Page 55 of Come Find Me Tonight

I put Robby’s baby picture back on the mantel. “Ugh, so much.”

“What do you want to do today?” Robby asks, changing the subject.

I smile at him and give him a light nudge. “You pick? This is your turf.”

“Well, I think we both could use a shower.” He lightly brushes his lips against my neck. “Want to go out for dinner tonight? Take my mom’s new Escalade?”

I can only giggle at him. “See? You’re trying to convert me into your weird Cadillac cult!”

“You caught me.” He wraps his arms around my shoulders, pressing his chin on the top of my head.

After lunch, Robby’s mom calls him from Italy, and I take the opportunity to walk around by myself. Robby gave me a rundown of poison oak first, and I was slightly embarrassed that I didn’t know what it looked like being from Georgia. For early afternoon, the weather seems a little cooler here than it is in LA, and somehow, the air seems purer, too. But it’s probably the elevation and less pollution. Reaching the top of a small hill, I look out at the acres of grapevines. There’s a light breeze, breaking the intense afternoon sun.

I can’t believe his family owns all this…and it’s not a terrible place to raise a family.

A family with Robby? Moving six hours away with a guy I’ve only been dating for a few weeks? That’s fast. But he’s not like any of the guys I’ve talked to before. Is it possible to just know when something’s right or meant to be? I’ve always heard to listen to your gut, and if life with Robby is sweet like this morning’s challah French toast, then it’ll be a damn good one.

The afternoon sun starts to feel intense, so I descend back down the mound for shade. But my stupid Converse aren’t exactly walking or hiking shoes, and my footing slips under the slick grass. I slide down the mound toward the dirt path just as a red truck is driving by. It comes to a screeching halt, and Enzo rushes out of the cab.

“Jesus, you okay?” A quiet but intensely deep voice asks, kneeling down. His head blocks the sun from my eyes.

“Yeah, that was embarrassing,” I say, brushing grass off my shins. “Um, I’m Appa.” I hold my hand out to be polite.

“Enzo.” He shakes my hand with his calloused one. He’s in a white tank top and what are clearly work jeans, and tattoos decorate every visible piece of flesh, including his hands and fingers. They go up to the contour of his jawline and don’t hide the hard edges of his muscles. Like Robby, he has dark eyes and hair, but his hair is long and wild like Tarzan’s and tied up with scruff across his cheeks and chin.

Not my type, but holy fucking airball.

It’s hard to believe he’s related to Robby otherwise. Robby looks like he should be wine tasting and Enzo building barrels by hand. Looking into Enzo’s eyes, it becomes so blatantly obvious just how tethered my heart is to Robby. I wish it were Robby crouching down in front of me now, but meeting another Valenti is cool with the entire clan overseas.

“Where’s RJ?”

“Robby?” I ask.

“Right, he changed it when he got all sophisticated,” Enzo teases. “Always will be RJ to Nonna.” He stands to his full height and holds his hand out for me. I gently press mine into his, and he helps me up. I inspect my elbows and the back of my shins for grass stains. “You might be a little sore tomorrow.”

I nearly said, ‘from the fall or your cousin’, but that didn’t feel appropriate.

“No kidding. By the way, I like how sophisticated he is,” I state with sass very apparent in my tone.

His lips curve upwards slightly. “I heard you were short and feisty. That’s a good trait if you’re going to be a Valenti someday.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “Being short or feisty?” I raise my eyebrow at him. He probably thinks I have the maturity of a sixteen-year-old.

He looks me over, and I ignore the urge to apologize for making him look so far down. “Feisty.”

“And who says I’d take his last name?”

“Fuck, you can take the girl out of LA,” he chuckles.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Actually, I’m from Georgia.”

Oh, my God, I sound like a five-year-old arguing with this massive human.

“Hmm.”

He annoys me, but I feel like I should impress him because, for all I know, this is the first impression I’m making on Robby’s family. And I kind of like him. He’s rugged but strangely calming, like a human Xanax. Easy even. Robby said he was quiet, but his sense of humor is a pleasant surprise.

Enzo’s truck rumbles, and he looks over at it. “Is Robby at his folks’? I can give you a ride.”