Mia

“For someone who was complaining about the need to attend a christening this morning, you sure do seem interested now. I don’t think you’ve so much as blinked since the ceremony began.”

If it hadn’t have been for the sharp elbow my sister dug into my side, I didn’t think I would have heard a word she’d said. My attention was wholly focused on the man who was handing Reagan back to Carly. Right where it’d been ever since I’d caught him staring at me when he joined them and Brandon at the front of the church. I never thought I’d find glasses so damn sexy, but they absolutely worked for me when it came to him. When his head swiveled back in my direction, I tore my gaze away from him and finally noticed the family resemblance to Brandon. Same height—tall as fuck. Same dark hair. Closely trimmed beard. Dark brown eyes. It was obvious they were related, but as attractive as Brandon was, the man next to him was ten times hotter. Damn those glasses that made him look like a sexy professor.

It took every ounce of my willpower to stop myself from checking to see if he was still staring at me as I turned towards my sister. “I wasn’t complaining. Not really. I just hadn’t realized it was already time to go.”

“Of course you didn’t. You never notice time passing when you’re holed up in your studio. Most of the time, you don’t even remember to eat unless I shove a plate of food under your nose. Why would today be any different from every other day?” Camila muttered.

I grinned, used to hearing that exasperated tone from her. “You know me too well.”

“You bet I do.” She jerked her chin towards the front of the church and waggled her eyebrows. “Which is how I know you’ve been staring all starry-eyed at Christian DeLuca.”

“That’s Brandon’s brother, Christian? The one who ran off to England and hardly ever comes back?” It certainly explained why they looked so much alike, but I never would have guessed it. Not even if I’d pictured him as the professor that he was, albeit a sexy one.

“Damn, sis. Did he rob you of all your brain cells with a single look?”

“What? No!” I glared at her. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because you somehow managed to miss the part where the priest said his name.” She lifted her index finger. “You didn’t remember that his name was listed on the invitation.” Her middle finger went up, too. “Or any of the times I talked about how excited Enzo was that Christian was coming back to town for the christening.” Her ring finger joined the other two.

I rolled my eyes and huffed out a breath. It was irritating how she liked to rub it in my face when she was right. Not that I was going to admit she was. I never did. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to start when it came to my reaction to Christian DeLuca. If I did, Camila would find every opportunity to toss me at him, even though he lived an ocean away. That’s how badly she wanted to see me married off to someone. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. That doesn’t mean the hot professor made me dumb. It just means I’m my usual distracted self.”

She stood, yanking me up with her. “So what you’re saying is that you think he’s hot.”

“Who’s hot?” Enzo rumbled from the other side of the pew. He flung his arm over my sister’s shoulder and glared around the church. When Camila first starting dating her husband, I was a little worried about how possessive he was over her. But then I saw the way his eyes melted and his face softened whenever he looked at her. How he always opened doors for her. How he never let her walk on the outside of the sidewalk or sit near the door at a restaurant; always positioning himself between her and any perceived danger.

The moment I realized Enzo would do anything for my sister, any objections I might have had to their relationship disappeared. He loved her the way every woman wanted to be loved. So much so that I barely blinked when Camila told me he was in the mafia. I’d heard the rumors and seen enough signs that I wondered about his business interests, but I’d never asked since I figured it wasn’t something I’d get an honest answer to.

Most of my shock when she told me was because I knew it was something outsiders shouldn’t know. But then she showed me the ring on her finger and explained that Enzo had gotten special permission for me to be brought into the fold since Camila had raised me ever since our parents died in an accident when I was sixteen.

My sister snuggled into her husband’s side. “Christian.”

His arm tightened around her as he shot a dirty look at the man in question.

“Not me, silly man. Mia thinks he’s hot.”

Enzo’s whole body relaxed, and he flashed me a grin. “She does, huh?”

“No,” I tried denying it, not liking the speculative gleam in his eyes.

“She called him ‘the hot professor’ and has been drooling over him the whole time we’ve been sitting here.”

They didn’t look like they were going to let it drop, so I swiveled on my heel and headed out of the church. Even with Enzo and Camila following right behind me, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing over my shoulder to get one last look at Christian DeLuca. I regretted it right away, though, since Enzo winked at me as my sister giggled.

“I knew it. You guys are going to be impossible about this,” I grumbled.

“By impossible, do you mean that I’m going to pull my cousin aside and tell him that only a dumbass would hop on a plane and miss out on a chance to date you?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, feeling my cheeks heat with embarrassment. I glanced around to make sure nobody was listening in on our conversation as we walked down the church steps and made our way to Enzo’s car. “Something like that.”

“Don’t worry, sweetie. From what I’ve heard about Christian, he’s definitely not dumb.”

“Hell no, he isn’t,” Enzo agreed, opening the passenger side door for my sister and then the back one for me. “And our Mia just might be the wake-up call Professor Smart-ass needs to realize that it’s about damn time for him to come home where he belongs.”

I buried my head in my hands, groaning. Under different circumstances, I’d probably leap at the chance to meet Christian. I’d never reacted to a guy the way I had when I saw him, and I was curious about the feelings he awoke inside me. I didn’t have a lot of experience with men. The loss of my parents had shifted my focus away from boys during my teen years, and then I’d had school to keep me occupied. After Camila married Enzo, when I was twenty-three, my life became extremely sheltered. There weren’t a lot of guys who were daring enough to try to date Enzo’s little sister-in-law...but it sounded like that wouldn’t be an issue with Christian. Basically, it was the opposite.

Uncertain of what to think of this turn of events, I tuned their conversation out during the drive. Instead, I thought about the project I had waiting for me in my studio at home, making a mental list of the final steps needed to finish it and how long they would take. When the car started to slow down, I glanced out the window and groaned again.

“Why are we at Nic’s house? I thought we were going home.”

“You’ve been part of the DeLuca family for over a year, Mia. You didn’t really think we’d let the christening pass without throwing a party to celebrate, did you?” Enzo chuckled as he parked.

“No, I guess I didn’t,” I sighed.

“Christian will be there, too,” Camila pointed out happily before Enzo helped her out of the car.

“You don’t know that for sure,” I muttered when I got out and stood next to her.

“Of course he will. He’s Reagan’s godfather.”

Enzo nodded in agreement and jerked his head towards a limousine pulling up behind us.

“He might have headed for the airport already.” I felt a pang in my heart as I spoke, but then it raced when I caught a glimpse of the man climbing out of the back of the limo. I couldn’t argue my point any longer because the sexy professor had arrived.