at this time of year,” she told him. “We ought to buy you a better coat.” She gestured to the closest high street clothes store. It was a big outlet store selling cut price, end of line stock. “We can find something for you from here.”
By Cristiano’s expression, Keira could tell he was less than impressed with her choice!
“I would rather wait and find a proper store,” he explained. “I can cope with being cold for a little while longer.”
“You’d prefer to freeze than appear even temporarily unstylish?” Keira mocked him.
“Of course,” Cristiano replied, with a smirk.
But no sooner had the words left his mouth then a large gust of icy November wind rushed past them. Keira shivered, folding her arms tightly about her, then looked at Cristiano.
“Poor thing,” she said, laughing. “You’re not in Italy anymore!”
Cristiano relented quickly, and she steered him into the brightly lit store. He perused the racks of garishly colored wind breakers looking less than thrilled. So much for their days of fine Italian designer clothes shopping, Keira thought.
Finally, he found a quilted black jacket – a cheap knock off version of the sort of thing a fashionable Italian man might wear – and purchased that.
“Ten dollars,” he said, shaking his head. “It will fall apart within a week.”
“It only needs to last you until we find the nearest Gucci,” she joked.
They continued on, turning the corner onto Bryn’s street and walking its length before drawing to a halt outside the shabby brownstone apartment. It was boasting fresh graffiti, recently broken railings and numerous dead plants.
“So this is it?” Cristiano asked, looking up at the tall apartment block ahead of him.
To say he looked unimpressed was an understatement. His expectations must have been dashed by the shabby neighborhood Bryn lived in. He was probably feeling similar to how she had when she found herself in Naples.
She hoped he wasn’t too disappointed, because things were only going to get weirder from this point onwards.
“My sister’s a bit… well… let’s just say crazy,” she warned him. “You might want to brace yourself.”
Cristiano laughed, clearly thinking she was making another one of her jokes.
‘Poor boy,’ Keira thought. ‘He has no idea what he’s in for!’
Chapter Two
That Bryn had completely forgotten Keira would be returning today was immediately apparent the moment they stepped inside her apartment.
It was a state. There were clothes and shoes strewn everywhere, a collection of stained wine glasses on the kitchen counter, and empty chips and dip containers covering the coffee table, which was also coated in a layer of crumbs. Keira winced at the sight of it. What would Cristiano think?
To complete the picture of utter disarray, Bryn herself was lying on the couch snoring loudly. Makeup was smeared all over her face. Her sparkly sequined dress was barely covering her. Her red-lipped mouth hung-open.
Keira grimaced and looked at her watch. It wasn’t even that late. Bryn must have had one of her marathon Saturday drinking sessions, starting at midday before bar hopping around town until she returned home and passed out on the couch.
Just behind her, Keira could feel Cristiano lingering, hesitating. She was too filled with dread to turn around and assess his expression. Yes, she may have told him to brace himself, but this was worse than even she had anticipated!
Keira slung her purse onto the floor and Bryn jolted awake at the noise. She sat up with a startled snore. Swaying, she touched the mess of knotted hair on top of her head. Then she peered at Keira through squinted eyes.
“You’re home?” she asked.
“Yup,” Keira replied tersely. “You forgot I was coming back today, didn’t you? And you forgot I was bringing a guest.”
She said the last statement between her teeth, as a prompt to Bryn that they had company, something else she had seemingly failed to notice.
Bryn squinched her eyes, looking past Keira to Cristiano. With a few blinks of disbelief, she suddenly sprung to life.
“Oh hi,” she said, sounding awake and alert for the first time. “I’m Bryn. You must be Cristiano.”
For the first time since entering the apartment, Keira turned to see Cristiano’s reaction to the chaos she had brought him into. Far from looking appalled, he seemed to be wearing an amused expression. Even whilst Keira cringed at Bryn wobbling to her feet and staggering towards him, Cristiano seemed to be taking the whole thing light-heartedly.
“Wow, you are gorgeous,” Bryn said as she drew up close to Cristiano and embraced him. “I thought Keira was just exaggerating to make me jealous.”
Keira got a waft of alcohol mixed with too much perfume.
“Thank you, I guess,” Cristiano replied, sounding uncertain but chuckling nonetheless. “Both you and your sister have inherited very beautiful genes.”
Bryn raised her eyebrows at Keira, making no attempt to hide her swooning. Keira was struck by a sudden fear. Her sister was considered by most people the more attractive of the pair. She was also an outrageous flirt. What if Cristiano fell for her charms? For her more exuberant personality? It was impossible to tell by studying Cristiano’s behavior what he truly thought of Bryn since he acted in the same charming way to every pretty woman he met.
“Do you guys want something to drink?” Bryn said, her gaze fixed upon Cristiano’s perfect features. “Beer. Wine. Prosecco?”
“Is that a good idea?” Keira asked, raising an eyebrow at her sister’s dishevelled appearance.
Bryn rolled her eyes and looked over at Cristiano again. “Was she like this the whole time in Italy too? Keira can be such a square.”
“Hey!” Keira protested.
“Not at all,” Cristiano said. He seemed to be taking this all in good humor, even if Keira herself felt extremely awkward. “We spent many evenings drinking fine wine, didn’t we my dear?” He flashed his gorgeous eyes in her direction and grinned in that way that made her feel like she was the only woman in the world.
“Yes,” she murmured dreamily.
Bryn interrupted in her usual brash way. “Well, you must have rubbed off on her, Cris, because getting her out the house for the evening can be like trying to get blood from a stone.”
Keira shook her head at Bryn’s teasing.
“Just pour the drinks please,” she muttered.
Bryn grinned wickedly at Keira, clearly enjoying the process of winding her up, then smiled sweetly at Cristiano. “What’s your poison, Cris?”
Keira grimaced. She already hated the way Bryn had bestowed him with a nickname. It was far too familiar. Keira herself hadn’t yet called him anything
