March (Calendar Girl #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

special, and I was glad I got to experience it.
    Without looking back, I hustled to my room where I promptly nose-dived into the bed fully clothed and passed out.
     

C HAPTER 4
     
    Tony held open the large wooden door with the swirled metal handle so that Hector and I could enter the restaurant. It was six p.m. on a Friday night, and Fasano’s was hopping with activity. Waiters in crisp, white dress shirts, black slacks and ties bustled around serving drinks and lavishing tables with the best smelling Italian food. My mouth watered as I got a whiff of sausage in the air.
    One of the waiters turned around to pour wine, and I got an even better look at his attire.  I laughed under my breath when I got a gander at the ties they wore. Pasta. The ties had pasta dishes printed on them.
    “Something funny?” Hector leaned close as Tony led me to the back of the restaurant.
    “Did you see the ties?”
    Hector smiled and grinned. “My idea, actually.”
    “Really?”
    He nodded and winked. Tony’s hand went from the crook of my elbow, slid behind my back and cupped my hip. His breath was hot as he whispered into my ear. “Okay, everyone’s already here. Just follow my lead and don’t be surprised if I touch you…a lot.”
    Tingles rippled down my spine and landed in the small spot at my lower back. Tony was incredibly handsome. More than that, he was drop dead gorgeous…and taken. By Hector. Who I was fond of. Very much so. I sucked in a slow deep breath. We reached a thick red curtain that was nestled at the very back of the restaurant.
    “This is our private room. Only our family eats in this space. It’s equivalent to Ma’s dining room at her house. Now that we’re such a large group, we had to move our family dinners to the restaurant. I built this room on just for the Fasanos.”
    “Wow.” I gasped as Tony pulled back the curtain and revealed a huge room filled with people who were laughing, drinking and eating. It was chaos. Everyone at the table yelled over one another, used hand gestures in the air as if they were swatting away flies, and pushed at one another when they spoke. Madness. Complete, utter, madness. That’s the only way I could describe it.
    When we entered, one person noticed and then another and so it went. Everyone in the room went completely silent. A small woman with olive skin, black hair, and familiar blue eyes stood up. She held herself with confidence. Her back was straight, chest pressed out, eyes zeroed in on me.
    The petite woman walked up to us. First, she put a hand up toward her son who leaned forward and kissed his mother, on the mouth. It was nothing more than a mere pressing of lips but still, I can’t say that I’d ever seen a grown man kiss his mother on the mouth. I certainly didn’t kiss my father that way…or any way for that matter. We barely got by with an awkward hug most times.
    “Mama,” Tony said then stood tall and gestured to me. “This is Mia, my fiancée. Mia, this is my mother, Mona Fasano.”
    I smiled and said, “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Fasano.”
    Her lips barely twitched in reply. His mother moved closer to me, blatantly running her eyes over my entire body. “You are a very beautiful woman,” she finally responded. I immediately melted more fully into Tony’s side.
    “Thank you.” I gave her my patented wide smile.
    She didn’t stop at the compliment. Her head tilted and her lips pursed. “And curvy. Fasano men like their women with curves.” She placed her hands on her own generous hips. If she’d been a thinner woman, I’d have taken offense. 
    “I like to eat, Italian food being my favorite,” I lied. Didn’t hurt to try and score points with the mother.
    “Your hips are nice and wide, good for giving me grandchildren.”
    “Uh-um…” Now that came of nowhere.
    “Ma,” Tony attempted to interrupt. Again, didn’t work. When the woman had something to say, she said it and people listened.
    “Yes, you’ll give me