Chapter 33
Present
Upper-East Side, New York City
THE COLD BIT AT MY cheeks as Matteo and I climbed the stone steps to Natalia and Trevor’s townhouse, fingers intertwined like it was the most natural thing in the world. Holding hands. In public. With people inside who would definitely notice.
And I wasn’t going to admit it out loud, but yeah – I was nervous. First time showing up as Matteo’s actual girlfriend and not just his fake wife.
Matteo rang the doorbell with the hand that held a bouquet of pink roses and eucalyptus. I had Natalia’s gift in my free hand, a massive Chanel bag with white bows to the handles. It felt dramatic in the best way.
He glanced down at me, thumb brushing my knuckles like he could feel my tension.
“It’s going to be alright, amor. You’ll see.”
Before I could respond, the door swung open.
Natalia stood there glowing – literally glowing – in a pink bow dress, six months pregnant and absolutely thrilled. She let out a squeal.
“Oh my god! You’re here!” She threw her arms around me, careful of the gifts, but very much seeing my hand linked to Matteo’s. Her eyes flicked down, then up to mine with a not-so-subtle we’ll talk later sparkle.
She hugged Matteo too, and he slightly lifted the flowers. “Happy birthday, Natalia.”
I did the same with the Chanel bag. “Happy birthday!”
She gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. “Thank you both so much! Help me get them inside?”
“Of course.”
We stepped into the beautiful foyer – warm lighting, marble floors, faint scent of vanilla and champagne. Natalia shut the door behind us, locking it. Matteo and I took off our shoes, and she handed me a pair of fuzzy pink slippers.
Natalia led us through the hallway toward the kitchen – warm light spilling out, music low and cozy, the smell of garlic and roasted tomatoes wrapping around us like a welcome-home blanket.
Trevor stood at the stove in a white T-shirt, brow furrowed in concentration while Zane hovered beside him, passing ingredients like an assistant Chef.
Kali sat perched on a barstool, long legs crossed, swirling a cocktail and laughing at both of them.
“Look who it is!” Kali grinned, sliding off her seat to hug me first, then Matteo. Trevor gave me a one-armed hug, wooden spoon still in hand, then shook Matteo’s hand. Zane clapped Matteo’s back and hugged me too.
Nobody noticed Matteo and I since we weren’t holding hands anymore – and for a second, I felt odd. Private could stay private… For now.
Before anyone could keep talking, the doorbell chimed again.
Natalia’s eyes lit up. “It must be Maria and Zach!”
Trevor, without looking up from his sauce, called, “Don’t get up, amai. I’ll get it – ”
Natalia was already halfway down the hallway, waving him off.
“You just keep cooking, honey!”
Trevor smiled to himself. “Yes, ma’am.”
I burst into giggles.
Kali lifted her glass with a smirk, “I prefer my brother post-Natalia. He’s so well-trained.”
We all laughed, and a wave of chatter and laughter drifted in from the foyer a moment later.
Then in walked Maria – radiant in a white dress – with Zach by her side, holding a wrapped box under his arm.
My chest squeezed seeing Matteo’s younger brother; knowing everything Matteo told me, I saw him differently now. Softer. Fiercer.
Everyone chimed in greetings, hugs exchanged, warmth and noise filling the grand kitchen.
When the chatter finally died into a comfortable hum, I felt it – six sets of eyes settling on me and Matteo.
We stood pressed close beside the island, Matteo caging me in with his arms, palms resting on the counter on either side of my hips.
His heat at my back. His breath brushing my neck. It was intimate – undeniably so.
I cleared my throat, cheeks already warming.
“Matteo and I…”
Before I could finish, his arm slid around my waist and tugged me flush against him.
“We’re dating,” I breathed out, voice soft.
“Awwww,” Kali melted into her seat dramatically, and everyone started laughing.
Zane settled his hands on her shoulders, grinning. “That’s great news. Really.”
Natalia squealed again, practically glowing. “We’re so happy for you two!”
Trevor leaned against the counter with a smirk. “So we’re all coupled up now?”
More laughter.
Maria’s curious eyes sparkled. “You two! How did this happen? When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Don’t lie,” Matteo murmured behind me.
I twisted just enough to look up at him, smirking. “I’m not lying!”
He reached for the platter of grapes in front of us, popped one in his mouth, and addressed the room. “She’s lying.”
I swatted his shoulder and he only pulled me closer, nose brushing my temple as I pretended to glare.
“I’m not!”
He chewed leisurely, then with infuriating calm said, “Last summer.”
Every jaw dropped, the room erupting into laughter.
I rolled my eyes with a smirk, still locked in his arms. “He’s getting the dates confused! That’s just when he fell for me.”
