Accardi by allison franklin novel

You Were My Favorite Hurt, And My Hardest Goodbye by Ava Knight 85 Summary In this chapter, Genevieve and Frankie go over a set of rules that Frankie insists must be followed, including restrictions on leaving the apartment and ordering food only from certain restaurants. Gen counters with her own rules, emphasizing boundaries around her friends. Their banter reveals a playful yet serious dynamic, with hints of deeper feelings and protective instincts from Frankie, especially regarding a mysterious woman named Lilah. Later, Gen and her friends reunite at Matteo's apartment for a girls' night.

The group enjoys wine and food, teasing each other about past experiences, including Gen's drunken night at a club. The atmosphere is lighthearted, filled with laughter and camaraderie, although Becca reveals some tension involving her brother Noah, who threatens her due to her connection with Gen and her investigations into Gen's new boyfriend. As the friends settle in with food, drinks, and a movie, they share jokes and stories, including a humorous moment about Gen having been intimate on the dining table.

The chapter captures their close bond and the comfort they find in each other's company. The mood shifts when Gen's phone rings, and she answers a call from Matteo, who expresses his love for her, surprising the group and adding a tender, emotional moment to the evening. The chapter ends with Matteo's affectionate words and the friends' enthusiastic support for Gen, highlighting the mix of romance, friendship, and underlying tensions that shape their lives. The scene sets the stage for future developments while emphasizing the strength of Gen's relationships and the challenges she faces.

Continue Regular Chapter Reading Below Chapter Eighty-Five Genevieve paced back and forth nervously, her eyes fixed on the bank of monitors before her. She was waiting anxiously for a signal, her brow furrowed with frustration as she tried to keep calm. "Before the car-squealing chaos begins, there are a few ground rules we need to clarify," Frankie began, pulling out his phone and glancing at reports from the park. His tone was a mix of amusement and authority. "Excuse me, sir," an elderly airport worker interrupted, stepping in with a firm expression.

Frankie turned, flashing his most charming grin. "Yes, beautiful? What can I do for you?" he asked, clearly enjoying the moment. The woman, however, was completely unfazed by his antics. "There's no smoking in here. Please put that out," she said firmly. Frankie's smile quickly faded into a scowl. "Is it now illegal just to hold a cigarette?" he snapped, irritation creeping into his voice. The older woman rolled her eyes and continued on her way, ignoring his glare. Frankie watched her retreat, then lit the cigarette again, taking a deep, defiant drag. "Where was I?" he muttered.

"Rules," Gen reminded him sharply, her gaze returning to the screens. "Oh, right. Some people," Frankie said with a shake of his head. "Okay, here's the deal: one, I don't carry baggage. Two, I don't do tampon runs. Three, no leaving the apartment without permission. Four, any food you order has to be from one of Accardi's restaurants. Five..." "One of his restaurants?" Gen raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. Frankie grinned and tilted his head playfully. "Aww, you two still have so much to discover about each other," he teased. Gen rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Five, if I say you can't do something, then you don't do it. Six, and this is the most important rule-don't do anything that puts you in danger." Gen paused for a moment before glancing back at him. "Are you done now?" "Unless I think of something else," he replied with a smirk. "In that case, let me give you my rules," she shot back. "You don't get-" "One, no eavesdropping on us. Two, no whining about how beneath you this detail is. Three, and this is the most important one," she said, narrowing her eyes and mocking his tone, "my friends are off limits.

Keep it in your pants." A slow, satisfied smile spread across Frankie's face. "You won't have to worry about that, Gen. I'm off the market." "What? Are you serious?" she asked, disbelief coloring her voice. "Don't get jealous. I'll still have time for you," Frankie assured her with a wink. Gen rolled her eyes again. "Please, your boss keeps me plenty busy. Who is she?" "She works at the club," Frankie said casually. "What's her name?" "I don't know," he admitted with a shrug. "Frankie... you don't know?" Gen's voice rose in surprise. He shrugged again.

"She says her name is Lilah, but I'm pretty sure she's hiding something. I'm intrigued." "Oh, a fake name? Just wait-two months from now, you'll be flying her four best friends down to visit while you're off on some undercover cop mission." Frankie scoffed. "Please, we won't end up like you and Accardi." "No? And why's that?" His smile turned dark and menacing, reminding Gen just how intimidating he could be.

"I won't let her run." At that moment, the same elderly airport worker walked by again, snatched the cigarette from Frankie's lips, held it up in front of his face, then dropped it to the floor and stomped on it. Hands on her hips, she gave a sharp nod and walked off. Frankie watched the whole scene with his mouth slightly agape, staring after the audacious woman. "Then again... that was hot as hell," he admitted with a chuckle. Suddenly, Gen's phone buzzed loudly, interrupting their conversation.

