Still tall and well built for his age, Alessandro rushed down the stairs to open the door for Gigi. His petite auburn-haired wife, Elise, was smiling as she followed him.
As soon as Gigi stepped out of the car, she was swept from her feet into a bone-crushing hug. Her uncle swung her around as if she were a child.
“Gigi, your phone call made my day. I can’t tell you how happy hearing from you makes me.”
From beside him, Elise said, “Alessandro, put poor Gigi down. She’s still getting to know us.”
He did, and Gigi adjusted her clothing, saying politely, “It’s okay. I’m happy to see you, too, Uncle Alessandro.” She stepped forward and gave Elise a kiss on the cheek. “You, too, Aunt Elise. Your home is beautiful.”
Gigi turned around to introduce Annelise and laughed when she saw that Alessandro was giving her an equally boisterous greeting. “Annelise, meet Uncle Alessandro. Uncle Alessandro, this is my best friend in the whole world, Annelise Douglas.”
Alessandro set Annelise back onto her feet and brought his wife closer to meet her. “We’ve heard a lot about you, Annelise.”
Still laughing from being swung around, Annelise asked, “You have?”
Elise offered her hand to Gigi’s friend. “You’ve been the topic of dinner conversations. Everyone who has met you adores you. Thank you for being so good to our Gigi.”
From beside her, Alessandro added, “Just hug them both, Elise. You know you want to.”
Elise looked at her husband and then back at Gigi and Annelise. “He’s right. I do, but I know it takes time to be comfortable around new people, even if they’re related to you.”
There was such warmth emanating from her aunt and uncle that Gigi gave in to an impulse. She wrapped her arms around her aunt and gave her a long, tight hug.
When Gigi released her, Annelise did the same then joked, “I’m not even a hugger normally.”
Elise wiped happy tears from around her eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s just so good to have you here. We’ve waited so long.” She collected herself and started up the steps. “Come, you didn’t come all this way to spend the day in the driveway. We have a wonderful brunch planned. Richard is cooking today. He’s making my grandmother’s sauce with Alessandro’s mother’s meatballs. And a fruit crostata for dessert. You’ll each go home five pounds heavier, but it’s heaven.”
In a slight panic, Annelise whispered to Gigi, “I didn’t know we were eating here. You know I can’t do carbs. How do I not offend them?”
Gigi started to answer, but her aunt stopped and turned. “Annelise, you eat what you want to. I’ll make sure there is salad, too. But, you are a stunning woman, don’t starve yourself into a size your body doesn’t want to be. Real men like a little padding, don’t they, Alessandro?”
“You are more beautiful every year we’re together, Elise,” Alessandro said, giving his wife a sexy smile and a wink.
Gigi looked at Annelise to gauge her reaction to the open flirtation from the older couple, and they both started laughing. They weren’t mocking Alessandro and his wife; it was joyful laughter that came from witnessing something beautiful and fun. That’s what I want. What I need as much as any zing.
Elise sent Alessandro ahead of them to make sure the parlor was set with finger sandwiches and drinks. When he was out of earshot, she adjusted her loose curls and said, “The day you get engaged, Gigi, I’ll give you the talk my mother gave me.” Annelise rounded her eyes comically and Elise added, “You, too, Annelise. Every woman should learn from the generation before. The young think they invented love and sex, but you would not be here if that were true, yes?”
Gigi chuckled again. Even though she had held back a hug until she was sure her niece would be comfortable, Elise didn’t hold her opinions back.
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Annelise said, “I’d love some tips.”
Elise led the way through the large foyer. “Not until you’re engaged, Annelise. We don’t waste family secrets on lovers whose names you won’t remember later. Use a condom. Be safe. We’ll talk when you’ve found the man you intend to spend the rest of your life with.”
Annelise’s jaw dropped open, and she whispered again, “I think she’s serious.” When Elise glanced over her shoulder, Annelise giggled like a guilty child. “And her hearing is exceptional.”
