Loving Gigi (2 page)

Without saying a word, Gigi moved to step past the man.

Instead of letting her pass, he stepped into her path and frowned. “Have we met before?”

You wish,
Gigi thought, but remained silent. She raised her eyes to his, expecting to be left as disappointed as always, but became temporarily lost in his dark brown eyes. Her heart began to hammer in her chest. She told herself to look away but couldn’t. Her breathing began to shallow as her body came alive beneath his sustained attention.

Subtle warmth began to spread through her, a need unlike anything she’d felt before. She’d had sex with a college boyfriend, but Nigel had never made her feel what this man did simply by looking at her.

So this is lust.
Its intensity frightened Gigi. “No. Excuse me.” She took a step forward, expecting him to step aside.

He continued to stand in her way. “My name is Kane Sander.” His voice was a warm caress of its own. Gigi had a sudden desire to hear him say her name.

She opened her mouth to say it, when a sliver of sanity stopped her. No one could know she was there. Gigi’s body hummed with a need she knew she would deny. Her mouth dried as she lied. “Luisella. Luisella Romero.”

“Are you staff or family?” His question took her by surprise.

“Neither,” Gigi answered huskily. “I was asked to help out.”

A slow, sexy smile spread across Kane’s face as if she’d just promised to spend the night with him. “I’ll look for you after dinner.”

Gigi opened her mouth to tell him not to, but no words came out. He was no college boy. Kane was a man in his late twenties or early thirties, experienced and confident. His smile was as bold as sin, and full of just a dash of humor, as if he were inviting her to play along in some decadent game. On impulse, she asked, “What if I’m here with someone?”

Kane took her left hand in his and slowly, seductively, caressed the place where a ring might have been but was not. “I don’t care who you came with, as long as you leave with me.”

His touch was a fire that rushed through Gigi, scattering her thoughts until there was nothing except him and the yearning she felt for him. “Are you always so sure of yourself?” Her voice was as soft as a whisper.

“Only when I’m certain of what I want.” He brought her hand up to his mouth, slowly kissing the spot he had caressed. “Before I met you I was wondering how I’d make it through what is promising to be a tediously long wedding. I’m still asking myself that, but now for an entirely different reason.”

Wedding.

I’m here for a wedding. Not for this.
She ripped her hand out of his, backing away as she did. “I have to go.”

His smile widened. “Me, too.” He inclined his head. “Until later.”

Gigi turned on her heel and fled, disappearing into the crowd gathered in the foyer of the impressive and striking mansion. Despite the many people around her, she had never felt so alone.

I came even though I told my mother I wouldn’t. I practically threw myself at a man who now thinks I’m going to spend the night with him.

What am I doing here?

*     *     *

Kane watched the
beautiful brunette rush off and took a moment to appreciate the perfection of her ass as she strode away. Luisella.

He didn’t speak a word of Italian, but he had been instantly turned on by the sound of her issuing orders to the staff in the language. He groaned. She was likely in her mid-twenties and that normally wasn’t his taste. His cock didn’t care. It had sprung to attention at the first glance of her, the light scent of her, and most definitely at the sound of her.

He considered himself a discerning lover. At thirty-two, it wasn’t about quantity anymore. He’d sown his wild oats, woken up beside a good share of women he’d enjoyed fucking, and now preferred short-term relationships over one-night stands. Since he’d taken over his father’s company, he didn’t have the time to look for new partners. Women came to him, and he welcomed their attention, but on his terms and only when it didn’t interfere with work. Although his family was wealthier than most, he’d been raised to never take that for granted. His parents had made their fortune through hard work, and he would take the family company to the next level the very same way.

He chose women like himself. Successful. Realistic. Unlikely to shed a tear when he inevitably told them it was over. In general, he lived by the five-fucks rule. Less than five made dating too time consuming. Too much time spent getting to know someone new. More than five led to awkward expectations even though he was clear about his lack of desire for anything permanent.

Yes, five was the magic number.

Luisella looked young and, if the way she blushed at his proposition was anything to go by, relatively inexperienced. For a man like him, that spelled trouble with a capital T.

