Some Like It Hotter (Sweet Life in Seattle #3) (33 page)

“Look, no offense, but Giovanni is a grown man who can do whatever he thinks is right. Plus, I happen to agree with him.”

Francesca, obviously upset, starts carrying on in Italian. Lindsay doesn’t understand a word and finally goes over to Giovanni to give the phone back.

He puts his beer down. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know. She’s speaking Italian.”

“Uh-oh.” He takes it from her and puts it back to his ear. “
Si, Mama . . .”
He nods, and then starts talking to her again. Lindsay reaches for his bottle and takes a sip.
What have I gotten myself into here?
Anthony only shakes his head with amusement. Luca cries in the monitor, and they both hear Natalie asking Anthony to come upstairs through the speaker, so he leaves to go check on them.

Giovanni talks to his mother for a short while longer, eyeing Lindsay and wearing a funny little smile the whole time. Finally, he puts the phone back in his pocket.

“What did she say?” she asks, taking another swig of his beer.

“She says she likes you. That you have spirit.”

Lindsay nearly chokes as she starts to laugh. “I’ll bet. What did she really say?”

He gives a weary sigh then turns his head. “You don’t want to know.”

“Oh, well.” She shrugs and takes another sip from the bottle before handing it back to him. “It’s not like she can stop us.”

His eyes are on hers, watchful. To her surprise, he leans down and gives her a kiss on the mouth.

“What’s that for?”

“Just you,” he whispers, wearing that funny little smile again. He rubs his nose playfully against hers. “For your spirit.”

Chloe and Serena both make it home in time for dinner. There are hugs and kisses, and Lindsay is happy to see them, amazed how they look older even though it’s only been three months. She notices Serena is happy to see Giovanni and, after listening, is surprised to learn he Skypes with her regularly. Lindsay knows Anthony’s family is close-knit, but she hadn’t realized Giovanni was involved as much as he apparently is. She’s never really heard Anthony talk about his brother and is starting to wonder now if the reason had something to do with the one-night stand she shared with Giovanni years ago.

They sit down at the dinner table, and there’s a lot of good-natured banter, as well as a fair amount of Italian thrown around, especially between the brothers who use elaborate hand gestures and facial expressions when they speak it. Serena keeps laughing, so their conversation must be quite amusing.

“I get why you’re learning Italian,” Lindsay tells her sister, who has started taking a class recently. “Can you tell what they’re saying?”

Natalie has Luca on her lap and is feeding him some pureed vegetables. She tilts her head. “I’m not sure. Something to do with a pig, I think?”

“Really?”

“
Mi dispiace
,” Anthony says to her and Natalie, still laughing about whatever it is they’re talking about. “It’s just great to have my brother here. We were talking about one of our cousins in Rome who’s always trying different jobs. Now he’s gone into business with someone who owns a small sandwich shop, but apparently he was complaining to Giovanni about the customers and how it’s all too much work.”

“
Porca miseria,”
Giovanni says, chuckling. “It means ‘pig misery,’ but in Italian, it’s a common way of saying a word like ‘dammit’ when something goes wrong.”

Lindsay tears off a piece of garlic bread. “I’m pretty sure I could find a use for
that
phrase.”

“Me too,” Natalie says with a laugh.

After dinner, the brothers go out and bring in the luggage from the car. Both Lindsay and Giovanni have gifts for everybody. Hers are mostly T-shirts and various items from Berlin.

“These are so cute!” Chloe says, holding up some
Ampelmann
earrings she got both girls.

Lindsay explains how
Ampelmännchen
—the little figure of a man walking—are used at crosswalk lights. “But only in East Berlin, which is where I was living. After the wall came down, people were so fond of them they took on a cult status.”

All her gifts are a hit, though it turns out they don’t generate anywhere near the kind of interest and excitement as those Giovanni’s brought from Africa.

“Ew!” both Serena and Chloe exclaim after examining a packet of some kind of snack food that he’s handed each of them. “Yuck!”

“We can’t eat this,
Zio Giovanni!
” Serena says, laughing. “This is like
so
gross!”

“Of course you can,” he says with a smile. “I eat them all the time.”

“You do not!” Both girls are gawking at him. “No way!”

“What is it?” Lindsay asks, looking over with curiosity at the variety of colorful bags he’s pulled from his suitcase. He hands one to her and immediately Lindsay sees why they girls are freaking out. “
Bugs?
”
Her eyes go wide as she stares at the blue bag in her hand, filled with what are clearly dried insects of some kind. “You don’t really eat these, do you?”