Gigi nodded with a smile. “That won’t be for a while, Aunt Elise.”
Elise stopped at the entry to the parlor. “You never know, Gigi. Love has a way of surprising all of us.”
Gigi didn’t have time to reflect on Elise’s comment. Uncle Victor and his wife, Katrine, were in the parlor and stood and came over as soon as they spotted Gigi. They each hugged her. When Gigi introduced Annelise to them there was just the briefest of awkward moments as if they were sizing each other up.
Annelise threw out her arms and gave each of them a hearty embrace that put smiles on their faces. She mouthed to Gigi, “When in Rome.” And Gigi couldn’t suppress the huge smile that spread across her face.
Gigi looked around. Although she was happy about it, she was also surprised to see that her uncles and aunts were the only others in the room. During the month she’d been in the States she’d realized inviting one Andrade often meant ten. Inviting ten meant fifty. Anything called a family gathering was well over a hundred. “Is it just us today?”
“Sit. Sit,” Alessandro said then addressed her question after everyone was seated. “We told the family to come this afternoon. When you called it sounded as if you wanted to talk. That can be difficult once the house fills up.
Katrine leaned over toward Annelise. “Do you like to cook?”
Annelise made a face and said cautiously, “In theory.”
Elise nodded and also stood as if saying she agreed with what Katrine was doing. “You have to meet Richard. My son-in-law is arguably the best chef in North America. In five minutes of watching him you will learn more than you would in a year of cooking classes.”
With a straight face, Annelise asked, “Am I allowed to? Are you sure I shouldn’t wait until I’m engaged? What if I use what I learn to feed men I won’t remember?”
Katrine cocked her head at her in confusion.
Elise cackled and linked arms with Annelise. “You’re funny. I like that. And you’re still single? Katrine, what about Tino’s son? Did he break up with his girlfriend? He’s her age.”
Katrine and Elise flanked Annelise as they walked out of the room. “I can’t see her with Tino. How about Sal’s boy? He doesn’t speak English, but that has its benefits, too. Love doesn’t require translation.”
Annelise glanced back at Gigi one final time. She was laughing, but she mouthed, “Help me.”
Gigi put up her hands in an apologetic gesture that showed she didn’t know how. Once they were alone, Gigi turned back toward her uncles. For the first few minutes she fielded simple questions with ease. They discussed the private plane she’d used to fly over. Although they didn’t seem to like that she and Annelise had checked into a hotel, they didn’t push her to change her mind and stay with family.
When their conversation hit a lull, Alessandro sat back in his chair and studied Gigi for a long moment. “You look like you have something on your mind, Gigi.”
Gigi looked down at her hands momentarily then across at the open expressions on her uncles’ faces. “I do.” She cleared her throat. “I was hoping you could answer a few questions about my father and his wife.”
Victor looked at Alessandro quickly.
Alessandro’s face tightened slightly. “Gigi, neither is with us anymore. Let the past go with them.”
Gigi gripped the arms of her chair until her knuckles were white. “I would if I could. I don’t want to be angry anymore. I want to forget what I know and rewrite my childhood. I don’t want to be the daughter of your brother’s mistress. Every time I look at my mother I ask myself why she settled for so little. Tell me my father loved her. Explain to me what I have spen
t my whole life not able to understand.” She wiped away quiet tears that had begun to run down her cheeks.
Victor started to say something, but Alessandro put up a hand to silence him. “There are many kinds of love, Gigi. I used to pass judgment on which were moral and which were not, but now I leave that to God to decide. You are old enough to remember what your parents were like when they were together. Were they happy?”
Gigi wiped away another tear as she remembered the smile on her mother’s face each time her father returned to them. How their house would be full of laughter while he was there. “Yes, I believe they were. But when I look back at that time, I am so angry. None of it was real. We weren’t his real family. How do I stop being angry about that?”
