Chapter 200 203

Chapter 200 203
“And I appreciate that,” he replies. “But it’s unnecessary.”

I bite my lip. “I’m still putting something towards down.”

He sighs deeply, but he senses that I’m not just gonna let up. Not in this case.

“Fine,” he replies. “Put what you can towards it.”

I smile triumphantly. I know my contribution is going to be a pittance compared to the actual worth of what is clearly New York City’s prime real estate. But it makes me feel better to know I’m doing something.

We both hear Charlotte screeching and I turn towards the garden instinctively.

“What’s happening?” I ask, watching her skip up to us with Adriano and Vanessa in tow.

“I may have suggested we go to the beach with Lenny in the evening,” Adriano explains.

“You gotta run it by the parents first, dimwit,” Vanessa snaps, rolling her eyes at him.

He glares at her. “Dimwit?” he repeats. “I’m not the one who can’t do simple math.”

“Jesus, I make one mistake and you won’t let me live it down.”

“Please, if you just—”

“Ah-hem,” I interrupt pointedly.

If I don’t interject, the two of them are liable to go on squabbling for ages. It seems to be their pattern.

There’s real love underneath, though. Arguing is just their love language.

“Sorry,” Vanessa says sheepishly. “Anyway, we thought we’d take Evie and Paulina for a few hours. Give you two some alone time.”

I frown, smelling a rat.

“Alone time?”

Vanessa shrugs. “You’ve been working a lot lately,” she says. “I thought you and Lucio could do with a little romancing.”

I smile. “Wow, Vanessa. That’s thoughtful of you.”

“Please,” Adriano scoffs. “It was my idea.”

“Jerk.”

“Nag.”

“Ass—”

“Guys!” I cut in pointedly and the two of them break off again. Holding hands, I notice.

Evie, clearly oblivious to all the adult banter, pulls on Adriano’s arm.

“Come on, Uncle Adri,” she says. “Let’s get Paulina and go to the beach!”

“Hold on, kid,” he replies, looking down at her. “You need to ask the bosses first.”

Evie turns to the two of us. “Papa, Mama, can I go please? Pretty please?”

I stop short, the breath catching in my throat as her words register.

She just called me Mama.

Right?

Am I the only one who heard it?

Clearly not, because Lucio’s looking a little thunderstruck, too. Vanessa and Adriano handle it a lot better, though both are grinning ear to ear.

“Let’s take that as a yes,” Adriano chuckles. “C’mon, kid.”

“Yay! Bye, Papa,” Evie says without actually looking at either one of us. “Bye, Mama.”

Adriano gives me a little wink as he grabs Evie’s hand and heads for the exit. Vanessa lingers for a moment. Long enough to give my arm a squeeze.

Then she follows Adriano and Evie out into the garden.

Lucio takes my hand and we stroll out to the car. We’re parked just outside the gated compound.

“It’s nice of them to take Evie for the evening.”

Lucio doesn’t really respond as he fastens his seatbelt.

“Have you noticed how close Adriano and Vanessa seem to be lately?” I ask.

Lucio frowns. “They’re always fighting.”

“Exactly, the sexual tension is palpable,” I say. “Kind of like—”

“Us. In the beginning,” he finishes.

“Yup. I think they’re getting serious.”

“Just ask Vanessa.”

“I would, it’s just that Vanessa is usually an open book. The fact that she hasn’t told me anything herself means that Adriano probably means a lot to her,” I explain. “I want her to tell me when she’s ready.”

I glance at him out of the corner of my eye as we near the compound.

“Has Adriano told you anything?”

He smiles. “No.”

I groan with frustration, and he laughs as we pull up outside the compound.

We walk inside, and I immediately notice that the lighting’s very minimalistic tonight.

And as soon as we step into the broad corridor that leads down to the kitchen, I’m hit with a mouth-watering aroma that makes my stomach growl with hunger.

“Oh my God,” I breathe. “Lucio, what is that smell?”

He smiles secretively. “I arranged a little surprise for you while we were out.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the formal dining room that we hardly ever use. I step into the circular space and gasp.

There’s a huge ornate table set up in the center of the room. It’s been perfectly laid with fine silverware, rose petals, and flickering white candles.

Everything looks spectacular.

“Lucio,” I breathe. “What did you do?”

He leans in and kisses my cheek softly.

“Ready for our seven-course meal?” he asks.

“You cooked?” I say in amazement. “Do you even know how to turn the stove on?”

He frowns and gets ready to retort, but before he can, a familiar voice comes booming from the kitchen doorway.

“Of course he didn’t cook! Lucio couldn’t boil water if his life depended on it. Tonight’s meal is courtesy of yours truly.”

I whirl around to see none other than Edmund Santiago standing in the doorway, holding up a large tray with two small cloches hiding the plates underneath.

“Edmund!” I exclaim. “You cooked for us tonight?”

“I did indeed,” he replies, giving me a special smile. “Although I must admit, I was quite nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“Yes, it’s always nerve-wracking cooking for a chef you admire.”

My cheeks flush scarlet. “You’re just saying that.”

“Not at all,” he says convincingly. “Your restaurant is a triumph, Charlotte. And I’m glad. I needed a little healthy competition to keep my blood flowing.”

Lucio watches our little exchange with amusement, but he seems impatient for some reason.

“Shall we get this party started?” he asks.

I throw him a pointed smile. “Looks like someone’s hungry.”

“My apologies,” Edmund says. “Let’s start off with course number one. Prawn ceviche with caviar.”

“Wow,” I say. “I’m salivating already.”

Lucio and I sit down. Edmund places the two small cloches in front of us.

“Enjoy, beautiful people.”

Then he turns with flourish and leaves us to our romantic dinner.

“Hmm, that’s odd,” I say, looking down at my cloche.

“What?”