Loving Gigi (18 page)

“I don’t need you to explain me to my own sister.”

“Then why are you out here in the hall instead of in there?”

“You’re fucking out here with me.”

“I can’t believe she threw me out. You’d think after the night we had—”

Gio’s face went white with anger. “Say one more word and I have to hit you.”

Kane shrugged. “Sorry, but you know what I mean.”

Between gritted teeth, Gio said, “I know exactly what you mean. That’s the problem.”

The two of them stood in tense silence for several minutes.

Gio finally said, “I don’t think they’re going to open the door.”

Kane looked down at the towel around him. “I should probably get dressed. There must be a public bathroom in this building.”

“I saw one downstairs.”

Kane pressed the button on the elevator across the hall. When the car arrived they both stepped inside. His stomach rumbled loudly. “I need coffee.”

Without softening his harsh expression, Gio said, “There’s a breakfast place at the end of the block. Julia and I were going to take Gigi there.”

Kane assessed his friend with a sideways glance. “Do you want to get something to eat?”

Gio growled, “Only because I’m starving, not because I’m okay with any part of what just happened.”

Finally, something we agree on.

‡

A
s Gigi and
Julia walked up the cobblestoned Royal Mile toward the famous Witchery restaurant, stopping in the touristy shops along the way, Gigi’s tension rose. Until then, Julia had kept her mind off the morning’s drama. Her sister-in-law was hilarious and very down-to-earth. It was also fun seeing the city through her eyes.

Until a few moments ago, Gigi had been laughing until her sides hurt. Julia had dragged her to Camera Obscura where they had gone floor to floor playing with the illusion exhibits. It was impossible to be in a bad mood while watching Julia stick her head through a special table that made it look as if her head were being served on a platter.

The easy part of the day was over, though. Julia led Gigi into one last store, then it was off to meet the men for dinner. Gigi voiced her concern. “What happens if they don’t come?”

Julia put the Loch Ness T-shirt she’d been looking at back on the shelf and answered confidently, “They will.”

Gigi absently felt the material of a display kilt. “I know Gio will because you’re there, but Kane?”

Julia turned toward Gigi and put a hand on her arm. “You can tell me I’m overstepping, but I have to say something. Everything I know about you, your mother, and how you were raised away from your brothers makes me admire you more. You didn’t have it easy, but look what you did with your life. You’re amazing even without any of us. Don’t forget that. Gio will come to dinner just as much for you as he will for me. He loves you unconditionally. And you deserve to be loved like that, even if you don’t believe it yet. I don’t know if Kane does or doesn’t have deep feelings for you, but you are amazing without him, too. Don’t forget that. If he doesn’t see that yet, show him. Don’t make everything so easy for him that he doesn’t see the value in you.”

Gigi wasn’t sure how to take Julia’s advice. “Are you telling me to play harder to get?”

Julia picked the Loch Ness shirt back up and laid it over her arm. “No, I’m telling you to remember that you are a beautiful, intelligent woman, and he needs to respect that if he’s going to be with you. When you deal with men who spend their days in command of their financial empires, they can forget to turn that off when they come home. A good man will wake up when given a gentle reminder. Don’t settle for less than a good man, Gigi. No matter who he is.”

They walked to the register to buy the black shirt with a wanted poster for the infamous lake monster. Gigi was still digesting what Julia had said, so she focused on a lighter topic. “Who is the that for?”

“Gio,” Julia said with a smirk.

“Really? I can’t picture him wearing it.”

“Me either, which is why it’ll be a hoot to tell him I think it’s sexy.”

“You are so bad, Julia,” Gigi said with a laugh.

Julia accepted the bag from the vendor with a smile and walked out onto the street with Gigi. “Marriage is work, Gigi, but it’s also supposed to be fun. Life is too short and often too sad to take everything so seriously. I’m looking at that castle and thinking about what it must have been like back then. If I were a maiden back then and some knight wanted to win my favor, I would have given him a quest.”

“Like slaying a dragon for you?”

Julia’s eyes rounded. “Slay? Never. Tame? Yes. Anyone can kill something. I’d want a knight who could bring me a dragon I could ride.”

As they approached The Witchery, Gigi spotted Gio near the door of the restaurant with a bouquet of pink roses in his hand. Beside him were several people, holding similar bouquets. “Are all of those for you?”

Julia let out a happy sigh. “Oh, he does know what I love.”

Gigi gave Julia a quick hug because she was happy her brother had married such an amazing woman. “Thank you for today, Julia.” She glanced around. “I don’t see Kane.”

Julia hugged her back. “He’ll be here, Gigi.”

Gigi scanned the area around the restaurant and squared her shoulders when there was no sign of him. She had thrown him out of her place in just a towel that morning. Maybe she deserved to be stood up. Julia stepped away to greet Gio. He gave his wife a tender kiss that brought tears to Gigi’s eyes. He didn’t care that people stopped and stared because he was in the middle of all those flowers. All Gio cared about was Julia. What would it be like to be loved like that?

Gigi didn’t doubt for a second that Gio would tame a dragon for Julia if she ever asked him to. That realization was both beautiful and depressing at the same time. Beautiful because Julia was a warmhearted, kind woman who deserved a man like that.

Depressing because Gigi had never known that kind of love, nor had her mother. Gigi thought how quickly she’d slept with Kane, how little she’d expected from him.
Is Julia right? Did I let myself be swept away by the sex because I don’t think I’m worthy of more?

Kane stepped out of the restaurant, and Gigi’s breath caught in her throat. He just kept getting better looking. Immaculately dressed in a dark suit that complemented his broad shoulders well, Gigi knew she wasn’t the only woman who found it difficult not to openly stare at the perfection of him. His dark good looks, along with the confident way he held himself, made even a few men stop and wonder who he was.