Victor’s eyes shone with emotion. “Gigi, people are going to hurt and disappoint you. It’s part of life. You can’t control that. What you can change is what’s in your heart. When we were young, I made a terrible mistake with Patrice, your father’s wife. They weren’t married, but it was wrong. I have regretted it every day since. She let that one event shape the rest of her life—even taint the last moments with her sons. Who are you punishing with your anger, Gigi? Your father? He’s gone. Your mother? Maybe. My guess is the person you’re hurting the most is yourself.”
Gigi didn’t say anything, but inwardly she agreed. Her mother still missed her father, but she was at peace with his death. Gigi, on the other hand, still felt he had abandoned them.
Alessandro looked at Victor with approval, then back at Gigi. “Your mother comes across as a woman who knows her own heart and speaks her mind.”
Gigi let out a shaky sigh. “That’s true.”
Alessandro gave his niece a gentle smile. “Then, perhaps, being like her is not a bad thing, no?”
In a tight voice, Victor said, “If any of us could go back in time and do things differently, we would. But what would the cost be? If we had done everything right, we wouldn’t have you.”
Gigi smiled through her tears. “My mother said almost the same thing.”
“See,” Alessandro said with conviction, “she is very wise.”
Gigi nodded. “I’m beginning to see that.” It might have been because the talk she’d had with her mother was still fresh in her mind or because her uncles had spoken to her so frankly, but something inside Gigi shifted. Although she didn’t agree with anyone being with a married man, her uncle was right. Passing judgment on her parents hadn’t hurt them nearly as much as it had her.
It had paralyzed her heart and caused so much bitterness to grow. That wasn’t who she used to be. She had been happy when her father had been alive and with them. She did remember so many good times and had never felt like she was second best or unimportant to him. I had been loved unconditionally, just like these men seem to love me now. Can I let my anger go? Do I have a choice really? Have I lost that chance at love?
Misunderstanding Gigi’s suddenly sad expression, Victor waved a hand dismissively through the air. “Ack, don’t worry. It takes most children a long time to realize that their parents may have done one or two things correctly.”
“I should go check on Annelise.”
Alessandro smiled with amusement. “Tell your friend if she wants a husband, she should learn to cook like my grandmother. With the right sauce recipe a woman can have her pick of men to marry.”
Gigi stopped on her way to the door to reprimand him. “Really, Uncle Alessandro? That’s all it takes?”
Alessandro smiled widely and shrugged. “Men are easy. It’s women who complicate things.”
Gigi wagged a finger at him, but she couldn’t deny his claim.
I lost Kane because I was too afraid to admit how I felt about him.
I told myself it was because he didn’t look for my mother’s possessions, but how ridiculous is that? He spent a month in Edinburgh with me. He respected my decision to wait before having sex again.
He was wonderful to me. We had amazing chemistry. I started missing him the moment he left.
So, of course, I had to end it.
What would he say if I called him now? Asked him to forgive me for being a fool. I don’t care if he doesn’t want to tame dragons. I’m a strong, independent woman. I can tame my own.
My mother never gave up on anything or anyone she cared about just because it was difficult.
Not my father.
Not my education.
Not even me when I deserved a smack more than her understanding.
She loved us all unconditionally. That takes courage.
I couldn’t see that through my anger, but I see it now.
Is it too late to say I’m sorry?
To Mamma.
To Kane.
How do I begin to explain what I’m only now coming to understand?
Love isn’t something I’ve done well, but I can do it better.
I will do it better.
* * *
Kane hung up with Max and threw the paper he’d been taking notes on down onto the kitchen table of his apartment. Gigi’s spur-of-the-moment arrival in New York had changed the timeline of their plan.
He called his jeweler and put a rush on the ring. Forget about the week or two he’d said was fine. He needed it by the weekend. It could have been Kane’s tone or the amount of money he was paying for the ring, but the jeweler didn’t balk at the request.