She pulled it from her purse, bouncing on the balls of her feet as a flood of texts poured in, all confirming that their friends had landed. Frankie groaned loudly, but Gen barely noticed. It was girls' night, and she was ready to let loose. A few hours later, all five women were crammed into Matteo's apartment-their apartment now. Gen stood at the kitchen island, carefully gathering ingredients for sangria. Abigail sat nearby on a stool, already sipping a glass of red wine, while the others wandered around, taking in the cozy space.

"I still think going to a club is the right move," Louise declared, causing a chorus of groans from the group. "What?!" Louise protested. "I'm just saying-we're in New York! We flew first class, Gen's got a sugar daddy, and we look hot as hell. We should be out on the town!" "You heard what Gen's hot babysitter said," Abigail reminded her. "No clubs!" everyone chorused in unison.

"By the way, we'd all love to hear an explanation for the whole, 'Or do you not remember the last time you were at a club?' thing," Sarah said, emerging from Matteo's office carrying a glass container of Scotch that probably cost more than her car. Gen shrugged one shoulder as she added orange slices to the pitcher. "I just got a little drunk, that's all." "At a club!" Louise shrieked. "The audacity!" Sarah took a sip of the Scotch she'd found but immediately spat it out across the island.

"What the hell is that?!" she exclaimed, wiping her mouth while everyone else stood up from their hiding spots. "Gimme," Louise demanded. She sniffed the glass Sarah had poured, took a careful sip, and swished it around her mouth. "Mmm, Glen McKenna. Very nice." "You can keep it," Sarah said, putting the stopper back on the bottle and pushing it aside. "What else did you find in there?" Louise asked, sashaying toward Matteo's office with her glass of Scotch-he'd foolishly left the door unlocked. "Oh! I found some cool books," Sarah said excitedly, rushing after her.

"Books?!" Abigail squealed, nearly falling off her stool as she followed. Becca suddenly appeared, barely managing to squeeze herself against the wall before the others barreled past. Gen shook her head with a chuckle as she uncorked another bottle of wine and poured it over the fruit. "How are you doing, Bec?" Gen asked, noticing her quietness. "You've been pretty silent. I get why at the airport, but you're safe here. It's just us." Becca sighed and climbed onto the stool Abigail had just vacated. "I talked to Noah before coming down," she admitted. Gen snorted and shook her head.

"What did that sleazebag brother want this time?" Becca fiddled nervously with her fingers. "I actually called him. I needed a little help with rent." "Oh no," Gen sighed, setting everything down to give Becca her full attention. "Please tell me you didn't accept any help from him." Becca shrugged again, tracing the marble pattern on the island with her fingertips. "He wouldn't have helped anyway. He wanted to know what I was doing, and I told him I was coming down to see you. Then he went off on a tangent about the guy you're seeing again." "Again?" Gen asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Becca said, shrinking into herself as if filled with shame. "When you first started going out with him, I tried to do a little digging. Got caught hacking the police database again." "Such a badass!" Abigail exclaimed, overhearing the tail end of the conversation. She plopped down on the stool beside Becca and slammed a book onto the island-one that looked far too old to be treated so roughly. "Careful, Abigail," Gen warned, wincing as she carefully opened it. "Don't be silly," Abigail said. "It's just a book. Meant to be read.

Not like it's a..." She stopped as Gen peeled back the cover to reveal the 'first edition' tag. "Oh, I'll just put this back then." "Thanks," Gen said, patting her hand gently. "Anyway, back to you. You hacked their system again?" "Yeah. I thought if I could see there was no record of the guy, it would make me feel better. But someone noticed what I was doing. Told Noah." "I bet he was pissed." "Not really," Becca said, surprising Gen. "He asked why I was looking into him, and I told him you were dating him. I'm really sorry." "There's nothing illegal about dating a man," Gen reassured her.

"Don't worry about it." "Yeah, but when I told him I was coming down here, he got really angry. When I wouldn't do what he wanted, he threatened to turn me in to his department." "Son of a bitch. Well, don't worry, Becca. You're safe here, and I can help with rent. You don't need to go to him for anything ever again. Understand?" Becca shrank even further. "It's just..." Before she could finish, the front door slammed open. "Do none of you answer your phones?!" Frankie yelled, staggering inside with numerous bags of takeout in his arms.