He smiled at Gigi, and her body went haywire.

So what if he’s gorgeous? And smells good. And is phenomenal in bed. One night does not a relationship make. Not even one as good as what we had.

If Gio hadn’t arrived, Kane might have already returned to London. Or the States. For all she knew, Kane might consider her a one-night stand, who unfortunately was his best friend’s sister. It wasn’t as if he’d ever even taken her on a date. Or even asked her out on one.

She forced herself to look away. As far as she could tell, he hadn’t brought apology roses either. A few minutes ago Gigi had worried he wouldn’t show up, but now that he had, it was no longer enough.

I’ve never asked a man to tame a dragon for me.

Maybe it’s time I do.

*     *     *

Nothing makes an
empty-handed man look worse than standing beside another man who brought five hundred fucking pink roses. And then to have them handed out to people who walked by?
Thanks Gio. It’s going to be a long dinner. Now I get to endure it while feeling like an even bigger ass.

Julia was already tucked against her husband’s side, smiling up at him. Apparently all had been forgiven there. Gigi, on the other hand, was refusing to look at Kane even when he walked over to greet her. He leaned down to kiss her, and she offered him her cheek as if they hadn’t just spent the night tasting every inch of each other’s bodies. Was she playing it cool because her brother was there, or was she still angry? Kane couldn’t tell. He wasn’t a man used to being unsure of himself in any situation, but he didn’t know how to navigate this one.

He and Gio had come to somewhat of a truce, one that relied on not discussing Gigi. It put Kane in the difficult position of wanting to talk to Gigi alone and respecting a friendship very important to him. They might disagree now and then, but . . .

“Gigi, look at me. Are you okay?” Kane asked softly enough for only her ears to hear.

She looked up at him from beneath her beautifully long lashes, and his heart constricted in his chest. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

He placed a hand lightly on the lower part of her back as he leaned down to say, “Nothing could keep me away. I’m an ass. I told myself to take it slowly with you, but that whole plan went to hell the moment I saw you again. Something happens to my brain when I’m around you.”

Gigi raised a hand to caress the side of Kane’s face. “I know exactly how that feels.”

“Our table is ready,” Gio said gruffly. He and Julia led the way through the door, into the reception, and down the stone stairs into the elegant dining area. They were seated in a quiet corner near a window that looked out onto the secluded garden terrace.

Had Gio and Julia not been there, the meal might have been followed by a romp in one of The Witchery’s notoriously decadent upstairs suites. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear any part of the night before would be repeated that evening.

After ordering drinks, the four of them studied their menus in silence. Kane reached over and took Gigi’s hand in his. Gio made an audible displeased sound from behind his menu, proof he was watching them even as he appeared not to be.

Gigi cried out softly and hunched over, pulling her hand away to rub at her leg beneath the table.

Julia blushed, then raised her own menu higher, saying, “Sorry, Gigi, I was aiming for Gio.”

Kane choked back a laugh.

Gio lowered his menu. “You think this is funny, Kane?”

Kane lowered his own menu and met his friend’s glare calmly. “If by funny, you mean amusing because it’s the most painfully awkward dinner I’ve had the pleasure of being invited to, then yes.”

“It’ll be fine if you can keep your hands to yourself.”

“Then we should make it a quick meal,” Kane said only because he was getting tired of apologizing for something he couldn’t change. He felt a sudden, sharp kick from Julia beneath the table and winced.

Julia smiled from behind her menu. “Good. My aim is getting better.” She closed her menu and leaned toward the two men. “Gigi and I had a fabulous day, and we’re about to enjoy what I hope will be an equally amazing dinner in a beautiful magical restaurant. If the two of you want to engage in a male pissing contest, take it somewhere else.”

Gio let out a long sigh. He looked back and forth between Gigi and Kane. “I don’t like this, but I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. If you’re not good to my sister, Kane, I’ll have your balls on a platter.”

A waiter cleared his throat beside the table. “That is not currently one of our specials, but instead may I suggest some Oban native oysters from Argyllshire.”

Julia covered her smile. Gigi raised her napkin as she did the same. The look Gio shot the waiter would have caused many powerful men to shake in their shoes, but the waiter was young and quite unimpressed, which only increased Gio’s irritation. Kane let out a laugh that couldn’t be held in.

“Give us a minute,” Gio said to the waiter then turned to his dinner mates. A reluctant smile spread across his face. He raised an eyebrow at Gigi. “You, too?”

Gigi shrugged and lowered her napkin, smiling widely for the first time since they’d entered the restaurant. “You should have seen your face.”

With that, the tone of the meal lightened. Gio asked Gigi if she intended to stay in Scotland. Her answer was interrupted by the waiter returning to take their orders, but after he left she continued to describe how she’d fallen in love with the small city. “I love it here. There are so many layers to this city. When I first came here I thought I would easily fit right in. Because of the language, it felt like a quaint version of London to me. But the longer I stayed, the more I realized how very different it is, in a thousand wonderful ways. The joy became seeking out those differences and embracing them. And somehow, over time, it became home to me. Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

Gigi described how much her friend Annelise had helped her in the beginning and how their friendship had morphed into being business partners, and although Kane had heard the story before, he loved watching Gigi tell it. Part of it, though, gave him an uneasy feeling he had trouble labeling. He hadn’t thought much beyond how to get Gigi back in his arms, but hearing her talk about her business and ties in Edinburgh made Kane question something he hadn’t considered. He’d assumed if things worked out between them, she would naturally follow him back to New York. What if that wasn’t the case?

There was so much he wanted to ask her. In New York he’d focused on his physical attraction to her. He found he also wanted to know what she was thinking, her favorite music, if she liked or hated thunderstorms. Anything and everything about her. He wanted to know it all. “You said you and Annelise are working on a side project right now? What is it?”