Coming Home to Love (Lakeside Porch Series Book 2) (23 page)

“My timing has always sucked,” Carol joked. “Put your arms straight up over your head.

Gianessa did as she was told. The spasm slowly passed. She smiled and nodded but did not attempt to talk.

“That wasn’t a hard question, was it?”

Gianessa shook her head, put her hand on her sternum and tested her voice. “He’s well,” she croaked. She told Carol about the drama with Manda’s sister and the hope they all had for Lyssa’s rehab.

“You know, I hear a lot of respect for this gentleman when you share about your time with him.”

Gianessa tried another sip of coffee. “He’s a good man underneath it all,” she said.

Carol chuckled. “Underneath what all?”

“He’s used to having his own way and wielding a great deal of power.”

“I’ll bet you don’t let him get away with that in your relationship.”

Gianessa regarded her thoughtfully. “You’re right.”

“As you’ve opened up these past few months, I’ve seen surprising strength in you.”

“Why do you say ‘surprising’?”

Carol tapped her perfectly manicured fingernails—dark plum this month—against the ceramic mug. “Fair question. When I met you, you had that lost little girl look, remember? And you’re so slender and ethereal, I didn’t expect to find the resilient core that you’ve developed over the years.”

“Thank you.”

“Where do you think that strength came from?”

Gianessa flashed a happy smile. “My pop. Have I told you about him?”

“Your father? No, we haven’t talked about your family.”

“Pop is the greatest. I miss him like crazy.”

“Has he passed?”

“No. He and his sister—twin sister, my aunt Ariella—moved back to Italy last year. That’s part of why I made the decision to move here. I had no more reason to stay in California.”

“Your father can’t be old enough to retire?”

“You’re right. Actually he took his talent back to Italy and opened a restaurant there. In Milano. He caters to the fashion community and calls it Ariella’s American Restaurant.”

“You’re giving me a sly smile. What’s the joke?”

“It’s basically the same menu he used in San Francisco at Gianni’s Italian Kitchen.”

Carol laughed and took another swallow of her coffee. “That’s unusual, isn’t it, to move a business back to one’s home country?”

“I suppose so. There was something going on in San Francisco, and he wouldn’t tell me what it was, but he was more and more worried. For a while I thought he was worried about my addiction and my divorce but, once I cleared up, I realized it wasn’t about me. I think he stayed as long as he did to be near me, but that wasn’t the reason for his business decision. I asked Ariella once, and she said, ‘Baby girl, you don’t want to know and you don’t even want to ask. We will be fine once we’re away from it.’”

“Some criminal element pressuring him?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t ask. They both wanted to be back home in Italy, so that’s where they went. They are fine, the restaurant is catching on, and Pop’s got a girl.”

“A lady friend?”

Gianessa nodded. “I think if the business does well, he’ll marry again.”

“What’s the story with your mother?”

Gianessa shook her head. “There were never two people so completely different. They were passionately in love, I think, when they first met. They married, I came along, and then they grew apart. Totally apart. My mother is brilliant, and she has a distinguished career in high-tech. She’s made millions in start-up companies in the Bay Area. They split up when I was very young. Ariella moved from Italy to help Pop raise me.”

“Did you see your mother or have a relationship with her?”

“A little. She always fussed over my birthday, which is early in July. Every August she’d take me to New York City for a huge shopping spree—clothes and accessories and shoes and purses.” Gianessa gestured at her outfit—form-fitting designer jeans topped by a silk T-shirt and an artfully arranged scarf. “I don’t have a big budget for clothes, but those lessons never left me. These pieces are from consignment shops and thrift stores that my roommate Sara knows about. If I had the budget, I’d probably be wearing Italian leather boots and an obscenely expensive belt.” She kicked up one foot shod in a hiking shoe with deep tread on the sole. “End of season sale at Bean’s.”

“Smart choice for Upstate New York. Do you have a relationship with your mother now?”

Gianessa hated Carol’s persistence. “No. Her work has always been an obsession, more so every year. She is completely focused on the competition and maintaining her edge.”

