by Reina Torres
Any intention of remaining calm or aloof flew right out of the window. He leaned closer and she stopped breathing altogether.
"Your face," Teo leaned a little to the side, his breath fanning across her cheek and Mira felt her knees weaken a bit. Having him so close was intoxicating. It didn't help that his cologne was warm and spicy and oh so male. "Your face is just perfect."
Mira stood there staring up at him before she shook herself from her stupor. "Oh good," she swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to laugh it off, "no smudge."
"That too," he gave her a wink
Her mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"
The front door swung open and the two of them turned to see Velia standing in the doorway. "Perfect timing! Come on in! I could use some help in the kitchen."
Mira fled inside as though there were rabid dogs on her heels, leaving Teo standing outside the house by himself. Shaking his head he stepped in after the ladies and shut the door, wondering what he would have done if his grandmother hadn't interrupted them.
It was probably for the best. Mira had been skittish enough just standing there, he didn't want to send her running for the hills. His Nonna seemed to have a plan in the works, so for now he'd let her play matchmaker. It might help him in the long run, he hadn't had much success on his own.
Crossing through the entryway, Teodoro stopped in the kitchen doorway enjoying the scene playing out before him. The two ladies were shoulder to shoulder at the table, Velia seated comfortably in a chair, with Mira standing beside her, chopping vegetables. They were laughing over something when they looked up at him in concert and went silent.
Unnerved a bit, Teodoro stepped into the room, taking the furthest path to the counter, followed by his grandmother's laughter. "Should I leave you two alone?"
"If you'd like." Velia's tone was indulgent, as if she was speaking to a child. "Just bring us a bottle of wine before you go."
He leaned back against the counter. "Why do I think that would be a huge mistake?"
It was Mira who answered him. "Don't worry, we have the sheriff on speed dial."
When she looked up with her impish smile he was glad he was across the room. The urge to kiss that smile off of her lips had him gripping the counter on either side of him.
Instead, he focused his gaze on her and gave her a languid smile. "I should stay and keep you two out of trouble."
Velia nudged Mira with her elbow. "Even more fun for me."
Grimacing a little, Mira picked up the cutting board and carried it over to the stove to add the vegetables to the sauce. It seemed simple enough, but when she reached over to pick up the wooden spoon another hand was already there.
She tried to ignore the tingle his touch was sending up her arm. "I need that spoon."
Given his answering smile, he knew it. "Nonna always lets me stir." When she didn't answer he leaned closer.
"Okay." She stopped him short, lifting her hand from his and setting it on his chest. Talk about going from the frying pan to the fryer. She felt the hard muscled heat beneath the buttery-soft cotton fabric of his shirt.
“Okay,” she repeated even though she was nothing of the sort, “you stir.” With an indrawn breath she tilted the board and sent the vegetable pieces sliding into the pot. Walking back to the table she asked her hostess, “What’s next?”
The look on Velia’s face said she'd enjoyed the little tableau at the stove. “One second, sweetie.” She dredged the last piece of pork in flour and set it on the plate. Before Mira could take the platter, Velia touched her hand, “You don't have to help, you know, you're a guest.”
“Guest?” She leaned over and brushed a kiss on Velia's cheek. “I'm a friend.”
Before Mira reached the stove, she heard Velia’s soft voice break the silence. “Don't let that sauce burn, piccolo.”
Teo's good natured sigh was almost lost in the sizzle as Mira settled the first cutlet into the hot oil of the pan. He tapped the long handled wooden spoon on the side of the pot and set it on the side. “It's good for a few minutes, Nonna."
Velia walked over to the stove and nodded. “Why don't you get us a bottle of wine,” she poked his arm playfully. His Nonna rarely did subtle.
Putting his hand on his grandmother's shoulder, Teodoro leaned forward and brushed a kiss on her soft cheek. "What should I open?"
Velia looked at Mira and saw her shrug. "Red should do nicely. I have a bottle of Tempranillo that I’ve been saving for a moment like this."
Teo headed for the pantry, giving the two ladies a moment alone.
Velia turned toward Mira with a mischievous grin. “Should I apologize for opening the door when I did? You two looked pretty cozy out there."
Mira saw the sparkle in Velia's eyes and stammered. "No... No, I was just... I mean he was just..."
"I'm sorry, dear," Velia reached into a cabinet and set a platter down beside the younger woman before she turned to look in her eyes, "I wasn't trying to embarrass you." Mira rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe just a little bit. But, it was so cute!"
"Looking like a complete dork in front of your grandson is not my idea of cute." Mira turned back to the stovetop and turned a cutlet over, feeling a slight prickle of hot oil on her skin. She reached for another. "Not that I'm trying to be cute for him, I mean-"
A hollow pop echoed in the room. "That's fine by me. Cute really isn't my thing anyway."
The cutlet fell from the tongs, splashing back into the pan. Mira prayed for the floor to open up and swallow her whole.
She heard Velia scold Teodoro for listening in, laughter in the older woman's voice. "Don't just stand there making her blush, Teodoro. Pour the wine."
