Читать книгу Firefighter's Doorstep Baby / The Soldier's Untamed Heart онлайн | страница 53

“I’d also want my husband home more than he seems to be. And safe.”

“Maybe now that he has a home and wife, he’ll change. People do, you know.”

She nodded.

“Other attributes?”

She frowned in thought for a moment. “Fun to be with, able to talk and share, and I’d want a husband to want the same things I do.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought about it for a while.”

“Ariana and I used to talk about our dream man. Hers turned out not to be the dream.”

“And you?”

“Haven’t met him yet. So what do you do here all day? Not working. No television I saw,” she asked.

“This and that.” He should tell her about the woodworking. Maybe later he’d take her to the shed to see.

“Did you always want to be a virtual assistant?” he asked, finding it an odd sort of job for such a bubbling personality like hers. He’d picture her surrounded by office workers, working as a team player, not in a solo job from home.

“When in university in New York, I planned to hit Madison Avenue big time. I majored in marketing—American style. But then my parents died, then Ariana. Things changed so much, I couldn’t manage that on top of watching Dante. Maybe someday.”

“I think I heard the baby,” he said, hearing a noise in the living room.

Mariella jumped to her feet and went to check on Dante. Two minutes later she came back, carrying a bubbling baby.

“He was kicking his feet and saying something. I can’t wait for him to talk.”

“I’ll start our lunch. I’ll make you some of the world’s best marinara sauce.”

“The world’s best?” she scoffed lightly.

“Hey, I challenge you to find better. It’s from the family’s restaurant. And you’ll thank your lucky stars you get to have some.”

“You made it?”

“No. My sister sends me care packages. I freeze the sauce until I’m ready to use it. It won’t take long to prepare.”

“Time enough for me to feed this little guy, then,” she said.

“Again?”

“He eats a lot, that’s why he’s growing.”

Cristiano took the sauce from the freezer, peeled off the wrapper and dropped it into a pan. Soon it began to simmer on the stove as he boiled water for pasta. He watched Mariella feed Dante while he worked. For the first time in months, he felt a touch of optimism. There was something about cooking long-familiar foods and sharing that touched that part of him that had once liked to spend time with friends. Stephano had loved the marinara sauce and every time he learned Isabella had sent some, he’d invite himself and his family over for dinner. He and the other guys at the station urged him to bring in enough for everyone.