Falling Deep Into You Trilogy Box Set

by Terra Kelly

  The bakery store hours were 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On a good day, the crew could clean up and hopefully head home by 3:30 p.m. Unfortunately, ninety-five percent of the time they had to stay late to finalize baking items for the following day. The Artisan bread was the most difficult to make compared to the cupcakes or apple strudels. Zia had hoped to have more team members in the kitchen, but her finances didn’t allow for that.

  Today was one of those good days where everything was going as planned, so they were all set to head home in about thirty minutes. Letizia grabbed a sanitized towel and finalized cleaning the equipment. Once everyone was done, they met up in her office to go over the following day’s schedule.

  Zia looked down at a few pieces of paper on her desk. “Stacy, you’re set to arrive at 4:00 a.m. to prepare the dough for the strudels?”

  Stacy nodded. “Yup. I need to get the Pain Au Chocolat dough started, too, right?’

  Zia noticed Amy look over at Stacy. “I started that dough already. It’s in the refrigerator and ready to be prepped.”

  Z smiled. “Well, looks like we’re already ahead of the game for tomorrow. Thanks, Amy.” She moved away from her desk. “So, we’re good? I won’t be in till 10:00 a.m., I need to take Cristiano to the doctor tomorrow.” Her half-brother had been sick for a few days now and they didn’t know what was going on with him. “Mom and I realized it was best to just take him in and see what was up.”

  Stacy smiled. “Well, it’s probably for the best. He’s already missed so much school.”

  Z nodded. “Yeah, for sure. Okay, thanks ladies for your amazing work today. See you tomorrow.”

  Zia watched as the ladies left the tiny office, then she reached for her cell phone and headed toward the front door. Her back was facing the road, and she was hunched over ensuring both locks were secure. As she turned to head to her car that was parallel parked about ten feet away, she bumped into someone, startling her. “I’m sorry.” Then she looked up and noticed the newcomer from earlier. “Sorry about that, I have issues staying vertical,” she joked.

  She noticed the man’s mouth open and close. After a beat, he smiled. “Looks like we both have the same issue. My biggest down fall is these huge work boots I’m required to wear. Safety and all.”

  Zia was at a loss for words—up close, the man was stunning. He had strawberry blond hair that lay in curls around his face, and those eyes…it was like they could see into her soul. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. “Did you need something? I’m heading out.”

  He smiled. “I was hoping for one last apple strudel, but I’ll have to stop in bright and early tomorrow morning.”

  Z looked at the bakery and then back at the mystery man. “Yeah, I need to get going. Otherwise I would let you in for one last sweet treat.” She let out a deep breath. “Okay, well, see you around.”

  The man turned away, but then halted. “I’m Derek. Derek Adams.” He put out his hand in a greeting.

  She looked down at his out stretched hand. “Um, hi, I’m Letizia, but most people call me Zia or Z. It’s nice to meet you, Derek.” They stood there, looking at each other for a few moments, then she cleared her throat. “Well, I should be going. Have a good night.” As she walked away from the mystery man, Derek, she noticed his body tense. He seemed upset or maybe he was just nervous around women. She found it interesting that he had a break already. The men that worked on the remodel across the street usually came in for their morning coffee and then again at lunch time. Of course, most people tried to sneak in one last sweet treat before closing time, this wasn’t any different. She shook her head and opened her car door.

  The drive home usually took Letizia only about ten minutes. As she pulled into her driveway, she noticed Cristano running up the porch steps. He had just come in from the direction of the neighbor’s house, but that tenant moved out about two weeks ago. Had someone moved in next door already? She parked and stepped out of the car. “Hey, where have you been?” she called out to him.

  Her brother stopped in his tracks. “Just hanging out and coloring.” His head was bent. “I was just taking cookies to the neighbor.”

  She walked up to Cristiano. “Cookies? Someone moved in next-door already? That was fast.”

  Cris looked up at Z. “Yeah, some guy named Derek, he moved in yesterday.”

