21. The Birthday Miracle #2
“Wow,” Michele says, shaking his head. “That sounds amazing.”
They all laugh.
“It is,” Elio says, waggling his eyebrows. “I’ll take you to a party sometime. It’s absolutely wild. Actually, I’m pretty excited for Monaco. It’s always the craziest party of the year, if you’re interested.”
I have no doubt I’m as red as the sauce on my plate, which I’m tempted to throw across the patio. I know that’s his life. But the side of him I’ve seen was so different, I tried to convince myself otherwise. Being hit by that reality hurts more than I thought it would.
Alessia pulls me in to talk about shopping, and I welcome the distraction. We keep chatting, and once we all finish eating, it’s time for my favorite part of any birthday party—cake and presents.
My grandma is a colorful character, and she sings along with us before blowing out her candles.
“It’s a good thing we only put two on there,” Michele says. “Right, Nonna? We couldn’t risk starting a fire with eighty candles.”
Her jaw drops, and everyone’s chuckling. Finally, she dips her finger on the side of the cake and spreads a dollop of frosting on his face.
His eyes widen, and he leans forward to retaliate, but Paola fortunately intervenes.
“No, no, no. Stop it right now. You will not waste the cake I walked across town to get. Not this year. And we have guests, per l’amore del cielo !”
“Relax, Mom,” Michele says with a grin. “Lucy’s a Marchesi. She’ll understand our family dynamics soon enough.”
I laugh, and a small but genuine warmth spreads through my chest. They already think of me as one of their own. “Looks like a blast,” I tease.
“See?” He clasps his hands. “She gets it.”
Paola marches back to the kitchen , murmuring something to herself. My Italian is rusty, but I’m pretty sure she’s ranting about her son’s immaturity. To be fair, he’s only twenty-two.
Everyone gives Lucia their gifts, and I feel weird when it’s my turn. The others gave her deeply personal gifts, and my generic present from the market feels out of place.
Grandma opens the package, and her eyes sparkle. “I love it. Blue is my favorite color. How did you know?” she says, tugging on her blue blouse. I didn’t even notice she was wearing blue.
“Lucky guess.” I smile. “I thought it looked beautiful.” And blue was my mom’s favorite color, too, but I keep that to myself.
“ Grazie mille ,” she says, taking me into her arms. “But the biggest present is having you here today.”
Her eyes are glassy as we pull apart, and a lone tear escapes mine.
“Don’t cry, tesoro . This is a happy moment.”
I force myself to smile and nod. She’s right. It is a happy moment, but I wish Mom could have been here, finally reunited with her family. I’m not sure what happened between them, but this family has been nothing but kind, and I’m sad Mom didn’t have them in her life.
She opens the rest of her gifts, and the most extravagant one definitely comes from Elio, who bought her a real diamond bracelet. Everyone gathers around Grandma to examine the glittering jewelry.
I step in next to Elio, casting him a smile. “You really shouldn’t have. That was incredibly nice of you.”
“I’m a nice person, even if y ou don’t seem to notice,” he says without looking my way. Then, he retreats into the house.
“Elio,” I call after him, following him inside and closing the door behind me. “What are you talking about? What has gotten into you today? You’ve been such a jerk.”
He stops, swinging around to face me, his eyes narrowing. “But that’s who I am, isn’t it? A heartless player who lives to pick up girls every weekend.” The chill in his voice is like a punch to the gut.
I frown, taken aback. “No. Why would you say that? That’s not what I think.”
He scoffs. “Don’t lie to me, Lucy. The fact that you believed that about me when you arrived bothered me, but I understood. I thought, ‘She doesn’t know anything about me. Just the media’s perspective.’ But now that we’ve spent an entire week together, I thought you knew me better than that.”
I stand frozen to the spot. “I do. At least, I think I do.”
His gaze darkens to a near-black, the intensity kicking my heart into overdrive. He steps closer, closing the distance between us. “Then why are you so eager to deny it when people assume we’re together? Like you’re so disgusted by me.” His voice drops to a lower pitch, more vulnerable.
I step back, my stomach sinking. I didn’t mean to hurt him.
It was more a way to protect myself from the feelings I can’t seem to escape.
And shield myself from an outside perspective that could hurt my career.
“What? I’m not disgusted by you. And we’re not together.
So why would I let anyone believe we are? ”
“But you don’t have to be so harsh about it. First, there was yesterday with Claude, how you insisted that you’re not arm candy, and again today with your family, when you said we’re absolutely not dating.”
I shake my head slowly. “Wait, no. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Yes, you did, Lucy. And honestly, it hurts.” His voice breaks on his last words, just slightly, but it’s enough to make me falter. Elio has been nothing but kind to me, and I guess I’ve been so focused on not getting caught up in my desire for something I can’t have, I hurt his feelings.
“I’m sorry, I really am.” I take a step toward him, my heart pounding. “I just don’t want any lines blurred when we’re in a professional setting. Women reporting on male-dominated sports have a hard enough time as it is. And I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. My reputation is on the line.”
He frowns, then shakes his head. “I never thought about that.”
“Of course you didn’t, and that’s normal.
You don’t live those things. But you saw how everyone looked at me in the garage on that first day.
They see a girl hanging out with you, and immediately they assume she’s only there to hook up.
I don’t want any rumors to tarnish my credibility as a journalist.”
His eyes fix on me. “That’s not why they were looking at you like that.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Come on, it was obvious. Claude’s comments were pretty transparent too, which is why I felt the need to clarify that we wer en’t together. I guess it came out harsher than I intended, and I’m sorry for that.”
“I get it now.” He combs a hand through his hair. “Claude’s comments might have been misplaced, but the guys at Rossi were just surprised to see you there, that’s all. I never bring girls back to the garage.”
My heartbeat quickens as I try to make sense of all this. “I’m sorry. That thought never even crossed my mind.”
“Because you had that misconception of me, but you must know by now that I'm not some shallow player. I won’t lie, girls like to hang out around me, and sometimes I party with them at the club or whatever. But it doesn’t go further than that.
I’m not interested in a relationship, and the last thing I want is to lead anyone on.
I’m now aware I have a tendency to flirt, and I’ve been very cautious about that lately. ”
I bite my lip. “Then why is it so important to you that I don’t insist it’s only professional between us?”
He pauses, then shrugs. “I don’t know. ‘Professional’ doesn’t seem like an accurate representation of our relationship anymore. I enjoy spending time with you, and besides, we’re not exactly in a professional setting right now.”
“I agree, and I enjoy spending time with you too,” I say, ignoring the way my stupid heart is fluttering in my chest. “When it’s just the two of us, or even when we’re with my family, it’s perfectly fine to show that we’re more than just a journalist and the athlete she’s covering.
But when we’re working, we need to keep those lines clear. ”
“Okay. So, you don’t think I ’m that disgusting pig anymore? Just checking.”
A smile pulls at my lips. “You’re here with me, aren’t you? Would I invite you to my grandma’s birthday party if I was disgusted by you?”
He shrugs. “You needed a buffer.”
“I wanted your support,” I clarify, my voice soft. “I have no one here, and you’ve been such a great pillar through this. I’m just so grateful to have you in my corner.”
He rubs the back of his neck. “Okay.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Okay? Does that mean we’re good?”
He rolls his eyes, but there’s a tenderness there now, the tension melting away. “We’re good, Bella . Sorry I acted like that. Even if I’m a sexy, manly man, I have feelings too, you know?”
I burst out a laugh. “ Aaand he’s back. Phew. I thought I lost you for a minute.”
He snickers, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we head back out to the patio.