Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 92

Chapter Ninety–Two

As the door closed, the room flooded with silence. Tension rippled through the air. Matteo rolled his shoulders until he was situated in the chair with his head laid back and his eyes closed. Gen watched him with a shrewd regard. She noticed the bags under his eyes, the firm set of his jaw and the way his fingers twitched against each other.

“You got home early,” Gen noted.

“Hm.”

“You’re still hungover from the flight, aren’t you?”

All she got as a response was a drawn out sigh.

“We’re going to have to figure out another way to get you through flying, Matteo.”

“It wouldn’t have been a problem if you hadn’t been so reckless.”

“Is that right?”

“Mhmm.”

“So you would have been fine to show up to the meeting with Michele and negotiate Beatrice’s release hungover and jet–lagged?” she asked, irritation prickling her spine.

Matteo’s eyes opened and his head fell forward. “It’s never been a problem before.”

“Before when? Me? Or earlier than that? What was Frankie talking about?”

Matteo sighed again and his head fell back. “Not now, Gen.”

“Paul’s mom called.”

Gen finally got a reaction other than a sigh: the corner of his mouth pulled up on one side. He was smiling.

“Did she tell you when the funeral was? I’d love to send some flowers,” Matteo chuckled.

“No, it didn’t come up but I hope the date doesn’t conflict with the other funerals I will be attending.”

Matteo’s smile disappeared. He sat up straight and glared across the room at her. “Careful.”

“Or what? You’ll pummel me into a car hood?”

“Gen.”

She crossed her arms. “When is the funeral tomorrow?”

His eyes narrowed. “Ten.”

Gen sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I’ll have to send an email to Kaitlin telling her to cancel my meeting with Mr. Gaspaldi,” she sighed, creating a mental

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3:37 pm M

Chapter Ninety–Two

checklist. “Hopefully Dr. Richards can find an acceptable female for you soon so we can get this over with and go home. I need to get at least a few hours of sleep if I’m going to get through my first event with you. God, of course I have to meet all of your men for the first time at a fucking funeral. I don’t even know if I have an appropriate black dress or not. Is Jada going?” Gen asked, looking back at Matteo.

She couldn’t read his expression. He seemed to be studying her as though she were some newly discovered species of big cat he’d happened upon in the Amazon. His mouth was in a straight line but his eyes, golden green beneath the fluorescent lighting of the hospital room seemed to have a spark there she’d never noticed before… and she thought she’d noticed everything about his eyes. The door to the room opened but their gazes remained locked until the woman cleared her throat. Gen looked away first.

“Hi there!” the short blonde woman greeted, taking a gulp of her coffee as she swept into the room carrying a silver tray in her other hand. “I’m Dr. Wilson,” she said, setting the tray down. Gen glanced back at Matteo who continued to watch her with that same odd look.

“I’m Genevieve,” Gen said, wondering if Matteo would jump in to correct her.

He didn’t say anything though as Dr. Wilson bounced around the room and started giving Gen the same exam that Dr. Richards had given while peppering

her with medical questions.

“Date of your last period?” Dr. Wilson asked.

Gen blushed. “Um, 25th of last month?” Gen said, sounding uncertain though she’d always been regular.

“Uh oh, it’s coming up soon then, isn’t it?” Dr. Wilson said with a light chuckle. As Dr. Wilson palpitated Gen’s stomach, she turned to give Matteo a little

smirk. “Better have your fun now,” she joked with a light laugh.

“I don’t mind a little blood,” Matteo said, causing Gen’s face to flame higher.

Dr. Wilson laughed harder. “Lucky girl. Any chance you may be pregnant?”

Gen shook her head. “No, I’m on the pill.”

“Good, good, well everything checks out here. Have you given any thought to where you want the chip inserted?” she asked.

“Um, no, I honestly didn’t know I was doing this until about twenty minutes ago.”

“Oh…” Dr. Wilson turned to give Matteo an appraising look. “You are consenting to this, though?” she asked Gen.

Matted’s eyes flicked to Gen, waiting for her response, She wondered what he would do if she said no,

“I’m consenting. I agreed to it a long time ago. I just didn’t know tonight was the night… though I can understand his sudden urgency to get it done,” she answered diplomatically, Matteo relaxed as did Dr. Wilson.

“Well, in that case, some people will get it here, right behind the ear,” she said demonstrating with a light touch to the skin behind Gen’s ear.

“No, definitely not there. I don’t like the idea of having something electrical in my head,” she shook herself a little. “No.”

Dr. Wilson laughed. “It won’t inhibit brain function or cause a headache or anything. The technology is very advanced and…”

“She said no,” Matteo interrupted.

Dr. Wilson gave Gen a sympathetic smile. “Right, some people will get it in their arm, like a birth control implant,” she suggested, holding up her own arm to show her the implant in question.

Chapter Ninety–Two

Gen shook her head again. “No, I hate the idea of being able to feel it like that.”

“Put it in her thigh,” Matteo suggested. Both women turned to face him. “Where I have mine.”

“Um, we can do that, but the incision is a bit deeper and the recovery may be slightly longer,” Dr. Wilson warned.

“Will I be able to feel it?” Gen asked Matteo.

“Have you ever felt mine?” he returned.

She shook her head. “The thigh then.”

Dr. Wilson nodded and told her to lay flat. She would first get a shot to numb the area, then the incision, the implantation and then some stitches. Gen looked away as Dr. Wilson brought over the long needle to numb her thigh. She fisted the bed sheets until she felt warm fingers encircle her wrist. She loosened her grip so Matteo could lace their fingers together.

The needle was over quickly and then they had to wait for the numbing to take effect. Once it did, Matteo lowered himself to her level, gathered her in his arms and held her head to his chest as Dr. Wilson sliced into her thigh and inserted the chip. The entire procedure took only twenty minutes but it felt like less cradled in Matteo’s arms. Dr. Wilson prescribed some pain killers and told her to not put too much weight on her leg for a few days before she wished them luck and left.

Matteo had to help Gen back into her dress and placed his suit jacket over her shoulders. A nurse brought a wheelchair but Matteo refused. Instead he gently scooped her into his arms and carried her bridal–style through the halls with her heels dangling from his fingers.

“Before we leave…” Gen started, earning a curious brow raise from Matteo. “Could we check on Beatrice?”

Matteo looked down at her with that same studious gaze. His lip tilted upward slightly before he backtracked and took a right.

“Yes, Gen, we can do that.”

Accardi