A ripple of whoops and teasing filled the kitchen, and Matteo’s fingers tightened around my waist, warm and unbothered, a smile flashing across his face. Like he had fallen long before I ever admitted I had too.
He leaned down and caught my bottom lip between his in a quick kiss before we turned back to everyone else.
Maria’s was practically giggling. “So you two were secretly seeing each other in Hawaii?”
Natalia smirked, tilting her head toward Kali and Zane. “We know someone else.”
Kali threw a napkin at her. “Please. We were extremely obvious. You guys were just too busy making out to notice Zane and me.”
Everyone laughed, and I raised my hand slightly. “Not when we got there. But when we left… A little.”
Trevor, still slicing something on the counter, looked up. “That’s why you two flew together, huh?”
The room erupted again – everyone connecting dots like it was a group activity. Matteo slid a hand down my arm, casual, intimate, and I swore I caught Zach smiling into his drink.
The conversation drifted naturally, soft and warm like a candlelit evening. We teased. We joked.
Matteo stole more food before dinner and I slapped his hand away, earning a smug kiss to the side of my head.
Eventually, the spotlight shifted back where it belonged – on the woman of the night.
Maria asked Natalia about her pregnancy and how she was feeling with everything going on.
“Three months left,” She said, resting a hand over her bumpy. “Trevor is already nesting more than I am.”
Trevor scoffed, flipping something in a pan. “I like things prepared. Sue me.”
“You labeled all the towels,” Zane muttered, dead serious.
Kali cackled. “He made a spreadsheet!”
We lost it.
The entire kitchen filled with laughter – real, easy, the kind that warmed bone-deep.
Zach, with tears in his eyes from laughing so much, went over to Trevor and slapped a hand on his shoulder, pulling a laugh out of the soon-to-be-dad too.
I leaned back into Matteo without thinking about it, his arm looping around me as if it belonged there.
Natalia turned to Trevor, looking at him with hearts in her eyes.
He dried his hands on a kitchen towel and smiled back, prouder than I’d ever seen him. “Go ahead. Tell them.”
She turned to us, eyes bright, face lighting up the entire kitchen.
“We’re having a baby girl.”
Maria squealed. Kali screamed. Natalia was immediately swallowed into a group hug while the guys clapped Trevor on the back, congratulating him, before we all switched parents.
Kali started crying, hugging Natalia. “I’m gonna be a baby girl’s aunt!”
I laughed, wiping a tear of excitement from the corner of my own eye. “So Trevor was right?”
Zach shook his head with a grin. “He’s never wrong.”
“It’s exhausting!” Natalia rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Can we see the baby girl’s room?” Maria was already bouncing.
“Of course!”
I gasped, already picturing it. “Oh my god – did you get her all the cute little books and fluffy animals yet?”
“She already collected an entire library and ecosystem for her,” Trevor chuckled.
Natalia passed him, leaned in, and kissed him – gentle, familiar, full of happy promise.
He smiled, hand brushing her stomach like he couldn’t help it.
“Food will be ready in… Half hour. Give or take,” He told her, eyes warm.
“It smells amazing, babe. I can’t wait. Thank you.”
She squeezed his fingers before turning back to us, glowing.
“Are you guys coming?” Kali asked the men.
Zach shook his head. “We’ll get dinner ready. You go. We’ll see it after.”
And just like that – the girls and I were moving, chattering excitedly toward the sleek glass elevator near the hallway.
Upstairs.
Baby room tour.
My heart felt full.
Our little family was growing – literally.
Later that night, after dinner and gifts and laughter softened into warm background noise, I slipped away down the hallway with a plan in mind.
Zach had wandered off earlier to grab another drink but hadn’t returned. I found him in Trevor’s office – sprawling on an armchair, scrolling his phone, pretending he wasn’t half brooding. Typical Zach.
I shut the door behind me.
He looked up. “Frankie?”
I took a breath. “I need to talk to you.”
“Shoot.”
“This is important.”
“Okay.”
I took another deep breath. “Matteo told me.”
“Matteo told you…?”
“Zach. He told me.”
His ran his tongue over his teeth. “He did, huh?”
“He did,” I nodded, stepping closer. “And I need to talk to you.”
He waited – guarded; that expression he and Matteo shared when they didn’t want to feel something.
“I need you to… Try to be nicer to him,” I said. “He’s really trying, Zach. And I don’t think you see how much.”
His jaw clicked, eyes flicking away.
“He was a kid too. And he did what he thought he had to – run the business, avenge your parents. He protected the only legacy you both had left.”
Zach scoffed lightly. “You don’t get it.”
“Zach. I’m asking you as a friend. One you’ve known for over a decade.”
Silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable.