Gianni - The Santinis

eBooks
are
not
transferable.
They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on
the copyright of this work.

This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and
incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been
used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or
organizations is entirely coincidental.

The
Santinis: Gianni

Copyright
© 2013 by Melissa Schroeder

Cover
by Brandy Walker

Edited
by Noel Varner

ISBN:
9781939734914

All
Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Electronic Print, May 2013

The youngest of the
Santinis, 
Gee
 has always been the biggest flirt. He
usually has no problem charming women. That is until he spies
 Kianna
Jones
 across the room. For once in his life, he is unable to
charm her into a date.

Kianna
is a woman who doesn’t expect romance, especially with a sexy
PJ who is five years younger than she is. But, he just won’t
give up so she agrees to a date, which turns into several and
eventually to the best sex of her life. Still, she isn’t ready
to commit beyond their present status.

Gee
isn’t happy when Kianna resists taking their relationship to
the next level but he refuses to give up. If there is one thing a
Santini understands is that nothing worth fighting for comes
easily—and he is prepared to launch the fight of his life.

Dedication

To
the other brats I have met along the way. Jan, Darla, Tamilya, Lara,
and Brandy. Only those who have lived it know exactly what being a
brat is all about.

Gianni

Melissa
Schroeder

I
was born in an Army hospital. I always joke that I was government
issued and I know a lot of other brats feel this way. Our lives are
not our own but we belong to a huge family, filled with so many
different people from various backgrounds that it is quite unique.
There is a reason I have found so many military brats-as many of us
like to be called- to be some of the most adaptable folks I have met.
Still it wasn’t something I thought I would do to my own kids.
It isn’t an easy life. But when my husband Les and I decided
that it was best for him to enter the Air Force almost 20 years ago,
I thought I was ready. I was not, lol. This coming September, we will
come to the end of his active duty military career. To pay homage, I
decided to write a series of novellas about a group of extraordinary
brothers who all serve in the military. Each book is set in a
location we lived for a time.

We
had good and bad in Georgia. It was where I made the final decision
to definitely start writing seriously. We had a lot of fun with the
squadron Les worked in, and well, I was really involved on base. It
was also our first encounter with a rescue squadron. I admire their
abilities and their dedication to the job.

I
won’t forget those Monday Margarita nights with my next-door
neighbor Kathy, and all the crazy women I met at the OWC. And I will
never forget the gay ducks that came to my door every day for bread.
Gators, snakes, and stories of escapee pigs—it was definitely
an experience.

Just
a little note. Each chapter begins with a quote from either Kianna or
Gee. They were taken from the emails the two shared while he was
deployed. I hope you love their story as much as I loved writing it.

Acknowledgments

When
I first came up with the idea for The Santinis, the one person who
has always been along for the ride these last few years was Brandy
Walker. We share more than a love of romance and the publishing
business. We are both military wives and former brats. She helped me
come up with the series and made the most fabulous covers for the
books.

More
people were very supportive when I came up with the idea. Big thanks
to Heather Long for her understanding of my strange sense of humor,
Joy Harris because she’s Joy and a big thanks to Gina Dewitt
for being such a fabulous beta reader, thanks to Mel’s Militia
for getting the word out about The Santinis, and especially to Noel
Varner for her hard work on the edits. And last but not least, thanks
to Les and my girls.

It wasn’t
expected that we would serve, but none of the Santini boys would have
it any other way. –Gee

Gianni Santini
stepped into his favorite sweet shop and was granted a view that
every heterosexual man should dream of. A woman was bent at the waist
picking up change off the floor. The fabric of her red skirt
stretched across her full rounded ass.

He sighed and gave a
grateful glance up to the heavens. When he returned to his gaze to
the woman, he noticed she had stepped up to order. He sighed. There
was a God.

In the eighteen
months he had been stationed in Valdosta, Georgia, he hadn’t
seen her in Anna’s shop. Of course, he rarely made it in on a
Saturday morning.

He didn’t
realize he had been standing there staring at her until someone
bumped into him from behind.

“
Excuse me,”
a little voice said from behind him. He turned to find an old woman
about five feet tall, giving him a suspicious look. Considering the
way he had been ogling the woman in front of him, there was good
reason for it.

“
Sorry.”

Then stepped out of
the way and turned his attention back to the woman. She had
straightened and was at the counter chatting with Anna, the owner.

He moved closer and
tried to remember if he had seen her before. Okay, he knew for a
fact he hadn’t seen her before—but he still hadn’t
seen her face.

She wasn’t
tall, maybe about five-foot-five, and she had curly light brown hair.
Her skin looked like the finest cocoa powder. When he inched closer,
he could hear her voice. Deep Georgia threaded her tone telling him
that she was from the area.

“
I think I’ll
go for one of your malasadas today. I can’t tell you how super
happy I am you have friends in Hawaii who taught you how to make
those. Although, I have to say, my hips aren’t that happy.”

Anna laughed. “Well,
figuring my condition, I will refrain from feeling sorry for you.”

Gianni smiled. Anna
was about eight months pregnant and huge. For such a tiny woman, she
carried a massive package in her stomach.

She gave the woman
her total and Gianni said, “I’ll pay for that.”

The woman turned to
look at him, a questioning smile on her mouth. Right there and then,
his brain stopped functioning. She was amazing. A heart-shaped face
surrounded by all those springy curls and the most amazing skin. Her
eyes, lord, they were golden. It was the only way he could describe
them. His gaze dipped down to her mouth. Holy mother of God, she had
a mouth that would tempt a saint to sin—full with just the
tiniest of overbites.

“
Why would you
do that?”

It took him a second
to realize she was talking. To him.

“
What?”

He heard the
snickers behind him but ignored them.

“
Sorry,”
he said, his face heating up. Good God, he was blushing. He just
thanked God his brothers weren’t there.

Her smile faded a
bit. “I asked why would you do that.”

“
Watch
yourself here with Santini. He buys all the pretty girls sweet
treats,” Anna said with a laugh.

He gave Anna a dirty
look but then turned his attention back to the woman. “I would
just like to buy you. A treat.”

Jesus, he sounded
like a fifteen-year-old trying to flirt.

She shrugged. “Oh,
well, if you want to pay, soldier, you go right ahead.”

“
Airman.”

She shook her head.
“What?”

“
Airman. We’re
called airmen. Or, PJs to be specific.”

She sighed. He would
swear he felt it shiver through his blood. “Oh. I have to admit
that I know very little about the military. Well, other than what my
students tell me.”

“
Students.”

“
Yes, I teach
at the university.”

“
Here you go,
Kianna,” Anna said handing the woman a little paper sack.

“
Thanks
again,” she said then turned to find a seat.

He watched her walk
through the cafe, his brain fizzling at that moment. He couldn’t
help but appreciate they way her hips swung. There was something so
sensual.

“
Earth to
Santini,” Anna said breaking into his thoughts.

He turned and felt
his face get hotter. The suspicious look she sent him was enough for
that. In fact, it looked like his mother when she caught him doing
that to the general’s daughter when he was in high school.

“
What are you
doing in here on a weekend?” she asked.

“
I’m
shipping out tomorrow.”

Something he
couldn’t discern moved over her face. “Are you pcsing?”

He shook his head.
That was how much Anna knew about the military. She was in tune with
what was going on over in Valdosta at Moody like someone with family
in the military; although, he knew she was a local girl married to a
local guy.

“
Nope, just
heading out to Afghanistan.”

She frowned at him.
It made him think of a grumpy little elf. A very pregnant grumpy elf.

“
By yourself?
Don’t you usually go with a whole group?”

“
Yeah, this is
a special circumstance. I’ll be home in two months.”

She didn’t say
anything and he looked up to find tears in here eyes. Panic set in.
Santini men were known for being cool under fire. Three generations
had served in the military. But, show him a woman who was crying, he
couldn’t deal with it. He was saved by her husband.

Max clapped him on
the shoulder. “Don’t look so scared, son. Anna is a hot
mess these days. The hormones.”

She sniffed. “Be
nice or I’ll name our daughter Gertrude.”

“
So, do you
have any of those malasadas left?”

She nodded. “Want
the cinnamon one?”

He shook his head.
“If I have to go two months without any sweets, I think I’ll
go for the one with cream in it.”

She packaged it up
and he waited for a total. “Anna?”

Her watery smile
sent another fission of panic through him. “On the house today.
Come back in one piece.”

“
Thank you.”

At that, he turned
in search of the woman. He saw her sitting by herself at a table for
two. Her attention was on the tablet on the table so he felt safe
studying her for a moment. He watched as she picked a piece off her
malasada and slipped it between her lips.