Page 15 of All's Fair in Love and Pizza
I’d wanted to buy one, but Mateo was at the counter that day.
Our conversation had gone something like this:
Me, tapping the glass. “I’ll take one of those.”
Mateo, shaking his head, a feral gleam in his eye. “I’m not selling you a pizza bagel. Sorry, champ.”
“How mature of you. I’ll pay double.”
“No.”
“Triple.”
Mateo had turned away and returned with a slice of their pizza of the day. “Take it and beat it. Next in line, please.”
Fucker.
And yeah, I’d wanted to grab his hair and kiss the fuck out of him.
Vanni had brought me a pizza bagel an hour later. On the house. “Sorry about that. Teo’s a hothead. We can use an expert opinion, but I gotta tell you, I think these are okay. Not as good as yours, but still decent.”
I’d agreed. So had Amber, who’d laughed at the idea of our pizza-bagel war.
“It seems more like two jocks pissing on each other’s cleats for funsies. Guys are so weird.” She’d snorted.
True. But you know what? Mateo had started it, so when he’d slipped in the door to clandestinely check outourbusiness, I’d given him a taste of his own medicine.
“Your money is no good here,” I’d said in greeting, a phony grin pasted to my mug. “Anything you want is on the house.”
Mateo had cocked his head and frowned. “I don’t want anything.”
“You’re here. You must want something,” I’d taunted, staring at his mouth.
“Yeah, I wanted to see if you’d come to your senses.”
“Nope. I guess that means we’re still at war.”
“Guess so,” he’d grumbled, turning on his heels.
Yep, the rules of war had been unclear. That was until Mateo renamed his pizza bagel, “The Best in Town.”
It was a subtle dig, but I couldn’t ignore it. I retaliated by sticking mini pennants in our pizza bagels, labeled, “The Original.” And “The Best Ever.” Hokey and childish? Yes. And I couldn’t wait till someone told him.
Sure enough, Mateo stormed in the next day to scoff at my pizza bagel and made a snide remark about the pennants. “Gee, I wonder if the owner ever played football.”
Fuck that guy.
Yet here I was, sneaking out of my own store to see what my unpleasant neighbor was up to now…because I kind of got a cheap thrill from winding him up. It was as if I’d tapped into a hidden power. Not as exciting as mind reading or an invisibility cloak, but knowing I’d needled my way under Mateo’s skin was oddly gratifying.
If I were completely honest, there was more to this feud for me. Try not to laugh, but…I had his attention. I’d kissed the hottest guy in town, the most popular jock in college, the goddamn star quarterback.
Mateo might not like me.Buthe noticed me. And he wanted me.
Okay, he might not admit that, but…those sparks, remember?
Mateo peeked into my store window when he thought I wasn’t looking. He asked Amber about me, mentioned me to his cousins. Mateo Cavaretti was thinking about me. Often.
I liked it.