“Did she remarry?”

Gianessa shook her head. “She has her fortune and her reputation.” She winced at the anger in her own voice.

“Sad. It must have been hard being her daughter.”

“Pop and Ariella are my parents. They’re the best.”

“Would you say your young man is more like your father or your mother?”

Gianessa thought about it. “A bit of both. He has money and power, but he’s also a terrific cook and he’s got an infectious sense of humor.”

“I look forward to hearing more. We’re coming up on meeting time. Let’s not be late.”

As Joel swam his warm-up routine, he watched her move around the pool area, humming as she gathered the floats and belts and weights for their workout. She was more graceful than last week, if that was possible, and far more beautiful and womanly than she’d been when they met at the retreat center last fall. He thought the fling with Justin had brought her home to her beauty, but intuition told him the womanliness was something else.

Gianessa looked up and caught him spying. “You look like a man who doesn’t want to tell a woman her panty line is showing.” There was no self-consciousness in her statement.

“It’s not,” he told her with a big smile. He hoisted himself onto the ledge of the pool, pivoted his hips into a sitting position, and accepted the hand she reached out to help him stand.

“You’re much stronger. Your arms are nearly equal when you reach forward in the modified crawl. How was the twist today when you sat on the ledge?”

“Still sore, but I know it’s improving.”

He balanced on his right leg while he dried the left and noted with satisfaction how solid his stance was now. “It’s encouraging to see progress. You’ve thought through every move, haven’t you?” he quizzed her.
Every move except one
.

“That’s what you’re paying me to do. And I’m thrilled with how quickly you’re improving. Fess up. Are you in this pool at night by yourself?”

“I like being in here at night, but I’m not that foolish to come alone. Manda swims with me a few nights a week after work. I think it’s the only time she relaxes.”

“That’s good. I need your promise you won’t try anything you’re not ready for when I’m not here.”

“It’s a promise,” he vowed.

She pointed to the weights in the adjoining space, and he looked questioningly at the props she had gathered by the pool.

“Would you rather try some weights today? I think you’re ready, and I won’t push you too hard the first time.”

“Let’s do it.”

She moved him through a short routine, using the lightest settings for just a few reps at each station. Even so, Joel reached his limit with the last leg press. “That’s enough,” he told her.

She nodded. “We’re done here. You’re way ahead of where I expected you to be.” She handed him a full bottle of water, and he drank thirstily. “You can shower or cool down in the pool first. Your choice.”

“I’ll get a shower in a minute. Let me take you to lunch today.”

She raised an eyebrow, and then smiled at him. “Something on your mind?”

Joel nodded, drilled her with a look, and asked her, “Does he know yet?”

Gianessa frowned at him, puzzled.

Genuinely puzzled
. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”

She laughed at him. “Either I’ve exhausted you to the point of insanity, or I’ve missed something entirely.” She took a deep breath and asked patiently, “Does who know what?”

Joel stalled by taking a long pull on the bottle of water. “I have the uncomfortable feeling you don’t know yourself.”

“Joel, what are we talking about?”

“I could swear you’re pregnant.”

Her mouth opened.

Joel watched emotions chase each other across her face. Her breathing became uneven and the blood drained from her face.

“Sit down,” he ordered. He slid his stronger arm around her waist and helped her to the bench. “Put your head between your knees.” He placed his hand at the back of her head for a moment. “Stay there until the dizziness passes.” He sat next to her, stroked her back and encouraged her to take belly breaths. When she nodded, he eased his hand back.

She lifted up partway, resting her forearms on her knees and her head on her arms. She turned her face toward him.

“Did you even suspect?”

She shook her head. “How could I not know? The clues were there, but I didn’t see them.”

“Denial maybe?”

“Tell me how you knew.”

“I must have a little of my grandmother Bridey’s intuition.”

“But something must have clued you in.”

“There’s a womanliness about you that’s new. A softness in your face and eyes, a fullness in, well, you know. It’s like your body is preparing for the child in your womb.”

