𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐄 | 𝟏𝟖+

XVIII

F A L L O N

"Mama, come here. Approach, appear. Daddy, I'm alone. 'Cause this house don't feel like home."

. . .

By the evening, Nicholas' family is still here. They're all in the garden when I come down to grab some dinner.

Entering the kitchen, I catch Aurora and Riccardo leaning against the kitchen island, kissing.

Aurora pushes him away when she hears me and sends me an apologetic smile. "Excuse me," she grins and straightens herself up.

"It's totally okay," I chuckle and see some pizza boxes on the kitchen island. "Yeah, sorry. Aurora tends to get very impatient sometimes," the deep voice of Riccardo says.

"Riccardo! Shut up!" his wife groans. Glancing over my shoulder, I see him pressing a kiss on her cheek with a smile.

"Sorry, darling."

"Yeah, yeah," she says and waves him away while having a big smile on her face. "I'm going back outside, see you in a sec," he tells her and presses a kiss on top of her head, before exiting the kitchen.

"There's still a pizza left, we figured you might like one too," Aurora chuckles and slides a box over to me on the counter.

"Thank you so much. That's so thoughtful of you," I smile and open the box, the pizza greeting me.

I take a seat at the counter and offer Aurora a piece, but she declines and says that she's stuffed.

"So, did you have a good time today?" I ask to make some conversation. "Sure did," she smiles, "the kids love to see Nicholas. He's a great uncle."

That causes me to smile, too. "He seems like it. That's so great to see."

She nods and looks at me for a few seconds. She has the same intense stare as her brother, and it sure as fuck is intimidating.

"So, how long have you had a crush on my brother?"

Choking on the piece of pizza that was in my mouth, I swallow everything down with a quick sip of water.

"E-excuse me?" I stutter, feeling my face heat up.

She smiles and glances off to the side, before meeting my eyes again. "Honey, I've been in your place. I know the look of hurt and longing when you see the one you want with someone else."

"You do?" I ask, surprised. Aurora seems like the girl who could get any guy she wants within the snap of her fingers.

She nods. "Yeah," she breathes, "my husband had a girlfriend when I first met him."

"Oh, wow..." I bring out, not knowing what to say. She sends me a little smile.

"But that's a whole other story. Do you like Nicholas?"

She's so... blunt and straightforward.

"Uh... I don't know. I don't think so," I answer. She nods. "I see. Take it from someone who had a hard time persuading someone; never beg. I learned from my mistakes, and don't lower yourself to a level in which you beg for someone's attention. It's not worth it."

I glance to the garden, to her family. But it did get her to have a wonderful life.

"I know what you're thinking, and in the end, it was worth it, but you never know where something is going to lead. The feelings throughout the whole... process, isn't worth it. Because let me tell you, it's a nasty feeling."

"I believe that," I reply and look into her eyes, feeling bad for whatever she went through. But she seems happy and extremely satisfied with her life, right now.