  Letizia took two steps toward the front porch, then stopped. “What did you say?” She turned to face Cris. “What’s our neighbors name?”

  Cris just shrugged and started back up the steps to the house. “Derek.” He seemed confused by her question. “Anyways, more importantly, what’s for dinner tonight?”

  Zia had to wrap her head around this information. The man she met today, the construction worker, moved into the vacant house next door. Holy Hell. She shook her head. “I think Ali wanted to make chicken parmigiana. Let’s go see.” As she walked up beside him, she placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. “You look like you’re feeling better today?”

  He rolled his eyes and moved away from her touch. “I guess.” Then he ran into the house.

  Her mother, Alessandra, was so lucky. She had talked about having children but had struggled with the idea. When she became pregnant with Cristiano it was like a gift from God. He struggles with all the attention nowadays, but for several years he loved being the highlight of everyone’s day. Ali had a tough pregnancy, but thank the heavens above Cris was a very healthy baby.

  Letizia stopped once she reached the top step and took a moment to look around. The home sat back away from the road with several trees lining all sides of the property. Alessandra always insisted they find a place that sat in a secluded area with minimal houses around them. Zia never understood why her mother wanted her privacy and it was never discussed.

  She could remember moving to St. Cloud when she was about four or five. Anything before the move did not pop up in her mind as if that time in her life never existed. Of course it did, but when she would ask about her time before St. Cloud, Alessandra would always evade the question. Over time, Z had stopped asking.

  She took a few steps into the house and immediately the scent of tomatoes, basil, oregano, parmesan cheese, and chicken tickled her nose, causing her stomach to let out a loud growl. She stepped through the foyer and into the dining room where her mother was standing at the stove moving her hips back and forth while she cooked. “Hi, Mom.”

  Alessandra turned to face Zia with a huge smile on her face. “My sweet, Letizia. How are you darling?” Zia watched as Ali wiped her hands on her apron and walked toward her. “How was the bakery today?”

  Zia leaned in and gave Alessandra a kiss on her cheek. “Good. Bonus, Amy made sure the Pain Au Chocolat dough was prepped for tomorrow, so we should be ahead of the game.” She walked over to the stove, grabbed a spoon and dipped it in to the creamy marina sauce. The moment she took a taste her mind wandered back to her favorite place in Italy. The flavors hitting her palette were that wonderful. “Oh, I think you have outdone yourself this time.”

  Alessandra placed her hand on the small of Zia’s back. “You’re always so sweet, mia bella. Now scoot, I need to finish this before our new neighbor arrives.”

  Zia was just about to grab a piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, when her mother mentioned the houseguest. “What did you say?”

  Ali looked confused. “We have a new neighbor, and Cris invited him to dinner tonight. Is that okay?”

  Z found a way to recover from the startled expression she knew was plastered on her face. “Of course. Yeah. I met him today is all, and now he’ll be here for dinner. Just took me by surprise.”

  Ali laughed. “Well, Cris said he’s awesome. His words, not mine.”

  Zia laughed. “If Cris says he’s awesome, then he must be.” She turned and headed to her room on the second floor. There were two rooms and a large Jack and Jill bathroom that separated the bedrooms. Zia walked into her space and flopped herself onto her messy bed. The place was a b
urial ground for important things—if you wanted to keep something safe, it was best to keep it as far away as possible from her room. With her crazy schedule, she rarely made her bed and on those scarce occasions you could find her organizing her things—but that was unusual. She grabbed a pillow and tucked it under her head, looking toward the window. The sky was having shades of gray cast over every corner as the sun made its way past the horizon. The gray made her think of eyes, one set of eyes. She tried to keep her body calm, but the thought of them looking her way sent shivers up her spine. What were the odds that this man would live next door to her, and the said man would sit at her dinner table tonight? Probably one in a million.

  There was a light knock on Zia’s door, but she found it hard to open her eyes. She must’ve fallen asleep. “Hold on.” She stood up from the bed and made her way to the door to open it only about four inches. Cristano was standing there looking annoyed. “Hey.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Really? We figured you must’ve fallen asleep. Our dinner guest will be here soon, jeez.” He turned and headed down the stairs.

