Chapter Three

Knox

Just look at this place, I thought to myself as we walked up to the doors of the Morelli house. Scratch that—mansion. I mean, Rina told me they had a few kids, but I was sure they could’ve been comfortable in a place half the size of this one.

A whistle sounded from my lips in appreciation as I took it all in, like a man would a woman with a nice body. I couldn’t believe anyone called this a house.

Meanwhile, Rina’s attention was on her phone.

Looking over at her to only see the top of her head, I squeezed Rina’s hand to get her attention. Not that her blonde hair wasn’t beautiful, but I did like her for more than her mane. “Rin, are you okay?” I asked, hoping she’d look up from her phone.

She did and put her phone in her purse, letting go of my hand in the process. “Yes, I’m sorry. I was just studying my notes one last time.”

To clue you in, she was talking about the notes she had from her research on the Morellis, especially the matriarch. “Regina Morelli,” I acknowledged, “has two passions in her life: Bellissima and her family, not exactly in that order. She married the love of her life and boasts about what an honor it is to be a Morelli. New York is one of her favorite places in the states, but Rome is her favorite international city. She lives for fashion weeks and enjoys spa days with her friends and daughters.”

By the time I was done, Rina’s mouth was so agape that a cluster of grapes could fit in there at once. “Did I mention how much I love you?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Not lately.” Then I tapped her nose. “But that’s okay because I already know.”

“Thank you, Knox,” she said, appreciation in her voice.

She didn’t need to thank me, I was her boyfriend. “Hey,” I responded, gripping her chin and focusing on her eyes that seemed to be shining from within. I wished I could say it was for me, but I had a feeling that look had everything to do with the possibility of her dreams coming true. “This means a lot to you, so it means a lot to me, too.”

She waved her hands in between us. “You’re going to make me get all teary-eyed.” She sniffled and put on her game face (think: what a football player looks like before they run out on the field). “Let’s do this!”

I pressed the doorbell just as she finally looked up and around, taking it all in.

“Just look at this house,” she gushed.

What did I say? “You’re telling me.”

The door opened then, and on the other side was none other than Regina Morelli, who apparently opened her own door. Not to sound like a douchebag, but given the obvious wealth of this family, I would’ve bet my last dollar that Regina didn’t lift a finger in her house. Clearly I would’ve lost. Thankfully I wasn’t a betting man. There was no question this was her, though—I could tell from the photos Rina had shown me.

Regina smiled at us. “Hi, you must be Rina,” she said, acknowledging Rina first, then turning to me. “And you must be her boyfriend. I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Knox Rhodes.”

“Nice to meet you both,” she replied, then stepped aside. “Please, come in.”

Don’t mind if I do.

My gaze roamed the space as we entered. I wondered if they ever thought about opening it up to the public like some other celebrities did and making a pretty penny off entry tickets.

I heard Rina tell Regina, “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Morelli, and your house is absolutely beautiful. They don’t make houses like this in Minnesota.”

They probably do make houses like this, but people like Rina and I weren’t meant to live in them. To be honest, I was surprised I was seeing the inside of one now. I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to them. “At least not where we’re from.”

“Please call me Regina,” she acknowledged Rina’s words and shook her head, her teased dark brown hair moving lightly around her shoulders.

It was funny how your net worth could make your life drastically different from someone else’s. She couldn’t be much younger than my own mom, and yet Regina looked like a doll that went back in a box on a shelf at the end of every day. Whereas, my mom stood on her feet for hours after a hard day at work and worked her hands to the bone cooking and cleaning. She had the wrinkled hands and spider veins to prove it.

“As for this house, it was my vision, but it came to life because of my husband, so I can’t take all the credit,” Regina continued.

“Are you talking about me?” a gravelly voice spoke, coming from another room before closing the gap between him and Regina.

Together they looked like the picture-perfect couple. Like one of those celebrity couples that people rooted for and kept posters of, even made their screensaver. Not that I was surprised. Have you ever heard the saying hot people attract hot people ? Well, it was true. Especially in the case of wealthy people. Really, tell me one story of a wealthy man ending up with a poor woman. Excluding those where he dominated her because of his wealth and status and she let him because she was a gold digger.

