Someone Else

Chapter 6

The Lucianos arrive at exactly 6:45 and dad opens the door for them as I'm expertly chopping the ducks.

"Hi there!" Mrs Luciano said, coming into the kitchen. "What smells so good?"

"We spent all afternoon making Peking duck!" Mom said, giving her a hug.

I place the duck on three huge gilded plates and they bring them out to the dining table.

"You handle that big knife pretty well." Matteo's brother said, watching me take the meat off the bone.

"I'm naturally gifted at these kinds of things." I replied, giving him a smile. "I'm Amelia, but you can call me anything you want."

"How about Tesorina?"

I nod and clean up the carcasses and huge wood chopping board. The apron is a mess so I take it off and toss it in the bin.

Matteo comes in and I greet him with a hug. "Your brother was just keeping me company." I joked.

"Tesorina was just showing me her excellent carving skills." Giovanni said. Matt furrows his eyebrows at the nickname.

"Come on, everything is set up." I said, putting my hair in a bun as we walk out to the dining room where the grownups are talking and drinking wine.

I sit next to Giovanni and my mom, opposite to Matteo.

"We've never had Chinese food before." Mr Luciano said, looking at the plates with wonder.

"Well, we made Peking duck, char siu, fried rice, mapo tofu, baozi, beef congee and Chinese chicken salad with a Vietnamese twist." I said. "First up everyone should eat the congee, then fried rice and baozi, then everything else is eaten with white rice."

We eat and the adults talk about business and that kind of s**t. I watch the boys devour bowl after bowl of rice with duck and char siu.

I eat slowly and get the flavors transport me to food heaven. I've nailed the taste and consistency of traditional Chinese cuisine, finally.

"This is the best thing I've ever eaten, tesorina." Giovanni said, finally moving on to baozi. The filling is actually pork and quail eggs.

"I made the dough from scratch." I said proudly. "My specialty is baking but I can make dumpling wrappers, bao dough, pasta, and Vietnamese buns."

"I think I'm in love."

Matteo clears his throat and I smile. "My pasta recipe is from an old Italian grandma I met in a farmer's market but I add a secret ingredient, saffron infused olive oil."

Giovanni grins. I know he's not interested in cooking but he's figuring me out, assessing me the same way I've assessed his whole family. But I'm not that easy.

My phone rings and I excuse myself and go upstairs. Liam is calling?

"Hey, baby. Did you eat yet?" He asked.

"We're having dinner right now actually, with some new neighbors."

"So what are you impressing them with?" He asked knowingly. He knows how much I love showboating.

I smile. "Chinese food. I thought about making Portuguese food at first but I was craving duck today."

"Did you see the thing I sent?"

I look at the chat and see a figurine he painted. "Oh, yeah, it's really pretty. But you're always using safe colors like blue and gold and black. Try changing it up."

"Alright, I'll think about doing that. And baby?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to be back next week."

I smile. "Yay! We can go to a shooting range and then a party?" I asked, hopeful that he'd just try it once.

He makes a nervous sound and I know there's no way he'll go with me. "Or you can help me build a rocket?" I said, trying not to be too upset with it. "I have to get down and entertain the guests. I'll talk to you tonight?"

"Yeah, sure." He said.

I hang up and sit on the floor against my bed.

"You need more." Someone said from the door.

I look up and see Matt standing by the door watching me. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I replied, rubbing my tired eyes. I've gone numb and I hate feeling numb.

"You know. I'd be disappointed if you didn't." He said, smirking.

His face makes me want to bury my fist in his nose. He might be right, but Liam was with me through the most difficult time of my life and he loves me so much. The least I can do is stay with him as long as he still wants me.

I lean my head back and close my eyes, blocking everything out.

He sits next to me and I glance at him. Big bad mobster giving me some comfort? What has the world come to? "Want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't."

He exhales loudly and nudges my shoulder with his. "And here I thought we'd become best friends."

