Chapter Twenty Seven
Carly
This man. Why did he have to be so damn charming? It would be so much easier to keep my heart safe if he was an asshole. There were sides to him I was sure I hadn’t met yet. I was still a little uneasy about all the obvious wealth around me. Where had it come from? How was his family able to buy so many properties? I knew they had at least two, but I had the distinct feeling they had more than that.
“Adore? You barely know me, Gio. You like the way I look, but you don’t know me enough for you to be able to say you adore me.”
“I know more than you think,Bella. Perhaps later I’ll fill you in. Today is about enjoying the early spring day.”
“You know, it’s a good thing they got married in the spring. Could you imagine this in the middle of summer? With this hair? I’d be drenched in sweat in no time.”
Gio reached up and gently gripped my hair. The sensations just that light tug sent through me. Fuck. It was like there was a direct line from his hand to my core.
“Your hair is gorgeous,Bella. Don’t ever change it.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.” I had to clear my throat because my voice came out huskier than I’d intended.
“Mm. Someone likes a little roughness.”
His growled comment made me shudder. “Gio.” I don’t know what I would have said, or done, because in that moment Eli came running over to me.
“Mama! Can I go swimming with the other kids? Miss Carmella said she keeps swim trunks for her nieces and nephews and she said I could borrow some but only if you say it’s okay. Can I? Please, Mama?”
He’d only been swimming a handful of times, just enough to learn how to swim. Of course the protective mama bear in me wanted to keep him in a bubble but I couldn’t do that. “Of course you can,Amato.” Just saying the words filled me with fear but there were plenty of people around. If he had trouble swimming, he would be fine. “Just be careful. And remember your lessons.”
“I will, Mama! Thank you!”
I returned the hug Eli gave me and watched him race off toward what I assumed was the pool house so he could change into swim trunks.
“He’ll be fine,Bella.”
“He’s my entire world, Gio. If something happened to him…It would destroy me.”
“I know, Carly. He’s safe here. You have my word.”
I closed my eyes a moment. “I know. I believe you. It’s just habit.” My eyes opened and I focused on the man in front of me. “You grew up with wealth. You grew up with safety. I didn’t. I grew up in the Lower 9thWard. If you know anything about New Orleans, you know it’s one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. I didn’t have the safety and security of a big house surrounded with a fence. You’ll have to forgive me for worrying about my son.”
“Bella, Bella, Bella. I don’t fault you for worrying. You are a good woman and an even better mother, of course you’re going to worry. There is no shame in that. I merely meant to reassure you that he is safe here.”
Gio pulled me into his arms and I rested my forehead against his chest. “I’m sorry. That was really bitchy of me. Thank you for understanding.”
“There is nothing to thank me for, Carly.”
I looked up into his dark eyes. When Gio lowered his lips to mine I melted. He was such an amazing kisser. Okay, sure, I didn’t have much to compare him to since the only other person I’d ever kissed was Rico, but in this I didn’t need a lot of experience to know he was good.
The clearing of a throat interrupted the kiss and I pulled away from him. I could feel the heat in my cheeks and mentally kicked myself for forgetting where we were for even a second.
“Sorry for interrupting you but it seems my big brother has forgotten his manners. He only introduced you tosomeof the family. I’m Rosa.”
The younger woman, who maybe stood five feet, held her hand out and when I took it she pulled me into a hug. “Oof.” She was strong for being such a petite thing. “I’m Carly. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You don’t mind if I steal here for a bit, do you Gio? Didn’t think so.”
I was tugged away from Gio before he could protest and Rosa laughed.
“Sorry about that. I just wanted to get you away from him for a minute. Gio has never brought a woman home and I would love to get to know the woman who managed to really catch his eye. Has he gotten all Alpha Male on you yet? You know, trying to tell you what to do, oh, excuse me, he would call it ‘suggesting’ what you should do.”
Rosa rolled her eyes and I found myself liking the younger woman. She was very outspoken. I liked that. “A little, yeah. What is it with men thinking they have to get all domineering? Haven’t they ever heard the phrase, you’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?”
