After sorting out the details and giving Alex my bank details for her first month’s rent and a security deposit, I gave her a spare key to the house so she could start moving her stuff in whenever she wanted. It seems that will be today, since her first shift at Firehouse 101 is tomorrow
. She tried to hide it, but I could tell she was relieved that she could move in straight away. So on the roommate front at least, it’s so far, so good. Given our less-than-ideal introduction, I’m more than happy about that.
It’s not that I wasn’t open to having a female roommate, but I definitely wasn’t expecting a helmet-wearing, leather-clad Alex to rock up to my door this morning. Things would’ve gone a hell of a lot easier if I had—something I’m planning on bringing up with my brothers when I see them. It’s just unfortunate I couldn’t stick around to help her out, but before she left, I made it clear that it’s now her home too and she is welcome to make herself comfortable.
I park outside my parents’ house and see I’m the last to arrive, so I let myself in, calling out, “Hey” as I do so.
“We’re out the back,” my father replies, his voice leading me in the direction of the kitchen and dining room. With the temp reaching 75 outside, we’ll be eating in the backyard, Mama having recently cajoled my dad into finally renovating the area before summer hit.
I walk down the hall and stop in the doorway, my gaze sweeping the room and spotting Marco and Luca sitting at the dining table, Renee sitting on Marco’s lap. I don’t have to even ask how last night went given the look of absolute happiness—and exhaustion—written over their faces. A quick glance at Renee’s ring finger confirms that fact, along with the glass of champagne in her hand.
“Congratulations, you two,” I say, crossing the room and pulling her up, then giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, she’s mine. Find your own,” Marco says, snatching his fiancée back and earning himself a giggle when he nuzzles her neck.
“Ugh, you two are far too happy,” Valentina groans as she comes in from outside where the rest of the family are. “Hey, little bro,” she says as we hug.
“Hey, Val. How’re things?”
“Good. Busy, but good.” Val is an aesthetician with her own spa. It’s something she enjoys, but being the boss, it also means that—like me—she works far too much and doesn’t have much downtime.
“How come you didn’t give me a hug when I got here?” Luca says, feigning offense. Val giggles and shakes her head, wrapping her arm around my shoulders and cuddling into my side.
“Because Gio’s my favorite brother . . .” That earns arched brows from all three of us guys, which seem to make her laugh louder. “Today anyway.” She turns to our mother, who walks inside and heads to the stove. “Need help, Mama?”
“I’m okay, Val. I could do with a wine top-up though,” Mama replies with a grin.
“I’ve got you, Ma.” I walk around the kitchen island and move to the fridge, pulling out a half-full bottle of Chardonnay and a beer for myself. I pour Mama a glass. After giving her a hug and a kiss, I screw the top off my bottle and lean back against the counter.
“Thank you, baby,” she says.
“You’re welcome, Mama,” I say as Luca and Marco mimic me. I take a long swig before glancing over at my brothers. “You two are dead to me.” Marco and Luca totally set me up to look like a damn idiot, so it serves them right that they’re about to get in trouble with Mama.
Mama’s gasp has my smirk widening. Fair’s fair. Her eyes narrow on the two of them.
“What did you do, Luca?” Mama’s stern voice asks.
Luca feigns offense. “Mama. Why do you automatically assume it’s me? Maybe we actually helped him.”
She narrows her eyes, and I grin because that look has had our father quaking in his boots, and he’s the most strong-willed man I know. There’s no way Luca can hold out under the intensity of Mama’s gaze.
“In my defense, we had Gio’s best interests at heart . . .” There’s no one else in this world who could have Luca Rossi nervous other than Mama. Then again, it’s the same for all three of us brothers.
Mama’s hands move to her hips and she quirks a brow, an invisible red warning sign flashing above her head. “Again, Luca, what. Did. You. Do to my boy?”
I can’t stop the snorted laugh that escapes me.
He doesn’t answer, and Marco doesn’t say a thing either, choosing to stay quiet with his arms wrapped around Renee’s waist. To her credit, Renee looks clueless, which means she wasn’t in on my brothers’ ruse.
I continue my quest to decimate my brothers with death via Mama. “Ma, I have a new roommate. Her name is Alex—Alexandra.”
Mama’s face brightens immediately, and I inwardly groan at my mistake because one of her goals in life is to marry off all of her children.
“Ma . . .” I warn her but she waves of her hand.
“That’s good news, Gio. Very good news.” Her voice is soft and warm. I’m going to have my work cut out for me when it comes to making sure Alex isn’t railroaded. Then, Mama frowns. “Wait . . . what do Marco and Luca have to do with this?”
“Oh, now I can help with this one,” Cohen announces from the back door, where he’s leaning against the frame, his son and my nephew, Austin, cradled in his arms. “Alex is the station’s new transfer from Iowa, and we all stupidly assumed that Alex was a man . . .”
“Which she’s not,” I add.
Cohen nods, his lips curving up. “Definitely not. Anyway, your sons thought they’d help out and suggest Gio’s place when she told us she was looking for a place to stay. And I’m guessing that Marco and Luca failed to tell G that Alex is, in fact, Alexandra.”
Mama shakes her head and looks at me. “I don’t understand. Why would her being a woman be a problem? You’ve lived with your sisters before. A woman’s touch around the house might be nice.”
“It will be, Ma. But since your sons didn’t tell me I’d be meeting a woman, our first encounter was a little awkward.”
“How awkward?” Cohen asks.
“There was a weird moment. And I may have had my gun on display,” I reply.
Her eyes widen, as Cohen’s low chuckle fills the air. Renee whirls around and stares at Marco, who—to his credit—holds his hands up in the air.
