“I care about my brother and his happiness.” Alex’s voice softened. “He was deeply hurt not long ago by a woman he dated for years. He’s not been the same since. Nothing drastic, but he changed. Became more remote.” He paused and looked at Renata again. “That is, until he met you a few weeks back. It’s like he’s himself in many ways, but fighting it. I don’t know how to explain it. Just know we love Tony, and will do all we can to protect him from that kind of pain again. But we also desire his happiness. We welcome you as his new ‘friend’ with hopes you’ll be worthy of more.”
Renata dropped her eyes to her lap. “Thank you for sharing, Alex. To be honest, I don’t know any woman worthy of the man I’ve come to know in your brother. Least of all me. Please don’t make me out to be someone I’m not.” She lifted her eyes and met him with a silent plea. Alexandr nodded and smiled.
“We’ll see what the future holds. I’m glad you came tonight.” He got up to go help his father in the kitchen as Tony returned with a glass of soda on ice and placed it on a coaster on the table nearby.
“I hope Alex wasn’t intimidating you. My family can be overwhelming in the way they approach things.”
“They care for you. That’s something you should treasure. The love that I’ve seen in your family is not a common thing where I come from.”
His eyebrows rose as he lowered himself down to a beanbag to the right of her feet. “You’ve never talked about your family.” The room shrank emotionally to the two of them.
“There’s not much to talk about. Most of them live up near Oshkosh. They are not fond of me, and I avoid them as much as possible.”
“I cannot imagine anyone disapproving of you, Renata. From what I’ve seen, I’d have suspected you to be a treasured daughter.”
“You’re sweet, but you’re naive if you think every family is as idyllic as yours.”
“We’re are not as perfect as you might think. We’ve had our challenges and losses like any other family.”
“True, I remember you telling me about your younger brother, and I’m sorry for your loss. Yet many families let that kind of thing push them apart rather than pull them together.”
“Maybe you are right. But what pulled your family apart? Or am I being too personal?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve simply been the ‘odd man out’ throughout my life. Nothing I’ve ever done was good enough, except my marriage. They loved Mick. And when things went bad between him and me, they took his side.”
“I didn’t realize you had been married. But you are single now? What happened?”
Renata kicked herself for revealing too much. She bit her lip, sighed deeply, and kept her focus on her glass, fearful of what he might see in her eyes. “I’m a widow. Mick died last year during a hunting accident.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Don’t be sorry, Tony. This may seem heartless to say, but I’m glad he is gone. The marriage was a disaster, and got worse after I’d accepted Christ and started attending church.”
“He didn’t like that?”
“He hated it. He hated Christ, and he despised me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s real life, Tony. Some people make bad choices. Sometimes we make the best choices we can at the time and grow to find they weren’t as ideal as we hoped they would be.”
* * *
Tony stared at Renata. Had he gone too far? “I’m sorry. I won’t push you. Wow. I’m stunned to discover you were married. You are too young to be a widow.” This news was like a sucker punch. Why should it bother him? She was single now. He wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend, much less a wife.
“Thank you. I have grieved many things in my life, but I did not grieve Mick’s death, except that when he died he was as far from God as one could be. My only consolation is that it was his choice. The truth was made known to him, and he rejected it.”
Tony nodded in disbelief. “How long were you married?”
“Three. Miserable. Years,” she whispered.
Tony swallowed. Three years. The same amount of time he had struggled in his relationship with Stacy before he had become aware of her true character.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that and without the support of a loving family. I had a relationship go sour. Was even about to get married. I don’t know how I could have made it through that pain without my family and my accountability group and other friends at church. It still hurts, but at least I’ve known their unconditional love.”
“You’ve been blessed, and I’m glad for it. I don’t know of anyone who deserves that more than you.”
“You deserved that, too, Renata.”
Renata set her glass down. “Where is the restroom?”
Tony rose and helped Renata out of her chair and pointed her down the hallway. “Second door on the left.”
He stood and watched her go. She was beautiful. Sweet. She had been married. Married! To some jerk who hadn’t appreciated her. If this Mick had been alive today, Tony would’ve wanted to beat him up about as bad as he had done to Bryan—or worse. Were these guys blind?
Gabby came up, put her hand on his arm and looked down the hallway where he had unknowingly been staring. “I’m glad you got her to come, Tony.”
“Why?” His gaze broke from the hallway, and his eyes connected with his sister’s.
“There’s something special about her. She’s a different kind of girl for you to be attracted to, but I suspect she may not be an easy conquest.”
“I’m not looking for any ‘conquest,’ for your information.”
“Right, I forgot, Stacy stole your heart and broke it, and you refuse to let anyone help you mend it again so you can be whole. Tony, you are a loser if you let Stacy get the better of you.” She walked away to visit with her mom, and Tony felt a surge of anger at his sister. What did she know of his grief? Sisters could be a pain in the neck sometimes. It was an unspoken rule in the family that no one talked about Stacy. No one mentioned what had happened.
