Chapter 2 Amadeo
TWO
amadeo
Have I lost my mind?
Inviting a stranger, albeit a smoking hot one, to stay the night with me is some seriously ho-ish behavior, but if Brogan has taught me anything in our shared time on the planet, it’s that it won’t kill me to be spontaneous. Probably.
Balt doesn’t seem sketchy, but I bet everyone says that about serial killers.
He looks like those rich people who try to look casual in their thousand-dollar jogging suits and expensive watches.
His thick hair is styled perfectly, his nails manicured.
His brown eyes are sultry, with a hint of danger in them, but overall, his face is fucking art.
He’s probably not a murderer. Even if he is, he did make a good point.
Too many people saw us together, so I’ll live until morning.
I dig my toothbrush out of my overnight bag and get to work as I gaze at my reflection.
Tomorrow, assuming we get a flight out, is going to be hard.
I’ve never been the best at swallowing my pride, but I’ve run out of better options.
I know my family will be happy to see me, but admitting all the ways I’ve failed since I left in a blaze of glory eight years ago is going to be a challenge.
My mom will brush it off while my dad stoically nods with “I told you so” written all over his face.
My nonna will pinch my cheeks and offer to make me food.
My brothers, Nantes and Guiliano, the doctor and lawyer respectively, will tease me relentlessly once out of earshot of our folks, and my cousin Brogan will be the one person who tries to make me feel better about it all.
Brogan’s been with me through it all, supporting me verbally from a distance and in person a couple of times a year.
I’ve been with them through their transition and breaking the news to the family that the cute little girl with big eyes and bouncy curls was a boy all along.
After rinsing my mouth out, I drag my damp hands through my hair, then exit the bathroom. Balt is standing by the windows, gazing out into the snowy darkness. I join him, smiling as he glances at me.
“There’s something peaceful about snow falling at night,” he says.
“I agree.” I rest my hands on the cool marble windowsill. “Where my folks live, it’s really beautiful when it snows. The house is set back from the road and there’s some wildlife around.”
“It’s in the country?”
“No, actually, just a good bit of land, but it’s only five minutes to the center of town. It’s nothing like the city, of course, but you can’t grow grapevines on asphalt.”
Balt turns to face me. “Grapevines?”
I nod. “The family business. We own Robin’s Grove Winery.”
He nods. “Oh right, you mentioned that earlier. That’s interesting work.”
“Guess so. The business is struggling right now. I figured I could help with my business experience.”
Balt crosses his arms over his chest, leaning against the windowsill. “What kind of struggle?”
I shrug. “I don’t know exactly. The wine is decent, so I don’t think it’s the product. My grandfather started it hoping we would all go into it, you know?”
Balt nods.
“But none of us did after the first generation, our folks. We all wanted to go our own way. It makes me kind of sad we disappointed him.”
“But you’ll be back now. That’ll make him happy, right?”
“He’s dead.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“Why now?”
Do I tell the hot guy all my troubles? It would be nice to talk to someone who probably won’t judge me and who I’ll never see again after tomorrow.
“My life has gone to shit.”
Balt raises an eyebrow. “How?”
“I was dating this guy I worked with for the past six years. We started out as peers but then he was promoted and eventually ended up being my boss.”
“Damn. How’d that go?”
“Poorly. It was fine at first. We managed to keep work and life separate, but then I got passed up for a promotion I worked my ass off for because he didn’t want it to look like favoritism.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, ouch. It was humiliating and there were whispers around the office. Everyone was looking at me like they felt sorry for me. I tolerated it for three more months, but it caused a rift I couldn’t get past. I ended things, thinking he’d be professional, but he wasn’t.
He was a total hard-ass and singled me out in meetings. Never liked my work.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“That was the tip of the bullshit. A coworker told me that the guy who was promoted over me was my ex’s new boyfriend. So it wasn’t about favoritism at all, was it?”
“That must’ve been awful for you.”
I nod, blinking to stop my eyes welling up. “I thought he loved me, but I don’t think it was that deep for him.”
“And for you?”
Shrugging, I play with the gold bracelet on my wrist. “Don’t know anymore. It was pretty easy to get over him, so maybe I didn’t love him either.”
“You left because of him?”
“Yeah. I turned in my resignation before I had another job locked down, but I figured I’d find something soon enough.
” I turn my gaze to the snow falling outside.
“The more I looked, the less excited I was and the more homesick I felt. I’ve known the business was struggling for a while and my dad and uncle are getting ready to retire.
They’ve even thought about selling it, which breaks my nonna’s heart.
