“Nope.” Elisa grins. “Cristian called to ask if there was a spa in the city we could recommend.”
“Then he offered to book us in too, and he organized it all,” Gia adds. “If I wasn’t already completely in love with my husband, I might be tempted to make a move on Mr. DiPietro.”
Elisa cracks up laughing. “Don’t mind her. She’s full of it. Gia had ample opportunity to make a move on Cristian and didn’t go there because they were only ever meant to be friends.”
Before I can ask what she means, a staff member appears to take us to the changing area.
Ten minutes later, we are drinking our champagne in the Jacuzzi and picking up our conversation. “What did you mean back there, Elisa?” I ask before swinging my gaze to Gia. “Were you interested in Cristian at one time?”
Gia narrows her eyes at her bestie. “Elisa shouldn’t have said anything. I was merely trying to encourage you to make a move on him.”
“Been there, bought the T-shirt, and have egg all over it now,” I deadpan before swigging the last of my champagne.
Elisa almost chokes on a mouthful of bubbly.
“Tell us everything,” Gia commands, giving me her full attention.
So, I do, explaining what happened the night at their place when I went after Cristian into the woods.
“Cristian is an honorable man, and Elio means the world to him,” Elisa says. “I’m not surprised it went down like that.”
“It’s pure Cristian,” Gia agrees. “Don’t take it personally. I know he likes you. It’s way too obvious to hide.”
“It doesn’t seem to matter.” I stretch my arms back against the edge of the Jacuzzi. “He wants to keep things uncomplicated and stick to professional boundaries, and I only respect him more for it.”
“But you like him,” Elisa probes.
“More than I should.” I don’t see the point in hiding the truth. Where I can be honest, I want to be.
“There’s no such thing.” Gia finishes her champagne, putting her glass down on the ledge. “You can’t force yourself to like someone less or not like them at all. Chemistry exists for a reason, and I can relate. Joshua and I were in a similar situation, and we both tried to fight it but couldn’t. I’m betting it will be the same with Cristian.”
“I pined for Caleb for years,” Elisa admits. “He only saw me as a friend until I started dating, and that forced him to take his head out of his ass.”
Gia’s eyes twinkle. “I know you said it wasn’t serious with the guy you’re seeing, but maybe you should tell Cristian the guy wants to become exclusive. Make him jealous, and it might spur him into action.”
“Or maybe you should take Giulio up on his dinner offer,” Elisa says.
“Oh, yes!” Gia’s eyes are positively gleaming with excitement now. “That will definitely light a fire under Cristian. He’ll go crazy.”
“I don’t want to lead Giulio on or cause any trouble in their friendship.”
Elisa giggles. “Knowing Giulio, he’d agree to it just to wind Cristian up. The guys are always playing pranks on one another.”
“You should do it. We can talk to him and help set it up, if you like?” Gia offers.
“I’ll think about it.” I’m still not convinced it will work. “But back to you and Cristian,” I say, eyeballing Gia. “What happened?”
“Do you really want to know?” She leans back, arching a brow. “The guys like to remind Joshua from time to time, to mess with his head, and it always pisses him off.”
“You can’t not tell me now.”
“Sorry.” Elisa chews on the corner of her lip. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“If it’s in the past, it doesn’t matter. I’m more curious than anything.”
“If you insist.” Gia shrugs. “I lost my virginity to Cristian.”
She just puts it out there like that. “Oh, okay, wow.”
