1. Mila #2
“Yeah, I’m his favorite, but when he figures out what I did, he’s going to have a heart attack,” I muttered as I stared at myself in the mirror. “He’s going to wish he was back in Napoli.”
“He never lived in Napoli,” Lara said matter-of-factly, and I groaned loudly.
“You know what I mean. They are going to be upset.”
“What exactly did you do?” Lara asked impatiently. I could imagine her rolling her blue eyes as she waited to hear about the latest situation I’d gotten myself into.
“I went and bought some sexy underwear, and now I’m kinda broke,” I murmured, dreading telling my story.
“Sexy underwear?” Lara’s voice was dry. “Not for this weekend with your parents at the lake house?”
“You know who will be there. I need to make my move before it’s too late.”
“Mila.” Lara laughed. “I don’t know if this is a good weekend for you to try your Basic Instinct moves.”
“I wish I had Basic Instinct moves.” I groaned and wondered if I had time to watch the movie before I got my stuff ready for the trip.
“Anyway, why would your nonno know and care about what you bought today?”
“Because I put in a request to get an advance on my next paycheck as soon as I left the mall.” I sighed.
“And of course, Parker emailed me back asking why and asked if I needed some financial and accounting classes.” I screech loudly out of annoyance and frustration at my brother.
Couldn’t he keep himself out of my business for just once in life?
“He is the accountant at your parents’ business, Mila.” Lara laughed. “Who did you think would be looking at your request? And why did you ask for an advance?”
“I have rent due, electricity, cable, and car insurance.” I sighed. “It all adds up, you know, and I don’t have a huge salary.”
“You’re training to be in acquisitions, right? Didn’t you get a raise?” Lara asked. “Have they let you make any purchases yet?”
“Yes, I’m in acquisitions now. Dad had me in reception forever, but now he has rotated me into acquisitions, and that still hasn’t resulted in a pay raise.
I’m still on twenty-four thousand a year, as that is what all new graduates start with at the company.
Nonno said that Dad doesn’t want people to think I’m advancing due to nepotism, but I’m like, ‘Come on, Dad, I’m your daughter, and you own the company—what do you think people are going to think? ’”
“Yeah, twenty-four thousand isn’t a lot, but still should be enough, right?”
“I guess.” I sighed. “Nonno thinks Dad wants me to move back home, but I told him I’m an adult and Dad will be waiting a long time for me to come back home. I’d rather move to a cheaper place than move back home, with them in my business.”
“Or you can move in with me,” Lara suggested half-heartedly.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said and laughed.
Lara and I had been best friends since kindergarten, but we were exact opposites.
She was a clean freak, and I was messy. She was good with her money, and I was spend-happy.
We were best friends and loved to hang out, but we didn’t live well together.
We’d learned that the hard way as roommates our sophomore year in college.
“So, what do you think Parker’s going to do?
” Lara asked eagerly. She’d had a crush on my brother for years.
However, Lara wasn’t as bad as I was. She hadn’t dedicated her life to getting Parker.
She was of the mindset that if it worked out, it worked out, and while she waited, she would have fun.
And boy, did she have fun. Some of the guys she dated almost put Ryker to shame.
I wasn’t sure where she found a continual supply of hotties.
“He’s most probably going to question me all weekend.” I sighed and collapsed onto my bed. “‘What are you spending your money on, Mila? This is why Mom and Dad don’t trust you, Mila. Why don’t you let Nonno set you up with a nice Italian boy so you can get married and have kids, Mila?’”
“Nonno still talking about his best friend’s grandson?” Lara asked with a laugh.
“Um, yes.” I groaned. “His name is Milo, and no, I’m not joking. Nonno thinks it’s a sign from God. Milo and Mila. I told him, hell no.”
“And then he told you to watch your language,” Lara said with a laugh.
“You know Nonno. ‘When I was growing up, girls didn’t use bad language,’” I said in a deep voice, imitating my grandfather. “‘They learned how to make pasta from scratch and how to make the best marinara sauce.’”
“Oh, Nonno,” Lara said, giggling. “I miss him,” she said softly, and I felt wistful as I lay back on my bed and spoke to her.
“Me too,” I said with a small sigh. “I don’t get to see him as often as I’d like to. Maybe we can take him to dinner in a couple of weeks. I know he’d love to see you as well.”
“Of course,” Lara said. “That sounds great. Hopefully, your folks won’t have packed you back to the motherland before then.”
“Well, you know, if they find a nice Roma boy…” I said, my voice trailing off as I thought about all the times my parents had threatened to ship me off to Italy to get married.
Which I thought was pretty hilarious, seeing as my father wasn’t even of Italian descent.
His ancestors were from England, and Nonno had taken a while to warm up to him when he was wooing my mom as a teenager.
“Ha ha, imagine you living in Rome?” Lara laughed. “I’ve got to go, though. Are you going to be okay? Or do you need to talk some more about your sexy underwear and how you’re horrible with money?”
“Whatever, Lara.” I sat up. “I’m fine. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, bye.” She laughed. “Try not to buy any whips or anal beads before tomorrow morning.”
“Funny—not!” I said and hung up. I looked at the stack of clothes on my bed, then at my suitcase, and groaned.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to wear, and I wasn’t sure exactly what activities we’d be doing, but I needed to minimize the amount of clothes I was taking. The pile was high, even for me.