  She cleared her throat. “Sorry. I’ll be right down.” She closed the door and leaned against the wood. Shit. What to wear? Laughing as she made her way to the closet, she realized it didn’t matter what she put on since he was just a neighbor. She repeated that a few more times…just a neighbor.

  Six

  When Finley arrived home after his first day, all he wanted to do was put his feet up and watch a mindless program on the television. Instead, the kid from next door, Cristiano, was sitting on the porch steps again. He wondered if the boy had moved from when he left this morning. He approached the kid. “Hi Cristiano. You been here all day?”

  The boy smiled, a genuine smile. “Of course not, I have a life, you know?”

  Finley had to laugh at that statement. “Of course.” He headed to the front door, glancing back. “Did you need something?”

  Finley watched Cristiano stand up and turn toward him. “Want to have dinner at my house tonight? My Mom is making chicken parmigiana. It’s amazing.”

  Finley could’ve easily said no, but this was the family he was assigned to watch. He had to go. “Um, yeah, you sure your mom is okay with me coming over?”

  Cris hopped up and down two times on the step. “Yes.” Then he ran toward his house. “Come on over about 7:00 p.m.,” he called over his shoulder. Then just like that he was gone.

  Finley scowled in confusion. He had only said a few words to the kid, so why would Cristiano ask him over for dinner? Unsure what that all meant, he went inside to shower and get ready. This was the easiest integration with the people he was assigned to protect. Well, Letizia was his assignment, but Finley had a funny feeling he needed to keep his eyes on the kid, too. Cristiano could be an easy target and a perfect way to lure in Letizia. He had to find a way to get on their good side over dinner tonight since he could be the one person that saves them from what could feel like hell in the end.

  He knocked on the front door and then turned to survey the property, making mental notes of where everything sat in the yard. It was a pretty big piece of land the home was nestled on. The number of younger trees surrounding the place lead Finley to believe they had been planted by either the previous tenant or the current one. If he had to guess, it would be the latter.

  Just then the door flew open and Cristiano smiled up at him. “Hi.” Then Cris yelled at the top of his lungs while running down the hall, “Mom, he’s here.”

  An authoritative voice rang out following that declaration. “Cris. Do you need to yell like that?” The person the voice belonged to came into view and proved to be Letizia. “Sorry about that, he forgot his manners.”

  She was wearing a pair of dark gray leggings and a soft baby blue top that flowed around her mid-section. She seemed more dressed for bed than for dinner. He smiled. “No problem. I don’t need my hearing, anyway.”

  Letizia just watched him for a moment and then laughed. “Cute. Come on, I believe Samuel L. Jackson was trying to tell us dinner was ready.”

  Finley raised his eyebrows. Had she just made a Pulp Fiction joke? Was she old enough to love that movie? Well, of course you could be any age and fall in love with an older movie. It was just that, well, it was one of his favorites. Nice.

  As he followed her, Finley noticed two things: one, this woman had a sweet ass body, and two, the way she moved about slayed him. He had to get his mind back in check since he was technically working. Enjoying a gorgeous woman was not on the agenda.

  When Letizia stopped in the doorway of the kitchen Finley almost ran into her. He was trying to get the layout of the house and make mental notes on several items resting on shelves or hanging on the walls. It looked like the place was a tri-level, because there were stairs next to the kitchen and the sound of a TV was blaring up through the open space.

  The woman next to the stove glanced toward the basement. “Cris, turn off the TV. Come on.” She then smiled and took a few steps toward Finley. “Hi, I’m Alessandra. It’s nice to meet our new neighbor.”

  Finley smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Thank you for having me.”

  Alessandra just shook her head. “It’s nice to get to meet the new neighbor. Cris seems fond of you.” As she walked back to the stove, she looked over her shoulder, “Would you like something to drink?”