He stepped up beside her and set the open bottle of wine on the counter, pulling three glasses from the cabinet. Mira couldn't find the courage to look up from her pan, nearly attacking the cutlet as she turned it over.
Being around Teo turned her inside out. Her attraction for him frightened her in all the best ways, but it also brought out all of her worst fears. As he handed her a glass of wine she felt the warmth of his fingers against hers and saw the answering simmer in his eyes. It would be only too easy to fall, but she told herself to take it one thing at a time.
Chapter Five
Mira lifted the platter of beans and handed it to Velia before she turned to look at Teo. “How did your meeting go with the football coach?”
“I think it went well. I tried to finish up fast enough to be there when you finished your meeting with the principal.” He saw Velia's smile half-hidden behind her wine glass. “I had to see him too. We've been planning the olive harvest and we’re bringing back one of the old traditions-”
“Classic, not old,” Velia’s voice held a little sigh. “It was always so much fun when all the boys were here.”
Teo’s expression spoke of his indulgent love for her. “The football team would come out for the harvest and after it was over we'd have a picnic and play a game in the grass.”
Mira set down her glass and leaned in. “I wondered about all that green space in the middle of the grove.”
“It's not a full-size field,” he conceded, “but it's one of the only times the guys play just to have fun.”
Velia poured a little more wine into Mira's glass before she added some to her own. “No pads, so the boys feel all macho.” She gave her grandson a knowing look before continuing on. “I think they show off for the girls.”
“I don't remember much about that." Teo shrugged off his grandmother’s pointed look. "With Jack around, I don't think anyone noticed me.”
“Oh, I'm sure they noticed you, with-” Mira took a quick drink of her wine and managed not to choke on it.
Teo leaned closer, and they both tried to ignore Velia's raised eyebrow and broad smile. “Notice me with what, Mira?”
She knew he wasn't going to let her out of the corner she'd put herself in, so she gave him an answer. It just wasn't the one that had been on the tip of her tongue befo
re. “With that big ego you're dragging around.”
As soon as the words were out of her lips, she regretted them, turning to gauge Velia's reaction.
Instead of shock or anger, Velia Santini was laughing behind her hands. When she could catch her breath, she wiped at her eyes with her napkin and gave her grandson a pointed look. “She certainly turned the tables on you, piccolo. You should be more careful about what you ask for.”
He shrugged but Mira could see a subtle rise in color behind the tanned skin of his cheeks. She felt horrible for her playful comments.
“I'll help,” she offered tentatively. Teo looked at her intently and for some reason the directness of his gaze made her heart beat a little faster. “I mean,” she continued on, “I'm not tall enough to reach anything but the lowest branches, but I'm sure there are other things I can do to help.” She turned back to Velia.
“My friends are pitching in with the food, but we can always use more hands. You wouldn’t believe how much football players can eat. I can only imagine what this new generation can put away.”
Mira reached over and gently touched the older woman’s arm. “Just tell me what you need.”
Velia covered her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Just having your support is enough. I'm so glad you came to St. Helena.” Before Mira could tear up Velia gave her a wink. “And I have dibs on you in case Chiara tries to steal you away.”
That's when tears did fall, intermixed with laughter as Mira moved to the stove to check on her pear crisp. Looking in the glass panel, she saw Teo watching her from the table, and the heat that rolled over her skin wasn't from the stove. Teo wasn't making one step at a time as easy as she’d hoped it would be.
When they'd put a good sized dent in dessert, Mira excused herself, explaining that she had an early morning tour with some of the ladies from the Garden Society. Teo had offered to give her a ride home.
Mira had immediately begged off. Velia agreed with Mira that even the idea of it was silly, but Mira's relief was short lived. Velia insisted that Teo walk her back, and his grandmother practically shoved them out the door, telling him, “Don’t be in any hurry to come home.”
When they reached the property line and crossed through the gap in the cypress trees, Teodoro let her pass through first, watching the hypnotic sway of her hips and the swish of her hem across the back of her calves. Grateful for the dark shadows that hid his open perusal and admiration of her petite form, he managed some control, and kept his hands safely at his sides. His family had always shown affection through touch. Touch and food. And his every instinct with Mira was touch.
Teo tried so hard to hold back and it was driving him to distraction. Having her near, seeing how easily she fit in his home, joking with his grandmother, she was worlds away from Andrea who had balked at the idea of spending any time in St. Helena. She craved the loud press of clubs and the social soirees that marked the nightlife of L.A.
Up ahead, Mira stopped and slipped off her sandals, wiggling her toes in the lush grass. His nonna was right. Mira may have been living in Los Angeles, but she was born to be here in St. Helena. Teo wanted to move closer, take hold of her hand, and maybe, take a chance on a kiss.
Teo heard a moan and realized that the sound came from his lips.
“Okay, I give up.”
He stopped short and met Mira's gaze through the shadows, thankful that she’d stopped beside the pedestal fountain where there was enough moonlight reflecting up from the water to see her expression.
She glared at him. “What's going on?”
He couldn't help but smile. “Nothing.”
Mira walked toward him, stopping just shy of his shoes, the soft patter of running water whispering in the shadows behind her. “You’ll have to excuse me for calling bull on that little lie, Mr. Santini.” She shook her head. “I was a good three feet away from you and I could hear you thinking all the way over there.”