“Let me see,” Natalie says, and Lindsay watches her sister grimace as she examines a bag of some kind of dried worms that Giovanni’s handed her.

Anthony, who’s sitting on the couch with Natalie tucked into his side, shakes his head and makes a face when she holds the bag up for him. “Dude, seriously?”

“I want to see you eat one,” Serena says to Giovanni, dancing around with excitement. “I don’t believe you eat them!”

“Sure.” He reaches for a red bag and opens it. “The curry-flavored crickets are my favorite.”

Everyone is silent, holding their breath as they watch him reach into the bag for a few crickets. He pops them into his mouth, and as soon as he starts chewing both girls are shrieking with delighted horror.

“Mmm.” He licks his lips. “These are great. Are you sure you don’t want to try them?” He holds the open bag out toward Serena and Chloe, who are both laughing and shaking their heads. “What about you?” He turns toward Lindsay. “You’re usually up for any adventure.”

She meets his eyes and can see how much he’s enjoying himself. She peers down into the bag filled with what look like small dried grasshoppers. “I don’t know.” Finally, she shrugs. “What the heck.”

She reaches inside for a cricket, feeling everyone’s eyes on her as she puts it in her mouth and starts chewing.

“Yuck, Aunt Lindsay!” Chloe moans. “What does it taste like?”

Lindsay chews up the cricket, trying not to think about what she’s actually eating. It’s crunchy and surprisingly not that bad. “It tastes all right,” she admits. “It’s kind of nutty and salty, with a kick of curry flavor.”

“Are you going to eat more?” Chloe asks. “Did you like it?”

“I’m not sure.” While it tasted okay, she has to admit it’s hard to get past the fact that she’s eating an insect.

She sees the way Giovanni is grinning at her, almost like a dare. “Go on, have some more.”

“Oh, why not.” She reaches into the bag for another cricket, much to Chloe and Serena’s delight.

“Don’t eat them all though,” he tells her. “Save some for the rest of us.” And both girls start giggling.

He stands and goes over to Natalie and Anthony, offering them the open bag. “Would you two like to try some curried crickets?”

Lindsay watches the way her sister and Anthony are eyeing each other.

“Ladies, first,” Anthony says, tilting his head toward the bag, and Natalie laughs.

Finally, she reaches in and pulls one out, staring at it. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“We’ll do it together,” Anthony tells her. He gets a cricket for himself. The two of them are studying each other again. “On three,” he says. “One, two,
three
.”

Both of them pop the cricket into their mouths. Lindsay can’t help laughing at the panicked expression on both their faces as they chew. Giovanni is cracking up as well. And, of course, the girls are grabbing each other while shrieking with glee.

Lindsay glances over at Luca, who’s sleeping peacefully on a blanket, oblivious to all the noise.

“Would you like another one?” Giovanni asks, still chuckling after they’ve both finished.

Anthony, who looks like he’s just eaten a cat turd, shakes his head. “That was
disgusting
.”

“I’ve had enough as well.” Natalie tries to smile at Giovanni. “Thank you though.”

Giovanni chuckles, grabs a few more crickets from the bag and then tosses them into his mouth like peanuts as everyone groans with amazement.

By now, the girls are coming around and deciding they want to try them after all. Serena goes first and then Chloe, both of them chewing with trepidation. Afterward, they agree the crickets are not as gross as they thought, “but they’re still pretty gross.” They each want to take a bag to school to share with their friends to get their reaction.

“It can be an acquired taste,” Giovanni says. “Many people all over the world eat insects though.” He tells them how, ounce per ounce, grasshoppers have more protein than beef. “They’re very nutritious.”

“I’ll stick with beef,” Anthony mutters. “I don’t think I could stomach another one of those things even if you paid me.”

“That’s because you haven’t tried the chocolate-covered ants I brought back just for
you
,” Giovanni tells him with a grin, rubbing his hands together, and the whole room laughs.

The next day, Lindsay and Giovanni head over to meet with the realtor at the house he bought online. They take her car—a red Mini Cooper convertible—that Natalie and Anthony were nice enough to store in their garage while she was in Berlin. Lindsay hasn’t driven a car in three months but has no trouble navigating the streets of Seattle as Giovanni gives her directions with his phone.

When they finally arrive, she parks in the driveway, and they both get out. She notices he’s wearing a peculiar expression.

“Is everything okay?” Lindsay asks, glancing over at him as she grabs her purse.

Giovanni stands next to the passenger door staring at her with what appears to be amazement. “Is that how you
always
drive?”

“What do you mean?” She tosses her car keys inside her bag.

“Nothing.” He shakes his head, chuckling. “Forget it.”