❝I would burn for all eternity to feel your touch once more.❞
Former mafia member now turned barista, Lorenzo Castello, is running away from his family to grieve a sudden loss when he meets a paramedic with no impulse control that turns his world up...
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WHEN HE DECIDED that he would stay for as long as he could in San Francisco, he never actually thought of meeting Gia's family. The thought alone hadn't crossed his mind and so when her brother stood in front of him with a tiny smirk on his face and his hand outstretched for him to shake, he didn't know what to do or think.
Meeting one's family was a big deal (especially to him and his family) and if he had known that her brother would be joining them, he would have come more prepared. Because of his adventure with Ryan at the ice-skating rink, he felt like he was a sweaty mess. What if he smelt too bad and Lukas didn't approve? What if he said something and he hated him? What if – Okay, the poor boy was still waiting for him to shake his hand. Now wasn't the time to panic.
Maybe after introducing himself. Yeah, he'll definitely do that then.
Ryan raised an eyebrow from his spot next to Amalia and that's exactly when Lorenzo snapped out of his thoughts. He extended his hand and clasped Lukas' and shook it. "Hey, it's really nice to meet you,"
"Likewise, man. Though, I have to admit; my sister has never mentioned you or the fact that she's in a relationship before," Lorenzo could tell that Lukas wanted to hurt him with his words and by the way Gia's eyes widened at his words, he knew his girlfriend couldn't believe her brother had said something like that. His words implied that since Gia hadn't told him she has a boyfriend, it meant that it wasn't anything serious. But he knew better.
"I could say the same thing. I never knew Gia had a brother so how about you tell me something about yourself? I'd love to learn more about her family," He could tell his answer took Lukas a bit off guard but he snapped out of it immediately.
"Well, what do you want to know?"
The rest of the dinner went as smoothly as it could be expected since Lukas seemed love asking him questions out of nowhere, to which he had to think of answers he hadn't thought of like which football team he liked (even though he was a die-hard Roma fan, he had decided to say Liverpool just to be safe) or if he had any siblings himself (he had almost forgotten he had told Gia he had a little brother and said no but fortunately for him, Gia beat him to it and explained that herself).
He could tell that his girlfriend was getting a little uncomfortable with how many questions he was being asked but truthfully, he would have acted the same if his little sister brought her boyfriend over for him to meet. The thought of Arabella alone was enough to have his eyes fill with tears as he laid on his bed with Gia cuddled on his side.
After dinner, everyone had gone home and after driving her brother to their parents' house, Gia came over to spend the night. It didn't seem weird to him; he had gotten used to her spontaneous visits for the past week. She seemed to love sleeping on his chest and that had a warm and fuzzy feeling spreading through him.
Damn, he was acting like a teenage boy.
But seeing her sleep has become his favourite hobby. He would lie awake till two in the morning, sometimes even more late, just watching her sleep. He loved how serene she looked, her even breathing brought a sense of calm to him and for the first time in his life, Lorenzo actually felt safe and peaceful.