He looked at her remembering something similar. “And thinking is a bad thing?”
“Think all you like, but I kind of wish you were thinking out loud.” She’d let her words go in a rush, and now she slowed, over thinking again. “But maybe you don't want me to know what you're thinking because you're walking me home just to be polite.” One quick gasp and she continued. “That's perfectly fine. There aren't many gentlemen left in this world that aren't old enough to be my father… Or married… Or-”
“I'm not,” he tried to find a way into her one sided conversation, “old enough to be your father, or married, but instead of telling me what I’m not,” he slowed down a bit, knowing he had her attention, “maybe you could find out who I am.”
That stopped her short. He wasn't sure what it was that had her standing there hesitant, lips parted, and eyes fixed on his face. If she didn't look so adorable, he'd laugh. She could boss him around like Nonna Velia, and yet there were those moments, when he could turn the tables on her and make her feel just as vulnerable as he did when she was around.
"And who are you?"
He lifted his hand until he could trace the backs of his fingers over her cheek. When she didn't pull away he turned his hand over, sliding his fingertips into the soft curls at the nape of her neck.
“Falling for you.”
He brushed his lips over hers, and felt her indrawn breath as if she were taking his.
“That's,” she rocked backward on her heels, “that's going to be a problem.”
"What kind of a problem?” He saw conflicting emotions play over her features as she considered what to say in response, but instead of waiting for her to come up with an answer, he leaned in and pressed another kiss to her lips. The feeling of her tender lips against his wasn’t just better the second time, the sensations threatened to roll him under like a wave.
He felt the tremor that rolled through her body, a delicious friction between their lips. When he felt her hand touch his arm, he leaned back and waited for her to open her eyes. When she did, it took a moment for her eyes to focus on his face, but when she did he pressed his luck. “I want to take you out to dinner.”
"Take me to dinner? We just had dinner."
He laughed, a low rumble of sound that felt good in his chest. “Not tonight, Mira. Some other night. Tomorrow, the day after, whenever you’ll go out with me.”
The words registered like a rush of cold water. “Like a date?”
“Yes,” he saw her hesitate and worried about the look of distress on her face, “I thought our first one went well.”
Hesitation turned back to shock. “But we didn't have a first- you mean lunch?” She didn't wait for an answer, plowing on ahead, “I thought you were just being friendly.”
"Friendly is a good start, Mira." His fingertips traced the neckline of her dress from the rise of her shoulder to the top of her collarbone. "I'm hoping we can be more."
The weight of his words landed on her like the proverbial ton of bricks. She wasn’t ready for more… not when she was still trying to distance herself from her past. "No," she stepped back, forcing him to drop his hand from her shoulder, "I can't."
She didn’t wait for him to say something, she moved up the stairs toward the kitchen door.
He followed, but stopped when she held out her hand to keep him at bay. She knew her face was nearly in shadows, thankful she hadn't changed the old light bulb in the fixture. She didn’t want him to see how much this hurt.
When she reached for the doorknob, he called her name softly. "Mira, wait." She wanted to walk away, but she heard the confusion in his voice. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, or what I said, but I really wish you'd give me a chance to make it right."
"Believe it or not," she pulled open the door but she couldn't meet his eyes, not when she wanted to run back down the steps and drown in his kisses, "the problem is me.” It sounded completely lame, especially to her own ears. “Thanks for walking me home, Teo. I'll... I'll see you around."
She closed the door and set the lock, but she didn
’t move until she saw him disappear into the night.
She should be happy. She'd put distance between them, but all she felt was alone.
Teo was nearly home when his mobile phone rang. Fishing it from his pocket he looked at the Caller I.D. Sighing, he put it on speaker and leaned against the railing. “Do you have any idea what time it is, Enzo?”
The laughter on the other end of the call blended into the thumping pulse of club music. “Getting old before your time? You move back and it’s like you’re in a senior home.”
Rolling his eye, Teodoro stifled a yawn that made him grit his back teeth together. “Not quite, but some of us have things to do in the morning. What’s up?”
“Just wanted to make sure you had everything under control. If you need help, I can maybe clear some things off my schedule and-”
“We’re fine. Nonna would love to have you visit just for fun, but you’ve got enough to take care of. How are things running at Sunset?”
“It's all good.” There was a pause and a woman's breathy giggle. “Andrea stopped by the other day looking for you.”
Teo felt a muscle tick in his jaw.
“I told her where she could go. She won't find out anything from me.”
“Thanks.” It meant a lot to know that his brother was there for him. “But I can handle Andrea.”
“You’re not letting Nonna set you up, right?” He let a few choice words pass his lips. “Some hometown girl with babies on her mind.”
Teo thought back to the strange scene in Mira’s garden and shook his head. "We definitely haven't talked about babies-"
"What did you say?' Lorenzo's voice boomed through the speakers. "Who are you-"
“Look, don't worry about it,” Teo moved toward the door. “It's late, I'll talk to you later.” He talked over his brother's questions. “You know how us old folks get when we’re tired.”