Almost an hour later, Vittoria had her cheek pressed flat against the counter.
When she raised her head, her mouth was still full, but that couldn't stop the barely visible smile she was trying to show.
Leo stared at her, then shook his head before gesturing for her to take her time.
"This," she said while swallowing, "is so good."
"Thank you," Leo said while bowing slightly before continuing to eat his own.
"How did you learn to cook like that?"
"I think it's a matter of how I couldn't after living with Mia and Sofia. One of them is a fanatic about eating good food," he said, meaning Mia, "and the other is a fanatic about cooking it."
"It's hard not to pick something up when you're around that every day."
He glanced down at his plate.
"This one's actually one of three dishes I've properly mastered. Garlic butter pasta. Simple enough, but the way Sofia taught me makes it so much better than the rest."
"Still, I practised and practised until mine tasted better than hers!"
