The Morretti Brothers

Before Eddison could put her keys in the door of the townhouse, it swung open to reveal a cheerful-looking Mrs. Moretti.

“Ciao, Eddison!”

“Mrs. Moretti, I’m so sorry I’m late!”

“Nonsense, you are here, and that is what matters. Come in, child.”

Luca spotted Eddie as he came from the kitchen. “Where have you been?”

“It took me longer than I thought to find which bakery you were talking about. Did you know there are five bakeries in the Common?” Eddie snapped, wondering why he couldn’t have gone to get the dessert himself.

Mrs. Moretti spotted the cheesecake in Eddie’s hands and immediately turned to her son. She slapped him over the back of the head.

“Luciano Moretti! I told you to collect it.”

“Mi dispiace, Mama,” Luca said, dropping his eyes to his shoes. He knew apologizing in Italian would get his mother off his back. Eddie smirked at him as he made eye contact with her.

“Take the dessert into the kitchen, Luca!” Mrs. Moretti ordered as Mr. Moretti entered the room.

“Buona sera, bella ragazza!” he said, pulling Eddie into his arms. While her Italian wasn’t fabulous, she had been around the Morettis enough to pick up a fair bit.

“Buona sera, Mr. Moretti,” she said, smiling at her surrogate parents. “Do you both mind if I just have a quick shower? I have been at college all day.”

“Of course, child.” Mrs. Moretti smiled. “The lasagna needs another thirty minutes in the oven, and we are still waiting for Marcello.”

Eddie’s ears pricked at the name of Luca’s older brother. “Marc is coming?”

“Si. Now you go. We will be here.”

Eddie headed off to her room, but before she could shut her bedroom door, Luca slipped in behind her.

“Thanks for snitching on me.”

“Your own fault.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Too horny to pick up a cheesecake…”

“So, what really took you so long?” he asked curiously.

“Class. You know, where I learn stuff? And since you are the one with the car, I had to get a lift,” Eddie said sarcastically.

Luca was hit by a sudden wave of guilt for not thinking about how she would get to the Common.

“Who gave you the lift?”

“Just a friend… Luca, your brother is coming, your parents are waiting for me, and I smell like shit. Can you let me shower?”

“You could never smell like shit.” Luca stepped closer to her, taking in the fact that she actually smelled like apples. It was the first thing he had noticed about her when she moved in. Well, that and her gorgeous body.

Eddie, who seemed oblivious to the closeness of their bodies, rolled her eyes.

“Do you need help?” Luca asked, taking another step toward her.

“Ew! No, perv! Get out. Stop avoiding your parents.”

Eddie stepped into her bathroom, closing the door in his face. Before Luca left her room, he heard the phone buzz. Walking over to the bed, he picked it up to see a string of messages from Parker Collins. The frat guy.

Luca felt his anger rise through him. Desperate to keep Eddie away from this guy, he did the only thing he could think of and replied on her behalf.

Luca heard the shower stop. Knowing Eddie was a stickler for the two-minute water-saving shower, he threw her phone back on the bed and headed back out to his parents. He sat down next to his dad on the couch.

“Eddie is a good girl.” Luca’s dad said, staring at his son.

“I know, Dad. Are you guys still in town tomorrow? Maybe we could go out to dinner.”

“Eddie too?”

“Yeah, why don’t you ask her when she comes back out?” Luca said, smiling. His dad nodded.

A knock at the door signaled the arrival of his older brother. Luca hurried to answer it. He swung the door open to reveal Marcello Moretti, or Marc, as everyone called him.

“I was hoping to be greeted by the lady of the house,” Marc said with a smirk as he stepped inside.

“Marc!” Eddie’s voice rang out as she ran from her bedroom to leap into Marc’s arms. Her hair was still wet from the shower, and she wore short denim shorts with a small black singlet.

Marc wrapped his arms around her, smirking at his younger brother. He was the only one who knew of Luca’s feelings.

“Eddie, my girl. How are you, gorgeous?”

“Better now you’re here! I’ve missed you.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek as he set her back down on her feet.

“Is that my handsome Marcello?” Mrs. Moretti called from the kitchen.

“Ciao, mama!” Marc called as he entered the kitchen to find his mom.

“Why don’t you hug me like that?” Luca asked as he watched his brother leave the room.

“Are you jealous?” Eddie said with a smirk. “Come here!” She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed as hard as she could. “Is that better?”

“Can’t…breathe…losing…air…dying.”

Eddie released him and punched his arm. “I can’t win with you.” She rolled her eyes.

“Finally!” Luca said, throwing his arms in the air. “It has taken me two years to get that through your thick skull.”

The five sat down at the dining room table to a spread of homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. After saying grace, everyone dug in.

“We are going out to dinner tomorrow night,” Mr. Moretti announced.

Luca smiled, happy that his dad had accepted his suggestion.

“Oh, Mr. Moretti, I have plans.”

“Nonsense, Eddie,” Marc said. “Don’t you want to hang out with me? I miss you, cara.”

Eddie missed Marc too. He had lived with Luca and Eddie while he finished college. He moved out a year ago, and Eddie missed her surrogate big brother.

After an internal battle, she finally decided that dinner would be fine. Hopefully, Parker would forgive her. Eddie looked over at Luca, who nodded his head with a small smile. Eddie nodded at Mr. Moretti.

“Okay, I’ll come.”

“Magnifico!”