Lessons Learned, Healing Hearts

Karoke Challenge (Chapter 21)

Done showering and doing her hair, Marlow stared at her clothes. She never hoped to impress a boy whenever she went to support Harper, but this was Piero. Though having spent six hours with him this morning, her sweaty palms and racing heart made her feel like she had the first day she saw him.

"Just stop it," Marlow scolded herself as she shook her hands. She was making herself crazy. Settling for some dark navy skinny jeans and a soft green eyelet top, Marlow grabbed her black suede wedge booties and headed downstairs. Glancing at her watch, she sat nervously, picking at the blanket fuzz on the couch throw. Wishing Zoe had been home to help keep her nerves calm, Marlow jumped when the doorbell rang.

"Wow, you look great," Piero said, leaning in to give Marlow a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thanks, you don't look to shabby yourself," Marlow playfully responded. Dressed in blue jeans, a cream-coloured light knit sweater, brown shoes, and a leather jacket, he looked better than 'not bad.' He looked fantastic!

"Ready to roll?" he asked with a warm smile.

"Absolutely," Marlow affirmed, ready for whatever the rest of the day had in store for them.

Pulling her jacket off a hanger, she held it out for Piero to take. Slipping her arms into the sleeves as he lifted her jacket over her shoulders, her breath caught in her throat when his fingers grazed her neck as he gathered her hair in his hands and flipped it out of the collar. As goosebumps covered her skin, she was grateful her jacket hid her excitement. Grabbing her purse and house keys, she uttered, as casually as she could, "Let's go."

***

"Here you go," the server said, setting the large veggie pizza in front of them,

"Enjoy."

"Oooh, yes!" Piero exclaimed, slipping the pizza server under the golden crust. Setting a slice on Marlow's plate, he laughed as she used her fingers to break the mile-long cheese strands from the pie.

"Buon appetito."

"Buon appetito," Marlow repeated.

Watching as Piero used his knife to wrap the cheese around his fork before placing it in his mouth, Marlow giggled when he moaned and closed his eyes.

"Mmm, so good. So good!" Piero exclaimed as authentic flavours of sweet onion, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, bell peppers, artichoke, fresh basil, and salty olives exploded in his mouth.

"So, when you aren't touring, where is home for you?" she asked.

"I have two homes; mostly, I am in Bologna, but I also have an apartment in Naro, which is where I grew up."

"You said you used to live with Ignazio. Does he still live in Bologna?"

"He does."

"And what about Gianluca? Does he live near you, too?"

"No, Gianluca lives on the east coast of Italy in his hometown of Montepagano."

Before she could ask, Piero pulled up a map of Italy on his phone, showing her where each of them lived. He also pointed out his hometown in Sicily.

"Do you get to see your family much?"

"Not as much as I would like, but we are a super close family." Pulling up a recent photo, he showed it to Marlow. "This is my mother, father, and brother Franz; he is the oldest, and my little sister, Maria Grazia."

"Your sister and mother are gorgeous. And all the men..." Marlow said, giving Piero another coy look, "very handsome."

"On behalf of my father and brother, thank you." Piero quickly looked at the photograph, flushing a big grin before setting his phone down. "Because I had siblings still at home when I began touring, my mother stayed home with my brother and sister while my father accompanied me. It was always hard to leave. I got homesick often. Sometimes, I still do if I haven't seen them in person for a while. That's why I bought a home close to my parents."