I laugh. Steph is away in Australia for the summer, she asked me to come with her but I wanted to stay at home and get some clarity. "Let's go downstairs before they think we're f*****g up here." I said, getting up. I pull him up after me.

Everyone else has started eating cut up fruit and no bake cheesecake and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Good.

I don't talk to anyone and sit daydreaming. I wonder what will happen Junior year. Any excitement? Any school trips or anything? What classes should I take? Calculus 2 maybe?

My thoughts come to a screeching halt when I notice Matt staring at me. What's up with him and the staring? It's creepy as f**k.

I'm glad most of the food is gone, that means they enjoyed it. My appetite is gone so I play with my new bullet.

"That looks familiar." Giovanni says.

"It's yours, technically. But it's actually mine." I replied.

He laughs. "So you were the one snooping through my things."

Not like you were hiding anything of interest to me. "I snoop through everyone's things, so don't flatter yourself."

Matteo smiles and nudges my foot with his under the table. I cross my legs around his calf for him to stop. Wow, this dude has muscular calves even.

"Do you guys want to do something tomorrow? Like go to a pool or something?" I asked. It's been lonely without Steph and Julian and Liam.

"We have a pool, just come over whenever." Mrs Luciano said. She was listening in?

"Don't say that, I'll be over 24/7." I warned.

She laughs. "Whenever, it's completely fine dear."

Ooooh, I can't wait to be in the water! Hot summer plus cool pool, the ultimate relaxation. Plus, I'll finally get a tan, hopefully without burning.

I'll head over tomorrow, early in the morning then. And I'll bring some croissants for breakfast! That means I'll have to start on them tonight...

"I'll take you up on that then." I said after calculating just how much dough I'll need to make. Croissants are so extremely difficult to make, if I f**k up one batch I'll be wasting a lot of flour.

I let go of Matteo's leg and he nudges me again, so I trap his leg again.

They leave around 8:30 after they have finished the entire cheesecake.

Mom washes the dishes and I start making croissant dough.

"They're really nice." Mom said suddenly.

"Uh, yeah."

"It seems you and their youngest get along quite well."

Oh, so that's what this is all about. "Matteo is nice to me." I said plainly. She's insinuating something is going on between us and there's not.

"You don't normally react well to strangers, what made you take an interest to this stranger?" She asked curiously.

Why? I don't really know. Maybe because Matt was so arrogant and sure of himself, until I saw something else. He's dangerous but he has a soft spot for me, which is nice. But I can't tell her that she just hosted a dinner with one of the most prominent Italian Mafia families.

"He's an interesting person." I answered vaguely.

She gets the message that I don't want to talk about it and changes the subject. "So Liam. Are you going to marry him?"

What the f**k? Does this woman have no chill? "I don't know." I said.

Two, three years ago I was so sure that I was going to marry Liam when we finally met. Now he's here and we're together and I'm suddenly not sure anymore.

Do I love him? Yes, I love him a lot. Does he love me? More than anything else in the world! Does he want to marry me? Absolutely.

I can see myself with Liam. A grand wedding, honeymoon in Greece, three kids, a warm house. Isn't that everything I want?

"It's been almost a year, are you two promised yet?" She asked.

We've been promised, ever since I was 15. "No, not really. We're trying to take things slow, wait until after I've graduated college and that kind of thing."

"That far ahead, huh?"

"I have my whole life to get married, there's no point in rushing but it's a waste not to plan ahead a little." I explained.

She smiles and doesn't say anything else. When the dishes are done she kisses my cheek before going upstairs.

I kneed and fold over the dough many many times until my arms are sore and let it rest over night.

What should I wear? All the swim suits up there are pretty much just floss and eye patches. Oh, there's the white one piece I bought a few months ago! How could I forget that?

If I want to tan then maybe that isn't the best idea. Am I really about to show up at this dude's house in a skimpy bathing suit?