” I blow out a breath. “So despite being absolutely mortified, I’m going back. ”
“Mortified, why?”
I walk over to the only armchair in the room and plop down. “When I left home it caused a lot of drama. No one expected me to do it because I didn’t follow a specific path. My older brothers are both in specialized professions.”
“Like?”
“One’s a doctor and the other is a lawyer. I got a business degree.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I wanted a bigger life. I wanted excitement and to meet a variety of people. I couldn’t imagine taking over a small family vineyard and making wine for the rest of my life.
I feel so stupid now because I accomplished nothing.
Not really. I’m returning the same way I left.
No house, no job, no relationship. So yeah, they’ll be excited to see me, but they’ll be thinking about what a loser I am. ”
“Far be it from me to say, but I doubt your family would think that if they love you.”
“Yeah, maybe not. What about your family? Are you close?”
Balt’s expression shifts rapidly as he tears his gaze away from me and looks back out the window.
“Uh, sorry if that’s a sore topic.”
“It is.” He glances at me with the briefest of smiles. “I’d rather not talk about them.”
“Sure, yeah. No problem.”
I remove my socks, bundling them together while I try to think of a way to transition the conversation.
“You know what would be cool?”
Balt turns to me. “What?”
“If I could rent a boyfriend. I mean, I guess I could with an escort service, but that feels smarmy and expensive.”
I expect Balt to laugh along with me, but he looks super serious. “What would that solve for you?”
“It would give me a distraction. One positive thing I could show for all the years I’ve been away. I can’t rent a successful career or a massive bank account, but I could at least have someone on my arm.”
“For how long?”
“What?”
“How long would you want your rental boyfriend?”
“Um, I don’t know. I’m making shit up as I go. Why?”
“I could use a place to stay for a few weeks.”
I tilt my head as his response slowly sinks in. “I could rent you?”
He smiles. “Not rent. I’d do it free of charge. Maybe I could even help you with your business. I’m an accountant by trade.”
“You’re an accountant? That could be helpful. But why? You don’t even know me. Maybe I’m the serial killer.”
He chuckles. “I’m not worried about that.” Balt crosses the small space and sits on the edge of the bed. “You’d be helping me too. I took a sabbatical from my job and needed a break from the city.”
I consider his offer, imagining my family’s face when I show up with a man like Balt on my arm. Plus he’s got skills that could be useful to us. I’m sure we could pay him some kind of consulting fee. Can we create enough chemistry to fool everyone? A bad boyfriend would be worse than no boyfriend.
“Do you have a certain idea of what you’d like your boyfriend to be like?” he asks.
“Oh, uh, well, I haven’t thought about it.”
“Give it some thought. I’m up for it if you are.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Cool. I will.”
“Great.”
“I should probably warn you though, my family has no chill. They’ll give us little privacy and ask you every question under the sun. But they mean well.”
His brow crinkles but he nods. “Noted.” He digs his toes into the carpet. “Should we get ready for bed?”
“We should, yeah.”
I watch as he tugs the hoodie he’s wearing over his head. Shoot. I sleep naked, and even if I wanted pajamas of some kind, I don’t have anything packed in my carry-on bag.
“Uh, I’m gonna have to sleep in my underwear. My stuff is in my luggage.”
Balt nods, glancing at the floor briefly, then back at me. “Same. Guess we’ll get to know each other tonight.”
Biting my bottom lip, I nod as I work on removing my jeans. Since he’s gonna be my fake boyfriend, maybe blowing him before bed wouldn’t be so weird. It’s been ages, and frankly, I’d love to move on from my ex physically.
I should pull my hungry gaze away from the handsome man as he peels his clothes off, taking time to fold and stack them on top of the small dresser, but I can’t. He’s spectacular.
I remove the rest of my clothes and hurry to climb under the bedding while Balt seems to take his time, strutting towards me like a model on a runway. His briefs are tight, and if I’m not mistaken, that’s a pretty decent bulge between his legs.
He pulls the bedding back on his side and gets in, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. In a second, he’ll probably suggest we turn off the lights and get some sleep. It’s now or never.
“Balt?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you be interested in a blow job?”
He makes a choking noise and turns his head to face me. “What?”
“I’m in the mood.”
His mouth opens and closes twice before he huffs a small laugh. “Are you sure?”
I nod, reaching out to touch his chest and the soft sprinkling of dark hair across it. “Oh, I’m sure. You don’t have to do anything back if you don’t want to. It’s good stress relief for me.”
His eyes heat as he studies my face. “I’m game.”