“You just told them we kiss sometimes!”

He leaned against the kitchen island and folded his arms across his chest. “We do.”

“First of all, it’s inappropriate. Izzy is not even sixteen yet. And it’s none of my family’s business. And secondly, it was only twice, and the first time I was drunk, so that doesn’t count.”

“It was five times, and I’m counting the time you were drunk. By the way, that time, you kissed me.”

“Five? It wasn’t five times. And I seriously doubt I initiated the kiss. You’re just making that up because you know I don’t remember it well.”

“Five times.” He held up a finger. “One—the night of the wedding.” A second finger came up. “After the wedding—the next morning against the hotel door.” A third finger came up. “At my house—started at the window, ended on the bed.” The fourth finger rose. “In the elevator, when I said goodnight to you like the gentleman I’m not.”

Okay, so maybe I had forgotten about the house. Damn. That was a good kiss. “Fine,” I snapped. “But that’s four and not five.”

The devilish look on Hunter’s face made my knees weak. He closed the gap between us faster than I could come to my senses.

“Kiss me,” he said gruffly.

He didn’t wait for a response before crushing his lips to mine. God, can this man kiss. It was slow, confident, and had the perfect amount of aggressiveness that made me want to claw at his skin.

When the kiss broke, Hunter leaned his forehead against mine. “That’s five, sweet pea.”

He must have sucked the brain out of my head along with my tongue, because I smiled back at him like an idiot instead of telling him to shove it up his ass. His damn, sexy ass, I might add.

“I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Me either. But get used to it. I took an assignment out here for a while.”

“How long are you in town?”

He looked into my eyes. “Two months. And don’t bother to try to hide anymore. Your mother gave me your number a week ago.”

***

Seven at one blow.

I remember reading the Brothers’ Grimm Fairy Tale where the giant is impressed because he thinks the tailor slayed seven men with one blow. The tailor had nothing on Hunter Delucia, who’d charmed seven Rossi women and one disgruntled teenager over one dinner. Okay, so maybe it was eight Rossis, including me, but who’s counting anyway?

After dinner, both of my sisters and my mother peered out the front windows to watch Hunter play basketball with Izzy in the driveway. I sat in a chair across the room, attempting to pretend I had no interest in looking.

“Jesus Christ, every time he does a jump shot, his shirt rides up. I hope he kicks Izzy’s ass,” Alegra said.

“I haven’t seen a V like that in…well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like that in person.” Nicola swooned.

Mom was Team Hunter all the way. “He’s a handsome man. But I invited him to dinner without even seeing him. So that should tell you something. He’s just as attractive inside as out.”

I rubbed my temples. “How long did you talk to him?”

“Long enough to know he’s had one serious girlfriend, his mother died when he was seventeen, he had one brother who died a few years ago, and his hobbies are scuba diving, surfing, and rock climbing.”

My jaw hung open. “He had a brother who died? Rock climbing?”

“Yes, his name was Jayce. He’s also Catholic. He hasn’t been to confession in quite a few years. You should work on rectifying that. It’s good for the soul to ask the Lord for forgiveness.”

Why in the world did this man show up at my mother’s door? Any other man would have run as fast and far as he could without looking back. Instead, not only did he survive the interrogation by my mother—a woman who because of her own experiences is leery of all men—but I got the feeling my mother might have had a bit of a crush on the man herself.

I stood and walked to the window where she was still gawking. Standing behind her, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “He sounds great, Mom.”

“He does.”

“You have my blessing.”

“Good. Wait. What?”

“You have my blessing to go out with him. I know he’s a few years younger than you, but I think you two will make a great couple.”

My sisters smirked at me behind my mother’s back.

Mom actually blushed. “I’m not interested in him for me. I meant for you!”

“Uh-huh.” I hid my smile and made a face that said sure you are.

“Natalia Valentina Rossi. You need to get back out into the dating world, and this man has flown all the way across the country to get to know you better.”

“He has a job out here, Mom. He travels for work, and his job happens to be in New York this time.”

“It didn’t happen to be in New York. He requested the project so he could be closer to you.”

I was taken aback. “He told you that?”

Izzy blasted through the front door. “He’s better than my coach!”

Is that…a smile I see on her face? The man wasn’t just a charmer, he was a fucking magician.

“But he’s not as good as me, is he?”

Hunter walked in behind her and closed the front door. He was sweaty, so deliciously sweaty. “You play?”

Izzy scoffed. “When she shoots a free throw, one of her legs goes up like she’s Marilyn Monroe. And a few weeks ago, she scored a goal.”

Hunter’s brows drew down. “She plays soccer, too?”

“No, that’s what she said when she miraculously hit a basket. She started jumping up and down yelling that she’d scored a goal.”

“I was excited.”

Izzy shook her head, but the smile never left her face. “I invited Hunter to come see my game on Tuesday. He’s gonna watch and tell me what I’m doing wrong, like Dad used to do.”

I looked at Hunter. “Oh, is he?”

“Is that okay with you?” he asked, looking sincere.

Izzy was so excited, I couldn’t possibly say no. At least that’s the reason I gave myself when I didn’t object.

“Sure. That’s nice of you. I have plans after the game, but I can make them a little later to stay for the recap.”

The Hunter swoon-fest continued during dessert. After we’d finished, when I caught the time on my phone, I was surprised to find it was almost ten o’clock. Normally we were out of here by eight since Izzy had school in the morning and the train ride was over an hour.

“It’s getting really late. We better head out, Izzy.”

She frowned. But then a thought gave her momentary hope. “What train do you take, Hunter?”

“I drove here. But I’m staying in Manhattan. I can drop you ladies on the way to my sublet.”

I said, “No, thank you” at the same moment Izzy said, “That’d be great.”

Both looked at me with pouts. I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Traffic should be moving by now anyway.”

The car ride was surprisingly quiet. Izzy put her headphones on in the backseat and fell asleep ten minutes into the ride, probably wiped out from playing basketball with Hunter for so long. Hunter looked lost in thought, and I struggled with my own thoughts as I looked out the window. Namely, while the idea of getting involved with this man was very tempting, I was in no way ready for a relationship. I also needed to keep my focus on the important things—my career and stepdaughter.

As we crossed the bridge back into Manhattan, Hunter broke the comfortable silence. “Your family is great.”

Knowing his mother and brother were deceased, I felt his words in my chest, and it made me appreciate what normally annoys the crap out of me. “Yeah, they are. But don’t tell them I said that.”

Hunter smiled and spoke quietly. “I hope you don’t mind my coming to the game Tuesday night. I played ball in college. She’s really good, and I didn’t know how to say no.”

“No, not at all. It’s really sweet of you.”

After a few more minutes, he said, “Those plans you mentioned having after the game, would those be the same plans Izzy mentioned at dinner that involve a guy named Marcus?”

I nodded. “One and the same.”

“First date?”

“Second.”

Again he went quiet. Eventually, he said, “Poor bastard.”

My brows drew down. “What? Who?”

“Marcus. Probably had a nice first date. Won’t understand why you’re so distant on the second one and never accept a third. Will think he did something wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

Hunter shrugged. “You’ll be busy thinking of me on your date Tuesday night. Poor bastard won’t even know what hit him.”

“You’re so full of yourself.”

Even though Izzy was sleeping with headphones on, he leaned in close to whisper, “Maybe. But soon you’ll be full of me, too.”

Chapter 12

Natalia

I spent a ridiculous amount of time getting ready so I looked good for my date after the game tonight. It had nothing to do with the man who was going to be at the game. I repeat, nothing to do with Hunter Delucia.