Chapter 20 #2
“Armani would probably agree with that,” he tells her, nodding. “He likes fancy shoes too. I prefer something I can run in.”
“For going to dinner?” she asks doubtfully. “Why would you need to run at dinner?”
Matteo offers a light shrug. “You can never be too prepared. Your papa doesn’t like me very much, what if he decides to chase me off?”
“He can’t chase you off.” Nadya rolls her little eyes, crossing her small arms. “You’re cousin Anya’s friend. Mama won’t let him be that rude.”
Seeing her sassy side come out is startling but endearing all the same. She was always such a sweet young girl, albeit a bit spoiled when I would see her years ago. I don’t remember ever noticing this level of determination and confidence from her, though.
“I hope that’s true,” Matteo muses, giving me a conspiratorial smile. “We might need back up, though. What do you think? Do you want to be on my side with Anya in case your papa decides to try and scare me away? I bet you have even more sway with him than your mama.”
Tapping her foot, her hip pops to one side as she hums and considers his proposal. “How much money do you have?”
“Nadya,” Irina and I gasp in unison.
“I’m so sorry,” my aunt adds on, looking toward Matteo with an embarrassed flush.
“Lev has been teaching her about negotiations and she’s somehow turned everything into a sort of blackmail situation.
Which is why she was almost kicked out of ballet camp.
” She gives her daughter a stern look, as if to remind her that what she’s doing isn’t okay.
“I’m very proud of her,” Uncle Lev grunts.
“Hush,” his wife scolds.
“I have no idea what twelve-year-olds think is a lot of money,” Matteo jokes. “Will fifty bucks work?”
“Don’t encourage her—” Aunt Irina starts.
“Two hundred.”
“Nadya!”
Matteo tilts his head down at her. “One fifty.”
“Two fifty.”
“Jesus, you’re a little viper in a tutu, aren’t you?”
“Three hundred.”
I can’t believe I’m watching my little cousin—who used to play Barbies and sing songs about cupcakes—extort my friend she’s only just met.
“You drive a hard bargain,” Matteo says, poorly hiding a smile as he reaches in his front pocket to pull out his wallet. “I respect that.” He hands her three crisp bills and adds, “But I would have done it for a thousand.”
She snatches the cash and smiles sweetly. “I would have done it for fifty.”
He huffs, giving me a lift of his eyebrows. “Well, at least I have another ally now.”
“I can’t believe you just paid her,” I tell him, in disbelief of what I just witnessed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“It was fun.” He shrugs.
“Dinner will be out soon, let’s sit,” Dad says, nodding to the table. He has a tumbler of clear alcohol in one hand, but I don’t think it’s his first.
I’m surprised that no one tries to put themselves between us, but Matteo and I are able to sit side by side, while Irina, Lev, and Nadya sit across from us.
My father and Uncle Mikhail each take an end of the table seat just as Grigory wordlessly brings in the charcuterie board and sets it in the middle of the table.
“So, Matteo,” Aunt Irina prompts, watching with a smile as Nadya grabs a few bits of cheese and crackers to put on her plate. “What do you do?”
Matteo blinks at the question. “Like for fun or for the family?”
“Either,” she quips happily. “I’ll take any information I can get. I’m afraid I’m not very in the loop with the family Dmitri has tied us to, and Anya isn’t keen to share when I press her for details.”
I groan quietly, picking up the water glass allocated to my seat and taking a long sip.
Matteo doesn’t seem bothered by the question, though.
“Well, I can tell you whatever you want to know. If you’re inquiring about my place in the family business, you might be disappointed to know I don’t do much.
I’m the ninth son, so I don’t have a necessary role.
Apollo is the heir, Leon is our Underboss, Cassio is our consigliere, Nico is our enforcer, the list goes on. ”
My aunt nods along, gesturing for him to continue as she takes a slow sip of her white wine.
“There’s not much else to say.” He shrugs.
“I didn’t inherit a position because of the order of birth, and I don’t have a super niche skill.
Like my brother Remo, he’s crazy skilled with computers and hacking and stuff.
Armani is a weapons specialist. He even taught at Empire for a bit.
Elio and Apollo are great fighters, like better than anyone else I know. ”
“Better than you, Papa?” Nadya asks, looking up at her dad.
“No,” Lev answers, but Matteo barks out a laugh at the same time.
“I’d pay to see that fight.”
My uncle glowers at him in response, and Matteo holds up his hands in defense.
“Anyway,” he says, trying to skirt away from the topic.
“I’m well rounded, I won’t pretend I’m not.
