“You think?”
“The lighting is spectacular in this one,” she says, pointing to the palm trees in the photo. I waited hours for just the right light and took so many variations to find the perfect one. “If you don’t make it in tattoos, you can with a camera.”
“My tattoo skills are still just average, but I want to be part of this shop as more than just the owner.”
“Maybe piercing is your thing. Lily could maybe show you a thing or two when she’s up here next month. Talk it over with her. She wasn’t into drawing and art, but she’s good with a needle. I think she secretly gets pleasure out of stabbing people.”
I don’t know why, but I burst into a fit of giggles thinking about my bookworm, shy cousin randomly stabbing people with a wicked smile on her face. I could one hundred percent see her finding immense joy in someone else’s pain.
“She’s a sadist, but she’ll never admit it. No one would ever believe me either because she looks like she shits rainbows.”
I laugh harder, and my eyes start to water, probably ruining my makeup, but I don’t care. Gigi’s cracking me up with how she’s talking about Lily.
The door pops open, and my brother strolls in like he owns the place and not me. “Cousin,” he calls out, moving to pick her right up off the floor like she’s a yard ornament.
She smacks at his arms, but it’s no use. My brother is bigger than her. She may as well be swatting a fly when her small handsland against his big biceps. “You big oaf. Put me down,” she hisses, but she’s smiling at him when she says it.
“You love me,” he teases her, not releasing her either. “Say it, and I’ll let you down.”
“You’re an idiot,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“Say it.” He smiles down at her, and it’s easy to see the family resemblance. There’s a look to the Gallos. The men are born big, like they’ve been bred that way for centuries, deep in the mountains of Italy.
“Fine,” she whispers, sagging into his hold. “I love you.”
The words aren’t said with enthusiasm, but they’re enough for my brother because he sets Gigi back down on her feet. “You look good, li’l cousin.”
“You do too,” she says, punching him in the arm with as much force as I think she can muster, but he doesn’t move an inch. “You probably have all the women wrapped around your little wicked pinkie.”
“I’m over that scene,” he announces.
“Hitting for the other team now?” she asks with her head tilted and her eyes wide.
“No. I’m not playing the field anymore. I want to get serious and settle down.”
Now it’s Gigi’s turn to burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh. Okay,” she says between bouts of laughter. “That’ll be fun.”
“It’ll be something,” I add with a chuckle.
“Don’t laugh at me,” he says, getting testy. “I’m being serious.”
“I think you’ve blown through every single, pretty woman within twenty miles and are out of options,” I say to him without an ounce of judgment. “But I have all the faith in the world that you can find someone who will want a relationship with you.”
The women have never been an issue. They’ve been trying to tie him down since he was a teenager, but he’d always found areason why they’d never move on past a few dates. He is his own worst enemy when it comes to love.
“I’m not that bad,” he argues.
I stare at him with zero emotion on my face. We both know he’s lying, and I can wait it out until he admits it.
“You’re a Gallo,” Gigi says. “You arethatbad. It’s genetic.”
Brax snorts a laugh. “I’m different.”
“No, you’re not. But when you do find the one, just like the other men in this family, you’re going to love hard and deep,” she explains to him as she holds his shoulder.
“I’m ready.”
She smiles at him with so much love. “You say that now, but it’ll knock you right on your ass.”