  Finley watched as Letizia walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out milk and a bottle of white wine. Then he laughed as Alessandra strolled over to where Letizia stood and put the wine back. He noticed her pull two bottles of red wine from a wine rack sitting in the corner of the counter instead.

  Alessandra was opening the first bottle with a corkscrew. “You can’t serve cold white wine to our guest, not with this dinner.” The cork popped out. “We have a nice full-body Zinfandel that will pair perfectly with dinner since there is a hint of spice in the sauce.”

  Letizia smiled and winked at Finley. “As you can tell my mom is a wine connoisseur, so even if you hate the Zinfandel—just drink it.”

  Finley felt his smile go stiff. Did he hear Letizia correctly? Had she called Alessandra her mom? What the hell was going on? Did Alessandra make Letizia believe she was her birth mother? Questions he needed answers to, but that obviously wouldn’t happen tonight. Shaking his head, “Red or white wine are fine by me. It sounds like I may learn something from your mom tonight.”

  Well this case just kept getting better and better. Now they were dealing with lies within the family, which never ended well for anyone involved. Of course, he knew the lies had to be for Letizia to protect her from impending danger.

  They ended up sitting at the dining room table and having a nice family style dinner together. Alessandra seemed to love the twenty-question game with Finley. Thank goodness he read up on his assigned background or he would’ve failed miserably with this woman.

  After two hours and two big plates full of the amazing homemade dinner, Finley decided it was time to head back. He was sitting at the table with one leg stretched out and his hand resting on his stomach. “Man, Cristiano, you may have to roll me back home. Wow, that meal was the best I’ve had in a long time. Thank you so much, Alessandra.”

  The woman just smiled. “Please, call me Ali, and you’re welcome.” He watched as she glanced over toward the boy. “Cristiano needs to give us all better notice next time, right?”

  Cris was holding a fork and moving pasta around on his plate. “Yes, Mom.”

  Ali shook her head. “I have a feeling you were caught off guard by the invitation, just like we were?”

  Finley sat up in his chair. “Yes, but it was not a big deal. Plus, I would never turn down a chance to enjoy a home cooked Italian dinner. It’s been way too long.”

  Letizia looked over at Finley. “Are your parents Italian?”

  Finley nodded. “My Mother is part Italian and part Canadian. Her Mother taught her all the special recipes growing up. I have a feeling if I was a woman, I w
ould have those recipes today.”

  Alessandra laughed. “Well, if you want to learn a few of your favorites, you’re always welcome to come over and cook with me.”

  A wave of nostalgia hit Finley. His mom and dad lived in Alberta, so they didn’t see each other enough. If the weather permitted it took about thirty-six hours by car to travel to their place. With his schedule, it made planning trips for any holiday tricky. He placed his hands on the table and stood. “I may just take you up on that offer, but for now, I need to get home.”

  He grabbed his plate to take it to the kitchen, but Alessandra made a noise of disapproval. “No, you’re a guest, don’t you worry about cleaning up. Zia and I will get it all taken care of and then I think we need to get some sleep.” She looked over at the mantle that was in the living room adjoining the dining room. “Oh my heavens, it’s already 8:00 p.m.” Finley had to smile at the look on Ali’s face. “You go get some sleep, Z. I’ll take care of all this.”

  Finley shook his head. “No, please let me help. Otherwise, I’ll go home and just sit on the couch feeling super full.” Both women protested though and shooed him out the door. He walked over to his house, stopping suddenly, he knew someone had to be watching him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The only weapon he had on him was a utility knife which would not be much help toward people who loved guns more. He walked the foot path that was carved out most likely by Cristiano. Branches were hanging low around him, so he carefully moved them away trying to avoid making a sound. As he reached the end of the wooded area, he paused and surveyed the clearing before walking toward his house. As he reached the porch, he noticed someone sitting on the top step. When he got closer, Finley laughed. “You do realize we’re working a mafia case, right?” He walked up the steps and punched Miles in the arm. “I thought someone was lurking around my place.”