Chapter 70

Valentine

All day I'd been distracted, my thoughts not far from Petra. My cousin stopped by in the afternoon right after I'd gotten her message that she'd landed safely and was headed to the hotel before going to the shoot.

I heard him before I actually saw him, his booming laughter echoing in the hall before he opened the door. I looked up from my desk where I was sitting and had been blankly staring at paperwork.

"Salve!," he said grinning like an idiot as he stood in my doorway.

"Hello cugino. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence today?" I asked leaning back in my chair.

He laughed and closed the door before throwing himself into the leather chair across from me.

"Do I need a reason to visit my favorite cugino? Though the look on your face says you needed me. Is that reason enough?"

I shook my head. Matteo and I had grown up here in the states together whereas the rest of our cousins had been in Italy so of course we were closer.

"My face says no such thing