Nonna had me help her with the rest of dinner in the kitchen. She was pleased with my work and sent me back out to the wolves. They had pulled all the tables needed together to form a large table and moved chairs so that everyone had one. Instead of joining the large table, I went to one of the booths and sat down. 

Alessio left his husband, Lev and Caio, and came and sat across from me. 

“Are you ok, Matteo?”

“Yeah. I’m great.” I muttered. 

“I wish you would talk to me about your feelings, Matteo. I want to help you.”

“You would only want to medicate me, and I’m not interested.”

“Not everything can be solved with medication. Sometimes talking is enough, and if you need to speak with someone, Dr Martin is a great choice, but that’s up to you.”

“How do you do it all? Keep a straight face even though she hurt you just as bad as she did?”

“I wonder that myself, and then I remember how many good people I have around me, and I forget all about her.” He said. 

“I regret leaving Gabe and you, but honestly, I had to do what was best for me, and at the time, that was being away from all this here.” 

“I just wish you would have told me, Matteo.”

“I know.”

I watched mom get up and make drinks, and I watched her make a very heavy alcoholic drink and then cover it with pop. She set it down in front of Caio. Without thinking twice about it, I stood up and walked to the table, taking the cup from Caio before he could take a drink, leaning down by his ear. 

“Excuse me, I want this.”

I tossed back his drink and flinched at how much alcohol was actually in the drink. Caio noticed right away, and when I set the drink down, he brought it to his nose and sniffed it. I watched his nose wrinkle, and he looked at my mother. 

“Siena, I hope this was not intentional.” He said, his tone colder than he normally was with her. And that got Andrei’s attention. My stomach was burning from the alcohol and she glared at me. I smiled at her, killing her with kindness. 

“Matteo, are you alright?” Caio said. 

Alessio went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water for me, before he whispered something to Caio. Caio stood up and pulled me along with him to the bathroom. 

“Why are we here?” I groaned. 

“Alessio wants you to make yourself sick. He doesn’t want you having that much alcohol in your stomach.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Alessio ordered me to make sure you did as he asked.”

I sighed as he held out the bottle of water to me. I chugged the water bottle down and it was enough to bring back up all the alcohol. The alcohol mix was worse coming up than it was going down. 

“How did you know she put alcohol in my drink?”

“I watched.” I groaned, sitting on the toilet now, my throat burning. 

“You shouldn’t have drank it.”

“Would have been a waste, and I didn’t even want you near it.”

He looked at me and spoke. “I appreciate that, but don’t do it again, Matteo. I would have noticed after the first sip.”

“It would have been one sip too many, then.” I coughed. 

“I’m supposed to be looking out for you, not the other way around.”

“It can be mutual.”

Caio sighed and grabbed me some paper towel and I wiped my mouth. He filled the bottle with the sink and gave it back, and I sipped it down slowly and carefully, not to make myself vomit again. It helped with the burning in my throat. 

“She will probably play it off as an accident. But she knew what drink she gave you, Caio.”

Caio grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him. He tsked, before he let my chin go and I was confused. 

“Can we go back now?”

“In a few minutes.”

“Caio, I’m fine.”

“You’re fine to leave when I say you are, Matteo.”

“Just let me out.”

I stood up and got in his space, since he was in front of the door. He didn’t back down, and it surprised me. 

“Caio, let me out, or I’m going to do something—---”

Caio lent down and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Thank you.”

“Move, I need a drink.” I hissed, happy to pretend that he hadn’t just done that to me. I didn’t even want to try to think about it. Not right here, right now. My cheeks were flushed. I felt it. He stepped out of the way of the door, and I turned back before opening the door. 

“Caio, don’t kiss me again, unless you’re sure you want to devote yourself to me, any less unacceptable.”

Dropping into the seat beside Alessio, I reached out and scooped his glass of wine and tossed it back, before jumping one seat away from him. 

“I just had you get rid of the alcohol you drank.” He said flatly. 

“I needed this. Way more than you.”

Nonna came out with the food and set it on the table. I saved a seat for Caio, wanting him to be right beside me and away from my mother. He took the seat when he came back and my mother took the seat right beside him, and I heard her apologizing. 

Nonna came in with the last of the food and spoke. 

“Caio, darling, switch me seats. I wish to be in the middle of all the family.”

Caio didn’t say a word, he just stood up and switched to her seat. Her seat had been on my left and his on my right. Caio was between Alessio and I now, and didn’t look very thrilled about it, but Nonna was smiling largely, and she gave my leg a gentle squeeze and a knowing smile. 

Our mother was clearly annoyed, but she wore a fake smile the entire dinner. After dinner, I spotted Alessio and Lev, both speaking with our mother. She was the first to leave, leaving Gabe with Alessio and Lev. Nikki and Alexi’s mom was the first to speak. 

“She is…. something.” She said, sipping her wine. 

“Bitch. The word you’re looking for is bitch.” Nonna said, looking to make sure all the little ones were too busy to hear her. “Only good thing that came from that woman is my grandchildren.”

“Agreed.” Andrei said, looking at me, before his eyes flicked over to Caio and he sighed. 

“I’m sorry she feels the need to act out every time we invite her to something,” Alessio said, pulling his hand through his hair. Lev was quick to tell him it wasn’t his fault, and he did not control her actions. 

At some point, I spaced it right out of the conversation, replaying the forehead kiss in my head. I jumped when someone touched my hand that was on the table. 

“Huh?” I said, realising it was Caio. 

“Your Nonna was trying to find out when we wanted to have lunch with her, at her home.”

I turned and looked at her. She smiled softly at me. 

“Sorry, I was just thinking about something pleasant.”

“No worries, sweet boy. Keep your Sunday open for me though and bring Caio, of course.”

Alessio spoke, “She’s only inviting Caio because she thinks he’s handsome. She wants to give her neighbours a reason to talk.”

“Fine by me,” Caio said, laughing. 

I turned and watched him laugh. Andrei suddenly gave me a kick under the table and I knew why. He was keeping me from getting caught openly and longingly looking at Caio. Nikki, his mother, and his daughter left. Alexi and Creed weren’t long to follow either. 

Nonna stood up and took Caio with her to help her with some of the dishes. Once they were out of sight, Andrei spoke. 

“As someone who cares about you, I don’t care if you find happiness with Caio, like your brother has with Lev, but be smart about it, Matteo. I consider you my damn child too, to understand that I will never think that he is good enough for you.” Andrei said, before finishing off his drink. 

“What he said, You are not our child biologically, but we love you Matteo and we care about you. Same goes for Gabe.” Lukas said, looking at me. 

Alessio looked at me and spoke low. “This really goes without saying, but if you two start doing it, don’t let him put a hickey on you anywhere that he can see it. He loses his ever loving mind about it.” 

Lukas snickered, and Andrei sighed. 

“It was one time. And I didn’t even know you two were like that, and it goes back to I don’t think anyone is good enough for my children. Creed, Lev and Caio. Unworthy. But with Alexi, I’ll give Creed the credit for making that kid more friendly and open.”

Nonna returned with a couple of take out containers, and she gave one to Lev and Andrei. The one she gave Caio was larger than the rest and she spoke. 

“It’s a dessert sample tray. These guys have had all of them. Caio and you have not, hence why your box is much larger.” Nonna said, looking far too happy with herself. Lukas tried to peek in the box, but Andrei said something in his ear that made him flush and he was quick to start getting his things together. 

Alessio and Lev started to get ready too, making sure they had all of Gabe’s stuff. Caio passed me the box, and Nonna gave me a hug before we left. She said something to Caio, too. But in Italian, and far too low for me to catch her words.