Several phone calls later, Kane was satisfied that everything would still go smoothly. He shrugged off his suit jacket, stepped out of his shoes, and had started to unbutton his shirt when his cell phone rang.
Gigi.
He cleared his throat and tried to sound calmer than he felt when he answered. “Hello, Gigi.”
“Kane.”
Kane closed his eyes at the simple pleasure of hearing her say his name. “I heard you’re in New York.”
She didn’t answer for a moment, then said softly, “I’m downstairs. May I come up?”
Yes. Yes. Hell yes.
He buzzed her in. She hung up after he gave her the number to his apartment. He stood there, his cock swelling with excitement, his chest tight with anticipation, and told himself to not to rush her. This was not the plan, but it would still work. She probably wanted to explain what he’d overheard in Edinburgh.
Possibly apologize for hurting him.
She wouldn’t be ready for what his dick was hoping for.
He was at the door a heartbeat after her soft knock. She was holding a plastic food container in her hands. The room sizzled as their eyes met.
She smiled shyly. “I went to see my uncles today. I brought you a container of leftovers.” Like Kane, Gigi looked as if she was having difficulty concentrating on anything beyond the attraction between them. Her voice became husky. “Just some pasta and sauce.”
He stepped closer to take it from her. When his hands closed over hers, he groaned audibly. His need for her was scattering the last of his sanity. They stood in the doorway, both holding the plastic container between them.
“I’ve missed you, Gigi,” he admitted.
She stepped back, releasing the container to him, and he cursed himself for pushing her before she had time to say why she’d come.
Gigi closed the door behind her then gave him a sexy little smile that took his breath away. She bit her bottom lip deliciously, and he practically came at the memory of how those lips had felt around his cock. “I’m sorry about what I said.”
Kane opened his mouth to say . . . really he had no idea what he would say, but he hoped it would be what she wanted to hear. Before he could utter a sound she placed a finger across his lips to silence him.
He swallowed hard.
She started to unbutton her blouse as she spoke. “I missed you, too.” She slid her shirt off and tossed it on the floor beside her, then reached back to release her bra and threw that aside also. “There is so much I want to say, but can it wait? Right now I just want to be with you.”
The food container hit the floor, and
Kane pulled Gigi into his arms for a kiss he’d remember the rest of his life. All the waiting had built a need within him unlike any he’d felt before. They kissed as lovers do after a painfully long separation. He couldn’t get enough of her. His mouth ravaged hers. His hands tore off the rest of her clothing.
She was stripping him just as enthusiastically.
Kane picked her up and carried her to his bedroom, feeling like a conquering warrior about to claim his bounty. He threw her onto the bed, loving the wild hunger in her eyes, the way she didn’t try to hide any part of her from him.
He was kneeling above her, running his hands over her with a roughness that matched his desire for her, and she moaned in encouragement. Nothing that had occurred before, or what would happen later, mattered. Gigi spread her legs wide for him, and the glisten of her arousal drove him to savor a taste.
She buried her hands in his hair, writhing against his mouth. He claimed her sex mercilessly with his tongue and his teeth, as his hands closed over her hips and held her to him. She was sweeter than he remembered, more powerfully addictive than before. Had she denied him then, he doubted he could have survived the pain.
When she came in his mouth it was the sweetest nectar. How have I survived without her taste? He massaged her sensitive clit with his thumb, and drove his tongue deeper and deeper inside her until she was crying out his name again and digging her nails into his shoulders.
When she was quickly approaching another orgasm, he raised himself above her and plunged his cock into her. She cried out for him to take her harder, and he did. He held nothing back, pounding into her with a force he normally would have reined back.
She wrapped herself around him, meeting his thrusts with a frenzy that matched his own. He leaned down and kissed her, loving how she opened herself to him completely. He made love to her mouth with the same intensity.
When an orgasm shook through him, he tried to hold it off, but he couldn’t. With one last powerful thrust, he came, loving how she tightened around his cock and shuddered with her own release.