lot.
"Not
yet, but you are well on your way, my friend. And like I said, if you're smart,
you will scoop her up before someone else does. Nicole is a catch and she
deserves a good man. You can try to play the badass all you want, but I know
deep down that you're a good guy."
I
smirk. "Oh yeah?" I ask curiously.
Sebastian
grins wide. "Yeah, you and I are very much alike."
I
bark out a laugh. "Okay, I can't argue that. You are just a tad bit
crazier."
He
shrugs. "True."
"I'm
not going to lie, I like Nicole a lot. I'm just not sure if I want a
relationship right now."
"I
can understand that. Maybe being in this 'pretend' relationship will help you
figure it out," he suggests.
I
nod. "Yeah, maybe."
"Just
try not to hurt her. I don't like to see my family hurt and you do not want
Sebastian Beck coming after your ass, believe me," he warns.
"Did
you just refer to yourself in the third person?" I ask, cocking an
eyebrow.
"Sebastian
did, do you have a problem with that?" he asks seriously.
I
laugh. I don’t know how this guy keeps a straight face with half of the shit
that comes out of his mouth. "No, no problem at all."
"Good.
Sebastian likes you, Ace. Let's try to keep it that way," he says, finally
cracking a smile as he claps me on the shoulder.
I
chuckle and follow him back downstairs.
~Nicole~
I
don't think that I've ever been so nervous to go to my parents' house for
dinner. I tried to make Alex stay at my apartment, but he was having none of
it. It's going to be bad enough to get humiliated in front of Ace, I really
didn't want to have Alex there to witness it, too.
We
pull up to my parents' house and park at the curb. I've warned Ace like twenty
times already about how bad this is going to be. He's assured me that he will
be fine, he can handle it. As we get out of the car, my little sister Gina -
who's 25 and still lives with my parents – opens the front door and steps
out onto the porch. She gives me a tense smile. Great. That means my dad is
already starting shit. Thankfully, my mother is nowhere near as bad as my dad.
I can at least talk to her and make her understand my side. My dad? Forget it;
it's his way or the highway.
"Run,
run now before they see you," Gina says through her false smile.
I
groan. "That bad?" I sigh.
Gina
glances at Ace and Alex. "Uh, yeah," she says grimly.
I
turn to look at Ace. "Maybe this isn't a good idea," I mutter.
Ace
gives me a gentle smile. "It'll be fine, I promise," he says,
brushing his knuckles over my cheek. Such a sweet gesture. I don't know if he
just did it because Gina is standing here or what.
I
catch Alex's confused glance. He obviously can't tell either. I take a deep
breath and turn back around. All right, let's do this. Ace's fingers brush mine
as if testing the waters. I glance back at him and he gives me a reassuring
smile, which makes my stomach flip and my heart race. I lace my fingers together
with his. He's really going to make some girl really happy one day.
We
go inside. My mother is nowhere to be seen, but it smells delicious in here so
I can only assume that she is in the kitchen. My dad is sitting in his recliner
watching the news on channel six, his favorite station. He glances at us before
turning back to the TV. He has that Robert DeNiro mean mug going on. Not good.
"Ciao papà ," I say, leaning down to give him a kiss on
the cheek.
"Ciao,
Nicole," he grunts.
My
parents do speak very broken English, but they insist that when we speak to
them, we speak in Italian because it's just easier for them to understand.
I
introduce the guys to my father in Italian before turning toward them and
saying, "Ace, Alex, this is my father, Gaetano, you can call him
Guy."
"No,
non Guy. Mr. Gionelli!" My dad snaps.
I
clench my teeth. "Alright, fine. You can call him Mr. Gionelli."
"Not
yet, but you are well on your way, my friend. And like I said, if you're smart,
you will scoop her up before someone else does. Nicole is a catch and she
deserves a good man. You can try to play the badass all you want, but I know
deep down that you're a good guy."
I
smirk. "Oh yeah?" I ask curiously.
Sebastian
grins wide. "Yeah, you and I are very much alike."
I
bark out a laugh. "Okay, I can't argue that. You are just a tad bit
crazier."
He
shrugs. "True."
"I'm
not going to lie, I like Nicole a lot. I'm just not sure if I want a
relationship right now."
"I
can understand that. Maybe being in this 'pretend' relationship will help you
figure it out," he suggests.
I
nod. "Yeah, maybe."
"Just
try not to hurt her. I don't like to see my family hurt and you do not want
Sebastian Beck coming after your ass, believe me," he warns.
"Did
you just refer to yourself in the third person?" I ask, cocking an
eyebrow.
"Sebastian
did, do you have a problem with that?" he asks seriously.
I
laugh. I don’t know how this guy keeps a straight face with half of the shit
that comes out of his mouth. "No, no problem at all."
"Good.
Sebastian likes you, Ace. Let's try to keep it that way," he says, finally
cracking a smile as he claps me on the shoulder.
I
chuckle and follow him back downstairs.
~Nicole~
I
don't think that I've ever been so nervous to go to my parents' house for
dinner. I tried to make Alex stay at my apartment, but he was having none of
it. It's going to be bad enough to get humiliated in front of Ace, I really
didn't want to have Alex there to witness it, too.
We
pull up to my parents' house and park at the curb. I've warned Ace like twenty
times already about how bad this is going to be. He's assured me that he will
be fine, he can handle it. As we get out of the car, my little sister Gina -
who's 25 and still lives with my parents – opens the front door and steps
out onto the porch. She gives me a tense smile. Great. That means my dad is
already starting shit. Thankfully, my mother is nowhere near as bad as my dad.
I can at least talk to her and make her understand my side. My dad? Forget it;
it's his way or the highway.
"Run,
run now before they see you," Gina says through her false smile.
I
groan. "That bad?" I sigh.
Gina
glances at Ace and Alex. "Uh, yeah," she says grimly.
I
turn to look at Ace. "Maybe this isn't a good idea," I mutter.
Ace
gives me a gentle smile. "It'll be fine, I promise," he says,
brushing his knuckles over my cheek. Such a sweet gesture. I don't know if he
just did it because Gina is standing here or what.
I
catch Alex's confused glance. He obviously can't tell either. I take a deep
breath and turn back around. All right, let's do this. Ace's fingers brush mine
as if testing the waters. I glance back at him and he gives me a reassuring
smile, which makes my stomach flip and my heart race. I lace my fingers together
with his. He's really going to make some girl really happy one day.
We
go inside. My mother is nowhere to be seen, but it smells delicious in here so
I can only assume that she is in the kitchen. My dad is sitting in his recliner
watching the news on channel six, his favorite station. He glances at us before
turning back to the TV. He has that Robert DeNiro mean mug going on. Not good.
"Ciao papà ," I say, leaning down to give him a kiss on
the cheek.
"Ciao,
Nicole," he grunts.
My
parents do speak very broken English, but they insist that when we speak to
them, we speak in Italian because it's just easier for them to understand.
I
introduce the guys to my father in Italian before turning toward them and
saying, "Ace, Alex, this is my father, Gaetano, you can call him
Guy."
"No,
non Guy. Mr. Gionelli!" My dad snaps.
I
clench my teeth. "Alright, fine. You can call him Mr. Gionelli."
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