He didn’t want to remember the pain and humiliation she had brought to him. Tony growled and was about to set off after his sister to vent his spleen on her,when he saw Renata come back to the room and fall into conversation with his brother-in-law, Michael, by the doorway. He stalked off to the kitchen to check on the food
“Antonio.”
“Yes, Papa.” Tony closed the oven. A few more minutes and the timer would beep.
“I like this girl you brought tonight. She’ll help you forget. She has a pretty face and a gentle spirit. You better be good to her like I taught you.”
Tony took the oven mitt off his hand and rubbed a hand over his eyes and down his face. “Not you too, Pops?”
“Me too what, son? Encourage you? Love you? Pray you find the kind of love I have with my Grace that has carried us through the highs and lows of the over forty years of marriage?” He walked over, put his hand on Tony’s shoulder and looked his son in the eye. “You need more in your life than your work and friendships at church. Where will your legacy be? Antonio, I love you. I want you to be happy.” Alberto De Luca glanced down the hallway, toward the great room to where Renata chatted with Michael. “I think she could be the girl to give you all you’ve missed.”
“Pops, you haven’t even talked to her yet.”
“A father, he knows things. I have discernment. There is love there. I see how she looks at you when you’re not looking. She looks at you like your mother looks at me. Nothing better than a look like that.” He grinned and patted Tony’s back, nodded his head to his son, and walked away. The timer went off.
Tony watched his father make a beeline for his mother and give her a side hug and a kiss on her cheek, making her giggle and smile. He saw her return the kiss. Even from that distance, he could see how she looked at him. Renata looked at him like that? He suddenly heard the timer was still buzzing. He turned it off and bent to remove the food from the oven and move it to the serv
ing platters.
* * *
Renata observed Tony’s father talking to him in the kitchen and was aware that they’d glanced over at her. She wondered what it meant. Michael had been sweet, and Renata was sad she had missed getting to know Tony’s twin sisters today. They sounded like turbocharged De Lucas, full of energy and life. Michael was smitten with his wonderful wife, Gianna, and delighted in telling Renata about their six children. He was a man so much in love, wanting everyone to experience what he had. She found him charming.
She left Michael and headed to the kitchen. It was a modern and spacious room with a skylight and plenty of windows. Tony set the food out, and she came to stand beside him. She smiled up at him as he looked down at her. She pretended to sniff him.
“No garlic?”
“Not tonight. We may be Italian, but that doesn’t mean that’s all we eat.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you, your cooking, or your family.”
Tony turned to her, pulled off his oven mitt and laid it down on the countertop, and put his hands on her upper arms and drew her a little closer. He looked in her eyes as she gazed up at him.
Renata scanned Tony’s eyes and their deep brown satiny shimmer. She wanted to get lost in them. She bit her lower lip. Their eyes locked until, finally, she lowered her lashes.
“Is it okay if I call you ‘Ren’? You sometimes seem to me like a little brown bird. A wren.”
“Stephanie calls me that to shorten my name. I don’t mind if you think I’m a little wren.”
“I apologize if I pushed too far earlier. I have my secrets, and you have yours. There’s no rush or obligation for either of us to share beyond what we’re comfortable with.”
Renata nodded. “Someday, Tony. Someday I may want to share it all. I’ll admit the prospect of doing so terrifies me. I saw the shock in your eyes when I shared earlier. I don’t want you to think less of me in any way. I also don’t want you to think I’m something I’m not.”
But please, please don’t reject me. I don’t know if I could bear it. She swallowed hard.
“I doubt I could think less of you, Ren. You’ve had some painful experiences. How about tonight we agree to forget the past and enjoy our time together with my family?”
Renata smiled. “I’d like that.” She looked to the plates of food. “Would you like my help bringing that into the great room?”
“That would be wonderful, but first—” He picked a small pastry puff off the serving dish, blew on it, and presented it to her lips. “Taste it. I tried something new tonight, for you.”
His voice was deep and low and his eyes dark as she looked from him to the food he presented. Renata opened her mouth to receive the offering from his fingers. It felt intimate. She bit off a piece of the pastry, licked the creamy inside oozing out onto her lips and chewed. The buttery pastry, along with the sweet cream cheese frosting, melted together. She didn’t know what was more decadent—the food or the sensation of him feeding her.
“Oh, Tony, that’s amazing.” She opened her mouth as he placed the rest inside and he licked the remaining frosting off his fingers. He held her gaze the entire time. The intensity of the moment and a shiver of desire struck her.
Oh, this is dangerous. So why do I like it so much?
She smiled mischievously at Tony and moved to take a serving dish to carry it to the next room. She could feel the intensity of his attention on her as he followed.
* * *
Tony reached the table, set his plate down, and looked at Renata. His little brown wren.
His?
She smiled up at him with a twinkle in her eyes, and his breathing caught. She picked up a pastry and lifted it up to his lips. He opened his mouth and took in the entire piece, his lips touching her fingers. He saw her eyes widen as she withdrew her hand. He chewed and watched her as she turned to take a plate to put food on. The game was about to start. Tony grabbed a plate, loaded up, and poured a glass of water to take with him.