Regina’s husband kissed her cheek and placed a hand on her back before acknowledging us. “You must be the kids from Minnesota. Bianca was telling me about you.” Bianca—that’s the girl Rina told me about, the one that helped her get here. I wondered if she knew she robbed the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when she got these two as parents.

“Yes, Mr. Morelli,” Rina spoke softly, “I’m Rina and this is my boyfriend, Knox.”

He shook her hand first, and then extended a hand to me. His grip was firm and steady, which told me he was no-nonsense. His gaze was cold and threatening as it held mine, like if I made one wrong move, he’d have no qualms about making me pay handsomely. “Call me Angelo. It’s nice to meet you both,” he said, dropping my hand and stepping back to stand beside Regina again.

Did she know her husband doubled as her bodyguard? Not that I didn’t think that was exactly what every man should be for their woman, but Angelo brought it to a whole new level.

I wasn’t sure what it was about this man, but he made my insides want to shrivel up. Maybe it was his intense brown eyes that were pinning me to where I stood or the way he was quite larger than I had expected. And I didn’t mean fat, more that he was built of power.

Regina looked between us and, instinctively, I knew she was familiar with Angelo’s glowering ways. “Shall we sit down for cocktails?”

“Sounds lovely,” Rina answered, clearly trying to make me forget the fact that Angelo was making me wish I was a snail so I could curl up in my shell. “Thank you.”

Walking over to the cocktail cart, Angelo asked us our preferences and began preparing drinks while Regina got right down to it. “Tell me, what made you come out to New York?”

This was Rina’s big moment—meeting?—so I’d let her answer. Plus, something told me they didn’t want to hear my answer that’d go something like this: The house I lived in was practically unlivable, my dad was more concerned with missing a sports game than his own son, and my mom was so busy kissing my dad’s butt (not literally) that I was surprised her lips weren’t swollen at the end of the day. So New York, North Carolina, Alaska, I didn’t really care where I landed, as long as I got out of Minnesota.

“That’s a long story,” Rina began, but I already knew the story she was going to tell, so I let my gaze wander, taking in the inside of the house and the little things they left around that made it a home. Nothing quite like either one of our homes, that was for sure.

I didn’t see any roof leaks and I hadn’t been in the kitchen, but something told me all their appliances not only worked, but they were top-of-the-line.

* * *

Rina swallowed her last bite of lasagna before delicately wiping her mouth with a napkin, then continued, explaining the real reason we were here—what she wanted. “That’s why I was hoping you could help me. Bianca told me you have connections, and I’m not looking for any favors,” she paused and waved her hand in front of her. “Just an introduction, something to get my foot in the door. But if that’s asking too much, I understand.”

It was in that moment I realized how incredibly proud I was of my girl. She was doing it, making her dreams come true, or at least trying. It took a lot of courage for her to do this, and so far, it was working out. Now I held my breath, just like I knew Rina was doing beside me, as we waited for Regina to respond.

Regina took a sip of her red wine before placing the glass back down on the table, her gold bracelets making distinct clattering sounds against one another with the motion. “I happen to know a few well-known designers who I’m sure would be more than happy to chat. I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.”

I placed a hand on Rina’s thigh under the table and gave it a squeeze. What Regina said sounds promising, right? A connection was a connection was a connection and the more you had in higher places, the better off you were. I’d say Rina was pretty lucky to have Regina on her side.

Rina visibly relaxed and smiled the smile she gave when she could envision herself getting one step closer to her dream (don’t forget, I’d known her a long time, so I knew what all her expressions said). “Thank you, thank you so much, Regina. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“From what I saw, you’re quite talented, so—”

Rina’s jaw went slack before she cut in, asking, “I’m sorry, but you looked at my portfolio?” She placed her hands in her lap, but not before swatting my hand away.

I took the hint and removed my hand, leaning back to listen as well. Clearly now was not the time for physical touch. I supposed I shouldn’t have been too shocked. You know those women who preferred not to have sex until the house was cleaned at the end of the day? Rina was like that, but with her aspirations. Lately, until she felt like she’d accomplished something that moved the needle in her favor, intimacy wasn’t high on her list of priorities.

“I know I emailed it to you, but I guess I didn’t think you would have time to look.” She sighed. “Do you know how many people ask for it, but then I never hear back?”