“Don’t look at me like that, Princess,” he says. “We didn’t tell him, but that’s because he assumed Alex being a firefighter meant she’d be a dude.”
Unfortunately, he’s not wrong . . .
Everyone’s eyes turn to Luca, who just shrugs. “What? Why are you all looking at me? I didn’t pull a gun on an innocent woman who’s new to the city and has probably never seen a gun in her life.”
“Nah, she’s from Iowa. No way she hasn’t seen a gun,” Marco adds.
“Not with all those hogs roaming the streets,” Cohen says with a nod.
“Wait . . . they don’t just have pigs walking down the road . . . do they?” Renee asks.
I snort and shake my head. “There’s more to Iowa than pigs.”
“There is?” Luca, Cohen, and Marco ask in unison, all of them with shit-eating grins on their faces.
“They also grow the most corn in the entire country,” Mama replies, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. “What? I watch Jeopardy. It was one of the questions last week.”
I quirk a brow. “There was a topic about Iowa?”
“It was about grain production,” she continues. “Did you know that most of it isn’t even edible; it’s for stock feed. Anyway, enough about that. Tell me about this Alex.”
Now I’m the one with everyone’s attention. Sheesh, what is this? Interrogate Gio hour? “Um . . .”
“Wait . . . so even you don’t know much about her? Jeez, G. What if she’s a serial killer or something?” Val asks.
“She’s not a serial killer. She’s working on my truck, remember?” Marco replies.
Val doesn’t look convinced. “And? All you know is that she’s a girl, she’s a firefighter, and she’s from Iowa.”
“She’s got a twin brother,” I offer up, kicking myself for not asking my new roommate more questions. Then again, I was more focused on making up for my bad first impression than interviewing her.
Renee giggles and shakes her head. “That’s not much to go on, G.”
I shrug. “I got a good feeling from her. Besides, the Captain wouldn’t have approved the transfer if she wasn’t good people, right?” I ask Marco.
“Right. But still . . . what if she’s,” he whispers with a smirk, “a vegan?”
“Oh, she won’t be a vegan. She’s from pork country,” Luca says in a ‘duh’ tone.
Cohen arches a brow at my brother. “There are probably plenty of vegans and vegetarians in Iowa, Luc. The pig-to-person ratio doesn’t dictate whether people actually eat pork or not. Besides, even if she is, doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with her.”
“Who knows? I just know that I could never live without meat. More meat, I say!” Luca sends puppy-dog eyes Ma’s way. “Especially when it’s Mama cooking it.”
“Suck up,” I mutter against my bottle as Marco groans, Renee snickers, and Val rolls her eyes. Cohen just chuckles and shakes his head.
“Boys . . .” One look at Mama’s amused expression and warm gaze tells me she loves us bickering now just as much as she did when we were growing up. All we need now is for Skye to come in from outside where she’s helping Dad with the grill, and it would be like we were kids again.
“Shit,” Val groans. “You’re letting a complete stranger move in with you. This is going to be a disaster. She could be a con artist, or a complete crazy woman, or worse . . .” My sister drops her voice to a whisper. “She could be messy . . .”
I suppress a shudder. God, I hope Alex likes living in a clean house like I do. It’s bad enough when Luca comes over; I’m not sure I could handle a roommate who wasn’t tidy too. It’s not like I’m a complete germophobe. I just like to keep my space, my sanctuary, clean and ordered, with everything living in its rightful place. There’s nothing wrong with that. “We only just met a few hours ago and she’s moving in this afternoon. We’ll get to know each other as we go.”
I hope, anyway. My gut instinct when I talked to her didn’t send up any red flags and after a decade as a cop, I trust my gut—kinda have to in this city,
“She’s already met Scotty and hasn’t run a mile. That has to count for something, right?” Cohen says. We all laugh at that.
“Or . . .” Marco meets my gaze and waggles his brows. “It could be the best thing that ever happens to you. Look at me.” He rests his chin on Renee’s shoulder. “I went to a house viewing and found my princess.”
Val and Mama look like they’re about to melt into a puddle on the floor, whereas Luca makes gagging noises and Cohen just laughs.
I groan though because I feel the change in the air, and it’s the kind of change that never means good things for a Rossi man. All the women in the room grin at each other, exchanging knowing looks—ones that tell me I’m in trouble because there are hearts in their eyes, and that means plans I won’t like are being concocted. But I haven’t survived thirty-four years on this earth and in this family without learning one thing—there’s no stopping Rossi women—and a soon-to-be Rossi woman—on a mission. And right now, that mission is me and my new roommate.
I narrow my eyes and point my finger out, moving it between all of them, even Mama. “No. Whatever you’re all thinking, stop it.”
“Gio, my boy. You let us women do what we do. This Alexandra is new to town. She needs friends, people to show her around,” Mama says.
I hold my breath, hoping she isn’t about to say what I think she’s going to.
“She needs a family while she’s here. That can be us. Our family can be her family,” Mama finishes.
“Damn, G. I actually feel sorry for you,” Cohen says with a wary laugh—one that stops the minute Mama’s narrowed eyes slice his way.
“Cohen Cook, you may not be my blood, but you’re one of my sons all the same.”
“Yes, Mama,” Co says, sounding contrite. I snicker to myself, loving how quickly he falls under Mama’s thumb just like the rest of us.
“And you, Gio Rossi. You will invite Alexandra to our next lunch. You’ll also get to know your roommate and make sure she feels welcome. Capiche?” There’s only one woman that can make me feel like I’m ten years old again, and she’s looking right at me.
“Yes, Mama.”
Then it’s like a switch is flicked and my mother is all smiles and sunshine again. “Right. Now, let’s eat.”