Returning to the great room, he found Renata had settled into the beanbag chair so he sat where she had been earlier. He placed his plate down and reached over to give her a shoulder massage. She sighed with pleasure. Michael came over, whacked Tony on the head with a cheesehead and nodded to Renata.
“Ren, seems the gang wants you to wear the honorary cheesehead hat since you are new to this.” Tony grinned.
Ren looked up to see the big triangle of golden foam with holes in it. “I’m willing—put it on.” Tony settled it on her head.
Grace came over with a camera. “I have to get a picture of you two in your green and gold.” Tony leaned his head on top of Renata’s headwear, and his mom snapped the picture. “Cheesy grin, Tony, as usual.” She came over to show them the photo, and they shared a laugh.
* * *
The game started, and the Packers kicked off with Aaron Rodgers doing a great job. When it came time for Brett Favre to enter the field for the Vikings, everyone in the room booed. For the rest of the game, there were opinions shouted and cheers and groans as well as foam bricks thrown at the wall in frustration when a play ended poorly. Renata had never laughed so hard.
She enjoyed watching the game with them and cheering along. Every touchdown, one of the men in the family would get up and do their own version of a touchdown dance, even Tony. Tears streamed from her eyes at the sight of their goofy movements as they tried to mimic the players in their victory. The Vikings’ defeat resulted in joy in the De Luca home. Renata helped clean up. Tony came up behind, put his arms around her, and set his chin on her left shoulder as she dried her last dish.
“Ready to go, little Ren?”
Renata giggled as his breath tickled her neck. She managed to move out of his arms and look at him with a grin. “I need my jacket.”
They headed for the door with many farewells and a hug from Mrs. De Luca, along with a kiss on her cheek.
Back on the bike, they headed for her home and Renata basked in the warmth of snuggling up to Tony and having her arms around him. Danger! Danger! her heart said, but she chose to ignore it and enjoy the ride into the darkening night.
At the apartment, Tony escorted her into the hallway and to her door. Renata unlocked it and turned.
“Tony, thank you for a wonderful evening. I enjoyed the game and being with your family.”
“I’m glad you had fun. You only met a small portion of the gang. Tonight was tame compared to how they can be.” Tony put a hand on each of her upper arms, but she resisted letting him pull her closer.
“Tony, I—“
“Am I rushing things? If I am, I am sorry.” He let his arms drop, and she glanced up at his face to find he wasn’t angry. She saw compassion and confusion in his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. You can’t blame a guy for trying with such a beautiful woman standing before him.”
“You are a sweet temptation, and I don’t deserve a friend like you.” She smiled. “Good night, Tony.”
* * *
“Good night. Sweet dreams, Renata.” Tony blew her a kiss and turned to leave as she entered her apartment. He heard the door lock behind him.
As he came to the outside door, he heard a voice from the stairs calling down to him.
“Hey, studmuffin!”
He looked up, surprised, and saw a little old woman with white hair start to descend. She was dressed in sweatpants, mismatched socks, and a shirt covered with sequins.
“Hi.”
“Did your sweetie give you a kiss for me like I asked her to?”
“My…sweetie?”
“Oh, come on, don’t be shy now. I’ve seen the way you two are together. Sparks a flyin’. Did she or did she not give you a kiss from me?” She continued her descent down the stairs.
“A kiss?”
“Yes, a kiss, of course. When she was upstairs earlier, fending off the ninjas, I gave her specific instructions to give you a kiss for me.”
“Oh, it’s Edith, darling, but that’s okay, I’d much rather give you the real thing myself.” She had reached the step that brought her to his height and she leaned over, grabbed Tony’s face with both her hands, and gave him a loud kiss on his cheek. Heat rushed to his neck and cheeks.
“I won’t kiss your lips, Mr. Hunk. I know better than to tread on someone else’s preserves.” She winked at him and started back up the stairs. “Good night, studmuffin!” she called out.
Taken aback by this unusual encounter, he stood there, watching her depart until she had safely reached the top of the stairs and disappeared from view. He swiped his cheek with his palm to find it bright red from her lipstick. Tony shook his head and left to mount his bike for the ride home. The cool night air might help him clear out the confusion of Renata’s mixed messages and his strange encounter with her neighbor.
* * *
Collapsing into bed, he wondered why Renata shied from a goodnight kiss. It was just a kiss, wasn’t it? He remembered how good it was to have her arms around him on the bike and her head leaning against his back. He felt...wanted. The way her eyes dilated when he had fed her that pastry indicated she desired him. He remembered her laughter tonight. So why no kiss? He let all the air out of his lungs and refused to inhale for a few seconds. Filling his lungs again, he prayed for patience and wisdom as he courted Renata. Wait. Court? Was he courting her? Was she someone he wanted in his life long-term? He rolled over and punched his pillow before he settled his head there.
Why did women have to be so confusing?
* * *
Renata tossed and turned in bed, struggling to get to sleep. Even after such a disastrous marriage, her body dwelled on Tony’s touch and her longing for more. She rolled over, punched her pillow, and fell asleep praying to God for deliverance from temptation.
God, I really don’t want a man in my life right now. It’s too soon.
Ah, but what a man.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Pesto and Potholes Page 7