“Gina.” He was the last person on Earth she wanted to see.
With her hand encased in Teo’s firm grasp and Luca’s arm around her shoulders, she quickened her pace.
“Gina, hold up.” Vinny sprinted out in front of her. “Where you going in such a hurry?”
She skirted around him without bothering to answer.
They kept on walking.
And swallowed up by the crowd, he just stood there.
Kevin looked back over his shoulder. “Who was that guy?”
“Morto di figa.” Teo held his middle finger high above his head.
Accurate.
“It means manhoe, more or less,” Luca explained. “Vinny Passarelli, Gina’s ex-boyfriend.”
“Gotcha.” Kevin nodded, leaning forward to look at her. “He cheat on you?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” There are worse things, but she wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he had. “What happened between us was ages ago.”
“You think he wants to get back with you?”
It’s what her mother wanted. Hell, his mom probably did, too. But not Gina. She’d rather join a convent than be with that man ever again.
“He’s wasting his time if he does.” She lifted her chin with a smirk. “See, Vinny had his shot, but disrespect me once, and I’m done. I don’t do second chances.”
“Fucker doesn’t deserve one,” Teo agreed. “Besides, it never works out like you think it will.”
She saw him before he saw her. A beer in his hand, Matt stood in a huddle with the band, and suddenly, her mouth went dry. Nerves rioting in her heart, the saliva caught in her throat. Gina took a deep cleansing breath, her pulse skyrocketing, to calm the whirlwind in her tummy.
There’s no reason to be so nervous.
But this was tantamount to meeting Matt’s family, because good God, that’s what these people were to him. The guys likely thought of her as just Tony’s brat of a little sister, but that wasn’t who she was anymore.
Stop. Everything’s gonna be okay.
And it was.
He glanced up, and the most dazzling smile Gina had ever seen spread across his face. Matt didn’t wait for her to get to him. He sprinted from the tent and scooped her up, wrapping her legs around him.
His forehead dropped to hers. “Give me that mouth.”
She gazed into warm brown eyes, the pupils dilating, and offered him her lips. Then, with one hand cradling her bottom, the other at her nape, he took her breath and gave her his.
It didn’t matter that her brothers and Kevin were on the running trail beside them, that his bandmates and total strangers might be watching. So enthralled by the taste of his tongue, the feeling of his hard body molded against hers, Gina gave no thought to the breeze at her backside.
With his fingers threading through her hair, Matt softly growled in her ear.
Teo cleared his throat.
Matt smiled, and pressing another kiss to her lips, he eased her down and fixed her dress.
Her brother’s boyfriend held up his hand, wiggling his fingers with an amused grin. “Hiya, Matt.”
“Hey, Kev.”