I can do just about anything I’m supposed to know how to do.
I had a ton of different people to learn from, after all.
But there isn’t really a place I’m needed.
Aside from being with Jade. I’ve taken my Uncle Matteo duties very seriously.
They need all the love and protection they can get, so, that’s what I do, really. ”
“Isobella and Cesar love him very much,” I add, directing the words to my family. “I’m glad that though they can’t be here, they have Matteo looking out for them.”
“What is your sister like?” Nadya chimes in, tilting her head in question.
“Jade?” he confirms, waiting for my cousin to nod. When she does, he grins widely. “Jade is the best. She’s funny, and beautiful, and smart. She loves kids a lot. I say all the time that she’ll probably make many babies with your cousin Dmitri. She’s a good mother—a great one, actually.”
Nadya nods primly and looks at Irina. “Like you, Mama.”
My heart feels like it turns into goo at the look of appreciation in my aunt’s eyes, hearing her daughter’s innocent and unprompted compliment.
“Exactly like your mom,” Matteo agrees without hesitation. “Although, Jade has long brown hair. Have you seen pictures of her?”
Nadya dips her head rapidly, smiling with excitement. “From the wedding. She looked like a real-life princess! I wanted to go, but Papa said he didn’t know if it was safe yet.”
The table takes in a collective breath. Nadya didn’t mean any offense, but a more insecure man may have taken some.
“That was very smart of your dad,” Matteo tells her seriously.
“My family will never be anything other than completely safe for you, but he had never really met us before. It’s always good to be cautious with your loved ones.
My father probably would have done the same thing if he had a young girl to protect. ”
Like a seasoned host, Grigory and his assistant bring in our plates, setting them in front of everyone as steam slowly dances off of them.
“Roast chicken with mashed potatoes Friday,” Matteo says happily. “You picked a good day to invite me over. Though beef stew tomorrow night sounds good too.”
“You have her diet memorized?” Dad asks, shock evident in his tone as his fork freezes halfway to his face. No one waits for prompting to eat dinner in this house. Nadya has already had two bites of potatoes and gravy since her plate was set first.
“Well, yeah.” Matteo shrugs, poking his fork into his chicken. “We talk every day, and I usually ask what she’s eating. It didn’t take long for me to memorize it, but I have it written down too.”
My hand trembles as I lift my silverware up. “You do?”
“It took me a while to get the menu for every single day, so I had to write it down in the meantime,” he explains, looking around the table and finding several surprised faces.
“I made myself a little graphic, that way I could just look at it and know what you were eating. So I could stop asking what you were having and just ask how it was instead.”
“You made…” Aunt Irina asks, trailing off.
Matteo holds up a finger, asking for a moment and pulls out his phone.
Opening it up, he maneuvers his fingers over the screen until he’s found what he wants.
He passes the device to me, and I blink down, finding a picture of a custom-made digital menu.
Anya’s Food Schedule is written across the top in big bold letters.
Anya’s Food Schedule
Daily Breakfast = Protein Shake or Toast
Daily Dessert = Fat-Free Frozen Yogurt with Cone
Monday
Lunch: Grilled Cheese & Soup (Tomato or Chicken Ramen Only)
Dinner: Baked Chicken w/ Vegetables & Chickpea Pasta
Snack: Fruit or Smoothie
Tuesday
Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad
Dinner: Steak w/ Garlic Vegetables
Snack: Greek Yogurt & Banana
Wednesday
Lunch: Two Avocado Toast w/ Egg
Dinner: Fish Tacos w/ Rice & Beans on Side
Snack: Apples & Almond Butter
Thursday
Lunch: Sausage & Veggie Stuffed Peppers
Dinner: Black Bean Burger & Pasta Salad
Snack: Hummus w/ Crackers & Cucumber
Friday
Lunch: Steak Sandwich w/ Side Salad
Dinner: Roast Chicken w/ Potatoes & Gravy
Snack: Vegetables & Dip of Choice
Saturday
Lunch: Tuna or Egg-Salad Sandwich
Dinner: Beef & Vegetable Stew
Snack: Cheese & Crackers
Sunday
Breakfast: Protein Pancakes w/ Strawberries & Banana + Two Bacon Slices
Lunch: Chicken Parm w/ Grilled Zucchini
Dinner: Lobster or Crab Mac & Cheese
Snack: Frozen Green Grapes
Dessert: Chocolate Muffin
When I move to hand it back to him, my aunt gets a good look at it and raises her eyebrows. “Well, I think you might be my favorite dinner guest, Matteo Moretti.”
Mine too.