Butterface (The Hartigans, #1)

by Avery Flynn

That telltale splotch of blush of hers bloomed even brighter at the base of her throat, and she hustled down the hall to the elevators. Unlucky for him, the doors opened as soon as she hit the down button. He watched until the doors closed and then went back inside before someone reported a perv in the hall wearing only a sheet. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving him alone, surrounded by the scent of Gina’s perfume. Too bad that’s all of her he’d ever get. A Luca and a detective on the organized crime task force went together like bulletproof vests and yoga. After tonight, he wouldn’t be seeing her again. And he refused to examine the tightness growing in his chest at that thought.

Ford hadn’t been lying about his family. They were even more of a cliché than hers. Huge Irish family, far too loud and friendly, and firefighters. Well, except Ford. He was the odd man out in this craziness. More quiet but no less affectionate. And a cop. Which his brothers teased him about incessantly. His family was totally overwhelming, but in a good way. It reminded Gina of the last Luca family christening—loud voices, lots of food, and too many people crushed into a space that would always seem too small no matter how big because the personalities of those inside were just that large. Ford had introduced her to his parents first, Kate and Frank Sr. He was a bear of a man with a shock of orange hair that was probably visible from space, and she was an Amazon of a woman who was so pretty it was kind of hard to look her in the face and remember what to say.

“Oh, it was at this guy at a wedding Gina planned the other weekend,” Tess said, her face taking on an excited glow. “She got put on a kiss cam with a total babe of a cop in front of everyone. I swear I would have died, but she ended up kissing him. What was his name, Gina? It was a car name, wasn’t it?” “Ford,” Gina and Fallon said at the same time. Of course, Gina said it with resignation and Fallon with more than a hint of surprise. A heavy hush fell over their little group as Tess and Lucy looked from Gina to Fallon and back again. Then, they scooted their stools closer. They must have spotted something in her face because Tess handed Gina her still-full cup of rosé without a word. Lucy zeroed in on Fallon. “You know him?” “He’s my brother,” she said, giving Gina an assessing look that all but screamed they’d be talking about this later. Tess gasped. Gina took a big drink of the second cup of wine, wondering if maybe she’d get lucky and it would be poisoned. This was so not how she expected tonight to go. Come on out to Paint and Sip night, it’ll be fun, they said. Yeah, sure. More like total mortification. At least she hadn’t told her besties that she’d slept with Ford this week—although sleeping was pretty much the last thing they’d done. She had muscles she’d never known about that were still a little sore.

“And you must be Miss Luca. I understand you are a big fan of our cannoli.” “Like you wouldn’t believe,” she said, pushing back the familiar angry embarrassment of someone’s first reaction to seeing her because she refused to let that ruin whatever Ford had planned. “Good,” the man said. “I’d hate to share the recipe with someone who didn’t love them.” Recipe? Share? The only message her brain sent back was that the man’s words did not compute. “What?” The man laughed, and a real warmth filled his gaze as he looked at her. “Yes, you’re here for a very special couple’s baking lesson. Didn’t the detective tell you?” She turned to Ford the sneak and waggled her finger at him. “No, he’s very good at keeping a secret.” “Well then, surprise,” the man said. “I’m Conrad Vacilli. Come inside so we can get you set up with espressos, and I can show you how to make the most famous cannoli in Harbor City.” Gina couldn’t believe it. All the times she’d talked about how much she’d loved the Vacilli’s cannoli, he’d been listening, really listening—so much so that he’d made this happen. Warmth spread through her chest, expanding outward until she couldn’t believe she didn’t have light shooting out of her fingertips. She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. “Thank you.” Ford winked at her and gave her that smile that made her stomach do the flippity-flop thing, and they walked inside the bakery together to learn the secret to making the best cannoli in the tri-state area.