“I’m not like most people, dear. You’ll find I do business differently, and, in my humble opinion, more effectively.”

Why am I here again? I was like the weird sibling who sat quietly at the table only to eat and run, not interacting with anyone, because as much as I didn’t want to, they also didn’t want me to—I felt out of place and it was starting to get on my last nerve.

I looked down in my lap for a split second, praying time would actually start to move forward and the Morellis would kick us out of their house due to the late hour or something. Making us leave for any reason at all would do.

I was about to crack my knuckles for the hundredth time when a distinct new voice rang in my ears. “Are you regaling them with stories about how you’ve gotten to where you are today?”

There was amusement in the girl’s voice. It was bright and enticing with a confident edge to it and I felt like a siren was calling to me because there was nothing—and I mean nothing—that could have stopped me from looking up at the girl with that voice.

Now I knew how that prince felt when the mermaid sang to him and it played in his ears long after (what, she was Rina’s favorite princess). Something told me anything that came out of this woman’s mouth would captivate me. It couldn’t be helped, it was just her voice.

The question was, who was this woman?

Her brown hair was as dark as dark chocolate, but with a hint of red in there, like if the light hit it at just the right angle it would shine through.

She wasn’t wearing any makeup, but it didn’t look like she needed to. She had this clean look about her that made me want to touch her face, to feel her smooth, olive-complexion skin.

Could this be Bianca?

“My daughter,” Regina noted for my benefit, then looked at Rina expectantly.

“Bianca! It’s so good to see you,” Rina exclaimed, standing and walking over to give her a hug. So I was right. “Thank you so much for introducing me to your parents. Your mother is everything you said and more.”

I watched, still not having been properly introduced, as Rina and Bianca acted as if they’d known each other for years. Hello, what was I chopped liver over here? I would’ve liked to be introduced to the siren herself.

“Join us for dessert, my love?” Regina asked while Angelo moved to set a place for Bianca without her answering.

How hard was it? Bianca, you know Rina and everyone else at this damn table, but here is someone you don’t know—Knox. Knox meet Bianca.

Bianca placed a hand on Angelo’s arm. “It’s okay, I’d love to, but I can’t.” Then she sat down anyway. “But I will sit down for a drink.”

Angelo poured her a glass of wine while she tucked her loose brown hair behind her ear. “I’m knee-deep in boring demographics and circulation numbers, but this isn’t about me and I think we’re being rude.” Finally someone with some manners. She stood up again and started walking around the ornate dining room table.

Rina looked over at me for the first time since we sat down for dinner and her eyes got wide like saucers, realization slamming her. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She gestured to me. Geez, I’m touched. “Bianca, this is my boyfriend I was talking to you about, Knox. Knox, this is Bianca.”

Do I stand up?

Do I stay seated and just shake her hand?

Do I bow? In a house this big with Long Island royalty I felt like bowing made sense.

Damn, why did I care so much what these people thought? Oh, right, for Rina. That was why I was sitting here in a shirt and tie, acting like I dined like royalty every night.

I decided standing was best, and I extended a hand, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Bianca.”

Smiling back, she shook my hand. And that was when something about her caught my attention. Not just any something, either—her bare feet with wiggling pink-painted toes.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Knox.” She released my hand, and looked over at Rina and gave her a wink. “He’s such a gentleman.”

I dropped my hand and pulled on the back of my neck, taking my seat again. She should have only known my silent plea just moments earlier for this evening to be cut short. That wasn’t so gentlemanly. “Just so you know, I don’t think what you’re doing with circulation numbers sounds boring. It sounds interesting, actually.”

Rina rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind him.”

“No, I’m serious,” I said, staring only at Bianca now.

Mr. Morelli cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Bianca, shouldn’t you be going? All that work isn’t going to complete itself.”

“Actually, Daddy,” Bianca said, “I think I’ll stay for dessert.” She bounced around the table and took the seat she’d claimed before.

If I was moderately bored before, I was all out enthralled now. Bianca was so exciting, it was like watching a show with neon-colored lights. And it wasn’t just one thing, it was everything about her. The way she moved, the way she spoke.

Not that I’d forgotten about my girlfriend, because I hadn’t. I just. . . didn’t think I’d ever met anyone like Bianca Morelli before.

