didn’t remember my mom ever talking about someone in particular either.

“Who’s that?”, Norah asked. I shrugged but turned the photo over. On the back I recognized my mom’s handwriting. “Mario and me.”, I read. “Who the hell is Mario?”, I asked out loud, even though I knew that Norah wouldn’t have an answer either. Norah took out a letter, and briefly scanned it. “Did your mom speak any other languages?”, she asked. I raked my brain but came up with nothing. “I don’t think so. I only ever heard her speak English.”, I answered, as I looked over to the letter Norah was holding. “Look, again signed by Mario.”, I pointed out. “Lils, this is a love letter in Italian!”, she whispered. I didn’t know what to say, my mom left so many secrets behind.

“What does it say?”, I asked her.

“I cannot understand it fully, I don’t speak Italian either. But it is close enough to Spanish that I can figure out it is a love letter. And doesn’t just about everyone know that ‘amore’ means love?”, she answered.

Mom had an Italian lover! I don’t know what to feel. On the one hand, I’m excited because finally I get some answers about mom. Not yet the ones I have been searching for ever since she passed away, but still. On the other hand, I’m hurt finding out about this. Why didn’t she just tell me? I understand you don’t want to share this with children, but I’m no longer a kid. I would have understood!

“Are there more love letters in there?”, I asked Norah, as she was browsing again. “Yes, many! And more photos as well!”, she said as she pulled another one out. It was a couple on the day of their wedding. Not just any couple, my mom on her wedding day! She was wearing a beautiful white dress with a veil, and standing next to her was Mario, wearing a suit.

“Mom was married?”, I asked in shock. Norah didn’t dare to say anything, I guess she was surprised as well. She didn’t know my mom that well but had heard enough stories from me. “I don’t know what this means, Lils.”, Norah said softly. Somewhere in my brain, I registered a bell ringing.

“Shit!”, Norah cursed. She jumped up and dragged me to my feet as well. She pushed me towards the front door. I was just bewildered at what had gotten into her.

“Lils! Matteo is here!”, she shouted. Shit! I completely forgot about the date! Thank God Norah had started with my make-up and hair before the outfits. The box with my mom’s secrets just made us forget about time completely.

“Wait, how is he up already? The intercom…”, I started to say. How did he get in without me buzzing him in? “Lils, this is the guy that figured out where you live as well. Getting up is easier than that. Now, open the door!”, she pushed me in front of her.

I walked to the door and opened it to see Matteo standing there handsome as always. He was wearing slacks and a polo shirt, so I guess we’re not going anywhere too fancy. That made me relax already. He pushed himself off the wall and entered my home, making my home seem smaller due to his height.

“Good, I’m leaving now, Lils. Have fun!”, Norah waved with a huge grin on her face as she walked out the door. Matteo followed her out and shut the door behind her.

“She helped me to get ready.”, I explained but I’m not sure why I did that. I didn’t need to explain anything to him! I grabbed my clutch and put my phone, keys, and some money in there. “I’m ready to go.”, I said to him. He had not yet said a word since he came in. Granted, it hadn’t been too long, but still.

“You look beautiful, cara mia.”, he said to me as I came closer to him. I was planning to walk out the door, but he wrapped his arms around me before I could. He looked me in the eyes, making me slightly unsettled. He muttered something to himself that I couldn’t make out, but I just hoped it was a good thing. He kissed me on my lips softly, nibbling on my lower lip to get access to deepen the kiss. I just couldn’t resist this man, so the kiss went from innocent to steamier in seconds. He pulled away reluctantly and rested his head against mine. Both of us were panting.

“Let’s go, otherwise we’ll not go anywhere but your bed.”, he whispered. It wasn’t a criticism; it was a promise.

We drove for about an hour, to an area that I had never been before. The ride had been silent, Matteo was really a man of few words. At least it wasn’t uncomfortable this time around. He parked his car in a parking lot and helped me out of the car. He held his hand on my lower back and guided me to the spot he wanted. That spot turned out to be the deck of a restaurant on a lake. It was absolutely stunning.

“This is beautiful.”, I admired the view before I was even thinking of sitting down. Matteo remained standing by my side as well and pressed his body slightly closer to mine. I leaned into the heat his body provided me. Tingles and sparks were racing through my body, coming together in my core.

“It was the first restaurant I built after taking over the company. I used to come to this spot with my mother, it was the place where she could relax. It became my sanctuary as well, and that’s what I wanted it to become for others as well. So, it started with the restaurant, the hotel and spa were added later.”, he whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes briefly, there was something about him, his presence, his voice that made my senses go overload. I started to feel my pussy getting wet.

“I understand that. It is gorgeous!”, I said again, feeling slightly embarrassed of getting turned on by his voice only. “I love that you are so responsive, Lily. I bet your pussy is already wet for me.”, he whispered in my ear. He sucked once on my earlobe and guided me into my chair. He sat next to me, both facing the lake. Only a few seconds too late did I realize what he said. I guess saying nothing would be the best response anyways.

The waiter brought us some prosecco and appetizers. Matteo explained that he already asked the chef to prepare their best dishes, and those to be accompanied by the most fitting wines. Either he did this often so that it became a chore, or he was a romantic at heart. The place was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the wines were intoxicating. Conversation was a bit awkward at the beginning, but slowly we found topics to talk about.

“So, tell me. Who was the lady that left so fast when I came to pick you up?”, he asked as he took a bite from his dessert.

“That was Norah, one of my best friends. I met her during my time in university, and we worked together in a restaurant as a waitress. My other friend Emma did too. Norah is the friend that is always up in my business, wanting to know too many details.”, I grinned, remembering some of the good times we had together.

“Well, if you need a side job, you can always apply here.”, Matteo winked. I looked around, but there was no way that I could serve in a fancy place like this. I shook my head.

“No way! The restaurant we worked at was a place the students went to. They only served house wines and 3 different main courses.”, I grinned. “The kind of place where you could screw up. I don’t think that is tolerated here.”

I took a bite of the chocolate cake I had for dessert. It tasted so incredibly good that I closed my eyes for a minute to savor the taste. I think I even moaned at the taste. I needed this recipe! When I opened my eyes again and looked at Matteo, I swallowed. My mouth was dry instantly. His blue eyes had darkened with desire, and his breathing was louder and heavy. He was looking at me intensely. His attention was too intense for me, so I looked away and focused on the chocolate cake.

He put his arm over my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. My body definitely reacted to his presence. I was okay earlier, but when he touched me… I couldn’t help myself! His fingers were trailing lazily over my arm, over my shoulder to my neck. I took a big gulp of my wine.

“Come.”, he said with a deep, husky voice as he grabbed my hand, and guided me to the inside. He waved away a few people that seemed to have been waiting for us to end the dinner. “Luciano, get me the key card to the master suite.”, he ordered, as we continued walking through the restaurant to the hotel. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone running up to him and handing him something. That must be the key card.

“Boss?”, I heard someone behind us say. “Be on standby, Luciano. Outside.”, he said, as we entered the elevator. Two other guys joined us, but Matteo didn’t seem to be bothered by them. I realized he was taking me to a hotel suite, and as great as that sounded, did I really want to do this?