“Yes.”
“They keep the flowers and the vegetable garden in bloom and my honey pot full.” He sniffed Lena’s hair and then down to her neck. “Or, mostly they do.” He placed a gentle kiss on the soft skin at the curve of her neck.
She leaned back into him, letting his arms slide around her waist and feeling herself relax for the first time in several days.
“You’ve missed me.” He nipped her. “Haven’t you?”
“Maybe.”
He rubbed his chin on her skin. The soft prickles of the day’s stubble tickled. “I’ve missed you, for certain.”
“I bet you say that to every girl holding a meatball to go with your mate-ball.” She glanced up at him.
“Yep.” He kissed her lips. “Every single one.”
At that moment Lena would have eaten the meatball and the pot if he’d asked. That fact made her more nervous than she wanted to admit, and clearly she could not hide it from the bear who was back to sniffing her neck.
“I smell fear,” he said.
Lena slipped out of his arms and faced him, nodding. “Yep. That’s right. Fear.” She handed him the pot and placed the bags on the big fluffy cushions of a deep wicker chair.
From the corner of her eye she noticed the curtain in the house move, which was when she noticed two dogs being pushed aside by two more dogs trying to get a glimpse out the window. The four dogs continued rotating places and eventually the big black Labrador staked a claim for the middle of the window.
Her pretty brown eyes focused intently on Lena, and a wave of ease washed over her.
“What’s her name, again?” she asked.
“Tula-Lula.”
The dog wagged and panted, making high-pitched whines and heaving hot breaths at the window.
“She’s cute,” Lena said with a sudden urge to run into the house and hug Tula-Lula.
The crazy pull told her right away she’d found her familiar.
The dog winked and smiled.
“She sure is.” Jimmy placed the pot on a table. “You want to tell me what you’re afraid of or do I have to guess?” He turned her attention back to him.
His dark blue eyes held that same sensitivity, same connection to nature as Tula’s. He had this aura about him that said he never sweated the small stuff and nothing mattered beyond what was happening in this very moment.
“Aren’t you worried you’ve been hexed by my insane grandmother, who for certain is crazy because she passed it onto her sons, and I’m afraid they may have given it to me and probably to Ralph. And, it’s more than likely I’ll pass it onto my own kid.”
She shook her head. “My family is what one might describe as a shit show.”
Jimmy laughed. “You guys have nothing on my family. I’m the oldest of eight. There is never a point when someone isn’t in someone else’s business doing something that shouldn’t be done.”
Lena forced a smile. The poor guy had meatball magic mania. That had to be the explanation for why he did not think being hexed into loving her was a problem.
“My grandmother put a spell on you to love me. You should be concerned.” Lena patted his chest, like she was trying to console him, but was sidetracked by how firm the muscles were beneath the cotton shirt. “That’s so nice.”
“Hmm. Yes, that’s what you’ve told me several times, if you recall.”
She pulled her hands away. “That’s beside the point. What I do, knowing that I am not under the spell of any fermented meat, is different. You, my good and hard and perfectly sculpted man, are not of your right mind.” She nodded. “That’s the problem.”
“I only ate that meatball three days ago.” He reached for her hands, bringing them back to his chest. “I’ve loved you for ten days. In all truthfulness I’ve wanted you for three months. The meatball had nothing to do with the way I feel.”
“Well, I, you see…” Lena shook her head, trying to keep her thoughts straight, though it was rather difficult with the perfect sexiness of Jimmy right beneath her fingertips, the scent of the steeping meatball wafting from the table, and the feel of the Labrador’s eager and hopeful stare.
She removed her hands, placing them behind her back. “That’s where I think you might be wrong.”
Jimmy flexed his chest muscles, making his pecs dance, which in turn made Lena giggle. She loved that he could do that, and of course, her hands went back to his chest, unable to keep from touching him.
“The meatball made you want me.” She closed her eyes when she heard herself say those words. “That sounds insane, and I know that. But it’s true. Those meatballs do things to normal people and make them crazy.”
“You know you’re going to have to eat that meatball, right?” he whispered the words into her ear, but still the fact he was finding humor in the situation was clear. “The meatball knows. I know. Nonna knows. Your parents, both of them, even your dad, know. Ralph knows. Why don’t you open your eyes and know with the rest of us?”
It was crazy how sexy some of the weirdest words ever said could be when spoken in a deep bedroom voice by a man whose mere presence made girls drool.
Lena opened her eyes and stepped back before she tumbled into a pit of food-induced stupidity. “Jimmy, if I could know for sure the damn meatball wasn’t the reason you want me, then I’d eat mine. But the idea that the meatball has influenced you so much you can’t think straight makes me worry.”