A shudder—or was it a thrill?—coursed through her, and she wrapped her arms around her middle. “Joel, Justin will hate me. What on earth am I going to do?”

“You’re going to have lunch with me, and we’ll stop at a drug store on the way to get a pregnancy kit.”

She sat up straight and rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Not in Tompkins Falls, we’re not. The whole town will think you and I are pregnant.”

“Rochester,” he said. “We’ll swing through Victor for the kit and have lunch along the canal in Pittsford. And we’ll talk about it.”

She looked at his face then, and he saw in her clear, peaceful gaze that she would be all right with this. “You’re a good friend, Joel.”

“So are you,” he told her.

She exited the ladies’ room, stopped in confusion, and looked blankly at the dozens of lunch-goers who had crowded into the restaurant in the last five minutes.

Joel stood and waved to her. Relief flooded her face. He pointed out a clear route back to their table in a quiet corner.

She settled into her chair, and he asked, “Confirmed?”

She nodded, unable to speak.

“Bottle of wine for you folks?” a cheerful waiter announced himself.

Gianessa covered her face with her hands.

Joel told him firmly, “Just ice water for us for the moment, and we’d each like a pot of green tea as soon as you can manage.”

“And are you ready to order?” he asked.

“I’ll wave when we’re ready to order,” Joel told him sharply.

The waiter sniffed and turned away.

“Sorry,” Gianessa whispered. “Thank you for sending him away.”

“I’ll order for us when you’ve had a chance to choose.”

She breathed quietly. “He’s going to hate me for this.”

“I have a few questions,” he said, “but they can wait.”

Gianessa gave him a shaky laugh. “It would be easier to deal with questions than to come up with a coherent thought of my own.”

He squeezed her hand. “Can you eat?”

“I think I need to eat, even though I have no appetite.”

“What will work with your food plan?” He handed her a menu open to the salads.

She read the offerings and scanned them a second time as though she couldn’t make sense of them. “The chicken and pear over mesclun with Greek dressing on the side, no croutons or onions. Entrée size.” She laughed. “I guess I do have an appetite.”

“Good.” He signaled to the waiter, gave him a big smile along with their order, and asked him not to bring bread to the table.

“You are beautiful,” he said. He had brought this woman to Tompkins Falls, to the Manse, and now she was carrying his uncle’s child. A new generation of Cushmans. He wondered what Bridey would think of that.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“I mean it. And I want you to know, whatever happens with Justin, you’ll be supported.”

She put her hand on her belly and smiled down. “This is your cousin, baby. He is the finest of men, and he is our friend.”

“You do want the baby?” Joel asked.

She nodded and smiled across the table at him.

“Any idea how far along you are?”

“I’m thinking I probably got pregnant when we were in New York City at the end of January.”

“So three months or so?”

Gianessa nodded.

“You haven’t had any symptoms?”

“Now that I think of it, little signs, nothing more. No morning sickness, thank god. Of course, no periods, which I didn’t even notice. I’ve never been regular.” She closed her eyes. “Sorry, TMI.”

“No protection? Did either of you even think of it?”

She shook her head. “I stopped using birth control a couple of years ago because I didn’t need it and couldn’t afford it. I just never started again or even thought of it. How irresponsible is that?”

“There’s no doubt this is Justin’s baby?” His tone was sharper than he intended.

She jumped a little and looked him squarely in the eye. “No, there’s no question. Would you want me to have a paternity test?” There was an edge in her voice.

“No, not for my sake.”
I can’t guarantee Justin won’t
. He reached for her hand. “I have no right to say this, but I really hope you’ll stay here and let me be part of this baby’s life, regardless of how things work out between you and Justin. I’m just putting that out there for now. I trust you to do what’s best for you and the baby.”

She nodded and gazed at her hands on her belly.

The waiter returned with their teapots and mugs. Gianessa dunked the teabag up and down in the hot water, lost in thought. When she tried to lift the pot, it was too much for her shaking hands.