Wattpad Block Party - Summer Edition IV

TaniHanes Presents: The Making of a Saint: The Meteoric Rise of Pete Santangelo

The floors are gorgeous polished wood, and numerous rugs designate the various areas, along with a huge, long sofa that could seat possibly an entire baseball team.

So, this room is amazing, even before the owner of it has entered.

And speaking of the owner, here he comes now, pulling a shirt over his head as he arrives. His head emerges from the neck as he shakes his glorious hair back out of his face.

"Hi, I'm Pete," he says, holding out both arms, just inviting this reporter to step into them.

Which she does, post-haste, holding the embrace long enough to slyly inhale a huge whiff of the most alluring scent. Let's call it "Essence of Pete," shall we? It's swoon-inducing, ladies and gents, for real. A combination of who knows what—cologne, deodorant, shampoo? And something magical.

Does he greet everyone this way?

"Please, please, have a seat," he invites, gesturing to the wonderful sofa. He sits next to me, smiling, blinking, running his hand through his hair in another attempt to get it off his face.

Pete Santangelo is a truly stunning example of a person with charisma. Even if he weren't drop dead and go to heaven beautiful, he would still have that charm, that magnetism that some people are born with, that ability to make you feel comfortable and at home, happy to be in their presence. You know, like George Clooney, maybe? Or the Dalai Lama? Yeah, like that.

However, in addition to this mysterious je ne sais quoi, Pete does happen to be beautiful, with a lean build, with green eyes, miles of eyelashes, and these cheekbones...Okay, this reporter is going to hear from her significant other when he proofreads this piece, unless she locks this down, right here, right now.

Which she is doing.

Ahem.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," he continues, shaking his head. "We knew you were coming, of course, but time got away from us in the kitchen." He gestures behind himself, to a bright, cheerful kitchen, where a fluffy cat is sunning herself on a windowsill.

"We were making Baba Ganoush," he explains.

What?

"One of my daughter's classmates did a report about the country she's from, and Baba Ganoush was one of the native dishes she talked about. It sounded interesting, so we decided to make some," he finished with a smile.

Is this a common occurrence at the Santangelo house? Cooking interesting sounding things for fun?

"Absolutely," he answers with a nod. "I want my children to be open to trying anything, you know? Not just burgers from Five Napkin or whatever, though those are wonderful, veramente."

Did this reporter mention that Pete's hotness factor gets multiplied exponentially when he speaks Italian? Because it does.

Ahem.

Pete Santangelo was born and raised on a working family winery in Tuscany, where he helped with everything, from the spraying of the grapes, to the picking, to the crush, until he came to the Big Apple as a college student. He met and married his American wife Daisy while attending Columbia university as a music student, and began performing at clubs in the city as his family grew.

His big break came during a tour of the Eastern Seaboard and Canada, when the musical guest on Saturday Night Live had to pull out of a show, and Pete was asked to fill in on a few days' notice. He happened to be in New York City on that day, and was able to make the performance. It was epic, a life-altering appearance that caused his career to explode. He went from being a moderately successful musician and singer to being a superstar.