“Okay, I can prove it.” He whistled, and a stampede of four excited big dogs came barreling around the deck. “Sit.”
All four dogs obeyed.
“Tula, tell her.” Jimmy sighed and shook his head as though he was giving in to defeat.
“I told you, you should have let me talk to her sooner. I told you. I told you. I don’t know why no one ever listens to me. Tula-Lula knows. You think a meatball knows? Imagine what a real live brain can do.” She sauntered over to Lena. “Girl, do you actually think you came up with the idea for Big Dog Designs on your own?”
Lena’s back stiffened. “Yes. I most cert—”
The dog planted her thick rump on the porch and raised a paw. “No. Ya didn’t.” Her head bobbed, and Lena would have sworn the dog frowned. “That was my idea, and a damn good one at that. But, do you know why I came up with that idea?”
Lena’s mouth hung open, though no sound came out.
“Well, first, I needed a way to get to you for me. Because it’s all about Tula-Lula and Lena…Beana.” Tula shook her head when Lena’s mouth moved. “I’m not done.” She hopped up on the seat beside the simmering pot, took a sniff and continued.
“Jimmy, here, saw you with that weird broomstick situation that occurred at Esmeralda’s Hardware.” Tula shook her head. “How in the world did you ever think magnetic broomsticks would work?”
Lena shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed that her new familiar was pointing out an epic failure.
“Mmm-hmm. Well, it served a purpose. It got Mr. Love Machine’s attention.” She nodded in Jimmy’s direction.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Jimmy asked.
“Do you think I don’t know what you two have done in that shop? You think we can’t smell what’s been going on all over the place? Against those beautifully carved dog columns? On the beds? On the counter?”
Lena’s cheeks heated. She was certain they had to be the color of Chianti.
“That’s right. We know all about you two.” Tula looked from Jimmy to Lena and back.
Jimmy sat in a chair, grinning. “I’m not sorry either.”
“I didn’t think you would be.” Tula laughed. The sight of the Labrador throwing back her head was not disturbing. Hearing a woman’s laugh come out of her mouth would take some getting used to.
“So Lena-Beana, I’m the one who gave you the idea and it was Nero and me who got Jimmy the “odd job” contract at your parents’, which led to your dad hiring him for your shop and to you and him doing the hanky-panky all over the place.”
“Nero is in on this? Does Mom know?” Lena had almost lost her suspicions, but then Nero’s involvement generally meant something wasn’t right.
“Are you kidding? That cat wouldn’t say a word. He’s already lost two of his nine lives to me. Plus he used up one on that trip to Malta. Trust me. He doesn’t want to risk another.” She licked her paw, then wiped her head. “He didn’t say a word.”
“So, really I’ve loved you from a distance for a few months.” Jimmy propped his feet up on the footrest. “The meatballs had nothing to do with it.”
“Well, I—” Lena’s attempt to rationalize the possibility the meatball didn’t cause the whole thing to happen was cut off by a flying meatball hurled into her mouth by Tula-Lula.
“Eat your damn meatball and stop overthinking this.” Tula licked her paw with more gusto than before. “That is good.” She stuck her head into the pot and sniffed. “Too hot. But if we had some bread…anybody listening? I said, some bread.”
Four hunks of bread appeared, dunked themselves in the hot simmering gravy and then served themselves to the dogs.
Lena didn’t bother to pay any attention to them. She was too busy enjoying the taste of slow-cooked ground meat with a hint of pepperoni, Parmesan, oregano, parsley, garlic in gravy. “So good.”
How had she resisted for so long? The flavors were better than anything she’d ever tasted. She couldn’t imagine ever eating another thing that would taste this good.
But it wasn’t simply eating the delicious meat that was so wonderful. It was the way her heart filled with love and the connection she felt to Jimmy. She loved him and she knew he loved her with all his heart.
Could there be any other thing more important than this?
~The End~
Will Ralph find his one true love?
Will Grandpa escape the statue?
Will Giacomo, Nunzio, and Patrizio be sent away to the pokey for trapping their father in a statue?
Stay tuned for Spaghetti Romances, Book 3 to find out!
Amazing Magic & Mayhem Authors
Robyn Peterman
Barbara Annino
Michele Bardsley
Deanna Chase
Saranna DeWylde
Renee George
Heather Long
Cherie Marks
Isabel Micheals
Monette Michaels
Julia Mills
Virginia Nelson
Teresa Reasor
Jordan K. Rose
DC Thome
Magic and Mayhem: Secrets, Lies, and Meatballs (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Spaghetti Romances Book 2) Page 7