Becca pulled her hand away as the other women rushed out of the living room. They swarmed Frankie, grabbing a bag each until his arms were free. He shook them out as if the bags had been cutting off his circulation. Gen walked up and gave him a grateful pat on the back. "Thanks, Frankie. I really appreciate it." "I'd think you'd get sick of Italian at some point," Frankie said, shaking his head as the girls pulled out dishes from Matteo's Italian restaurant in Chelsea. Gen smiled wickedly. "You'd be surprised how much Italian sausage I can devour." "But... you didn't order sausage.

You ordered chicken parmesan," Frankie pointed out. Gen laughed. "Good night, Frankie." "Lock up tight and set the alarm!" he called as he strolled out, earning catcalls from three very eager women. "All right, we've got food," Abigail announced. "Check!" Sarah and Louise chimed in. "Drinks." "Check!" Gen said, carrying the pitcher and five glasses to the table. "Movies." "Check," Becca said, loading her movie choice into the DVD player. "Now all we need is the gossip. So, Gen, where in this apartment has the Italian sausage defiled you?" Abigail teased, raising her eyebrows twice.

Gen glanced down at the table, suddenly remembering how it had creaked beneath Matteo during their last encounter. "Oh God," Louise muttered. "What?" Sarah asked. "Oh no," Abigail said, realization dawning. "What?" Becca asked, coming over to see what the fuss was about. "You had sex on the table we're about to eat on?!" Louise exclaimed. All at once, the other three girls yanked their takeout containers off the table. Genevieve laughed so hard tears streamed down her cheeks. "What?! Come on, I disinfected it!" "Not enough," Sarah said, shaking her head.

"I'm taking this to the sofa." "Same," Abigail agreed with a nod. "Unless..." Louise said, raising an eyebrow. Gen shook her head as she poured everyone a glass of sangria. "The sofa is safe." She carried the glasses over and set them down on the coffee table. "The floor, on the other hand..." Suddenly, all four pairs of feet lifted off the floor simultaneously, gasps rippling through the room. "Oh my God, I was kidding," Gen said, laughing again. The feet returned to the floor, and Gen sat cross-legged in front of the coffee table, facing her friends. Suddenly her phone lit up again.

They all leaned forward, making suggestive noises as they saw the name on the screen. Gen snatched the phone and stepped away to answer it privately. "Hello?" "Hello, Weakness," Matteo's voice came through, smooth and rich as honey, making her thighs tighten involuntarily. She'd already had more than enough to drink, that much was certain. "Hey, what's up?" she asked, waving her hand at the girls who were trying to eavesdrop. "I just wanted to check in.

I saw your friends' flight landed, and Frankie told me you got some dinner." "Yeah, we're just about to sit down," she said, dodging around the armchair to escape the crowd of curious friends. "Well, I won't keep you. I have a feeling you won't be much for talking once the drinks start flowing, so I wanted to say good night and that I love you." "I love you too," she whispered. The room fell silent. All the girls stared at her wide-eyed. "Oh shit," Gen muttered. Matteo chuckled on the other end. "You hadn't told them that part yet?" "Nope." That's when the squealing began.

"Good luck, Weakness. I've faced psychopathic murderers, and I'd choose that over what you're about to go through." "Thanks a lot. Good night." "Good night!!" Abigail called out. "We loooovee you!" Sarah sang. "You two can have a minute in the bathroom if you want a little video call action!" Louise offered. "Gotta go," Gen said quickly. Matteo chuckled once more. "Good night, Genevieve." Conclusion This chapter delicately captures the intertwining of tension and tenderness that defines Genevieve's world.

Amid the playful banter and protective ground rules, there is an undercurrent of vulnerability and trust blossoming between her and Frankie, hinting at the complexities beneath their interactions. The arrival of her friends and the lively girls' night provide a warm counterbalance to the looming threats and uncertainties, reminding us of the strength found in friendship and shared moments of joy. As the evening unfolds with laughter, teasing, and the subtle admission of love between Genevieve and Matteo, the chapter closes on a note of hopeful intimacy.

With the revelation of their feelings and the playful yet protective banter between Frankie and Gen, tensions are bound to rise as boundaries are tested. The presence of Genevieve's close-knit group of friends adds layers of warmth and humor, but also the potential for misunderstandings and emotional clashes as secrets start to unravel. Expect the atmosphere to shift between lighthearted moments and underlying unease, as each character navigates their own challenges and loyalties.

Becca's precarious situation with Noah hints at darker complications looming on the horizon, while Frankie's mysterious boss and his cryptic remarks suggest that not all is as straightforward as it seems. As the night unfolds, the blend of camaraderie, romance, and looming threats will keep readers on edge, eager to see how these relationships evolve and what surprises await just around the corner.