And falling into a conversation with her was so easy, so natural. We chatted while her mother continued speaking to Rina about fashion design and her father took it all in before finally excusing himself to make a call.

After dessert, when Angelo rejoined us, I thought we’d be on our way, but Bianca stopped us. “What about you, Knox? What do you do?”

We had talked about my business degree, but I never offered up much in the way of the job I had to make ends meet. If there was a pun in there, just ignore it. I definitely wasn’t trying to be punny at a time like this. Wait, was punny a word?

If I told them where I worked, would they judge me? Us? Would they look down their rich noses at us? They didn’t seem like the type, but then again, I had never met people this well-off before.

Plus, how did I say it anyway? It wasn’t like I went around telling people about the noble work I did at a butcher shop.

Hi, I’m Knox, and I work at a butcher shop. Nine times out of ten, you’ll smell me coming before you see me because I reek of meat and, yes, if I could run away from my own stench some days, I would.

While I was deliberating my options, Rina answered for me. “He’s working at a butcher shop. It’s a horrible job, but he’s supportive of me, and it’s only temporary.” She got that last part out so quickly you would’ve thought there was an emergency and she was saying the house was on fire.

Gasping, Bianca covered her mouth. All right, I work at a butcher shop. I know it isn’t great, but I don’t clean toilets all day. Now that would be cause for a gasp. “That won’t do. I’m sure we can find something for you, too,” Bianca said suddenly. “What do you say, Daddy? He has a degree in business, maybe he can help in ad sales. You know how swamped we are, and I’m still learning, so we could train together.”

I wanted to stop her—I didn’t want to hear her father’s rejection of the idea. “It’s okay,” I started.

Then Rina jumped in again, saying, “That’d be great!”

Am I invisible tonight? Does anyone care what I have to say?

I looked at Mr. and Mrs. Morelli, taking their expressions in.

Regina nodded her head in agreement.

Angelo narrowed his eyes.

“It would be perfect. Can we add another employee, Angelo?” she asked, looking at her husband with an endearing smile.

Angelo’s eyes were boring into hers.

Regina ignored it and batted her lashes.

Angelo ignored that and frowned.

Regina traded in the butter-him-up look for arched brows and pursed lips. Now she meant no-nonsense.

Angelo gave it one last attempt, cocking a brow as he studied her. She wasn’t budging. Grimacing, the lines around Angelo’s face hardened. “Sure,” he ground out. “It’s important we help the next generation.”

I had a feeling he didn’t really mean that. At least, not where I was concerned. Something told me sticking toothpicks in his eyes sounded less agonizing to him than offering me a job.

I didn’t ask for this job, didn’t want a favor from the Morellis or anyone else for that matter. Although, I didn’t mind getting out of the butcher shop, because I didn’t want to work there for the rest of my life. And it wasn’t like I didn’t have a business degree that I’d be able to put to good use at their magazine. Since I was an educated man, I also knew when to concede defeat, and there was no fighting this one even if I wanted to. “Thank you,” I said.

So was I a horrible person if I was actually glad about this turn of events?

This was why we moved out here, after all—to better ourselves. Not for me to package meat all day.

Pulling me aside to go over a few job-related details, Angelo stopped just inside his office and shut the door behind us. He pointed a finger in the direction of a leather chair opposite of his desk. “The women in our lives are well-intentioned, if not a little overbearing, aren’t they?” he asked casually, leaning against his mahogany desk.

I nodded my agreement. “It appears we do have that in common, yes.” I hoped it was okay to admit that. Then I swallowed hard, that feeling of my insides shriveling up coming back with a vengeance.

“You got quite lucky, you know. I can’t say no to my daughter or wife, and they have such good hearts, so I’ll take you on, but don’t you disappoint me, Rhodes. Capisce ?”

Suddenly I felt like I was in an episode of that Italian mafia show, but I nodded again so he’d know I understood him. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

“Remember this, this opportunity,” he went on, “is only a steppingstone for you. I don’t want to see you around Bellissima long-term. Use it for what it is and get a job on your own merit when the time is right and you have enough experience.”

“Understood.” It’s official. I’m dead inside, shriveled up like a prune.

Nodding, he clapped his hands together and pointed to the door. “Good, then I’ll see you bright and early Monday morning.”