Mafia Kings: Valentino (Dark Mafia Romance #6)

Chapter 1

1

Caterina

A s far back as I can remember, I loved to cook.

My grandmother used to teach me when I was little. I would crack eggs for her, then spend several minutes fishing out the broken shells that always fell in. Nonna would smile and not say anything, but she would always double-check before she combined the eggs with the other ingredients.

I would knead dough with her on the kitchen table, my tiny hands chubby and pink next to her wrinkled ones.

When I was older, she let me cut up the tomatoes, garlic, and onions that formed the base of many of her sauces. The recipes were a family secret passed down from her grandmother.

She taught me how to brown the meat just so… how to tell exactly when to remove the pasta from the boiling water … and how to combine ingredients so that all the flavors blend harmoniously, with no one taste overpowering the others.

I loved my grandmother, and I know she adored me.

Because of her, I have always seen cooking as an act of love.

So I guess it was fitting I met the man of my dreams in a kitchen.