Still, he already couldn’t stop thinking about her. She was beautiful, but he knew many beautiful women. He was a healthy male with a good appreciation for women and the variety of forms they came in. No, it was more than her delicate features or her tight little body. It was the punch of lust he’d felt at the sound of her voice. The way desire had licked through him just by standing next to her. Like a strong shot of Scotch, she’d gone straight to his head and muddled his thoughts. The brief touch of her skin against his mouth had just about done him in. He’d have to take the long way back to rejoining the wedding party, or they’d notice the still-throbbing evidence of how she made him feel.

A few minutes later, Stephan Andrade spotted Kane outside and walked over to join him. He was a tall blond man in an ocean of mostly dark-haired and olive-skinned relatives. “Gio is looking for you. Fifteen minutes until the ceremony starts. He and his brothers are gathering in the tent on the left side.”

Kane frowned at the cousin of his best friend. It was difficult to put certain things aside. Even though it had been nearly two years since Gio had reconciled with his extended family, Kane knew too much about their history not to be cautious when it came to trusting any of them. Gio was like a brother, and he would defend him against anyone, even a blood relative.

He did his best to conceal his doubts, especially since his sister was marrying Gio’s younger brother Nick and therefore would also be part of this family.
A quadruple wedding.
Kane had thought Rena was kidding when she’d told him Gio and his three brothers would all say their vows at the same ceremony. She claimed it was romantic. He’d thought she’d lost her mind at the time. However, as he saw the elaborate production the day had become, he had to admit it was nice to not have to attend three more weddings that year.

He shook his head as two children knocked into him before rounding the corner and disappearing. A frazzled woman was in hot pursuit. He and Stephan shared a look as she sped off after them.

“That’s one nanny who won’t last,” Kane joked.

Stephan shrugged. “She’s their mother. She’s married to my second cousin from North Carolina. She says she wants two more.”

Kane raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Is she sane?”

“You’d have to ask her husband,” Stephan answered in a light tone. “But you can never have too much family.”

Kane looked around doubtfully. “In theory.”

Stephan stood taller. “Do you have a problem with your sister marrying my cousin?”

Kane let out a long sigh. “A year ago I would have killed Nick for looking at Rena. Now I’d kill him if he left her. I’ve never seen her happier.”

Stephan gave Kane an approving pat on the shoulder. “Good. Then come; everyone is waiting for you. Let’s get this wedding going.”

Kane walked with Stephan through the crowd that would soon move to sit in front of the blooming pergola in the field overlooking the ocean. Rena would describe this as beautifully interwoven vines of fall color—romantic. To Kane, it was greenery suspended from an overhead trellis. He scanned the area, recognizing and dismissing the rich and famous from all over the world.

When he finally located her, his little Italian beauty, he was surprised to see her standing off to one side of the group, with her arms wrapped across her as if she were self-conscious. He would have gone to her side if he hadn’t been in the wedding party. He felt oddly protective of this woman he knew next to nothing about. That feeling gave way to something more, though, as soon as their eyes met. His breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t imagined their attraction. It was there, just as strong, just as wild. He was a man used to being in control at all times, but as his cock stirred to life again, he felt deliciously willing to let her lead him wherever she wanted to go.

Luisella’s eyes widened. She blushed as if she heard his thoughts and turned away.

“Do you know her?” he asked Stephan.

“Who?” Stephan turned, but he was too late. Luisella had slipped away around the side of the tent.

“Her name is Luisella Romero.”

Stephan shook his head. “It doesn’t sound familiar, but we have family and friends from all over the world here today. There are many people I don’t know.”

Me, too
, Kane thought.
But there is only one I intend to get to know better.

Much, much better.

‡

I
nstead of sitting
in the rows and rows of white chairs stretched out before the pergola, Gigi stood off to one side, half hidden behind a corner of a white tent. With what looked like five hundred people in attendance, and not all of them able to contain their children to seats, she was not the only one standing.

A hush fell over the guests as her four brothers took their places at one side of the pergola, standing from oldest to youngest. Gio, Luke, Nick, then Max. Each in a black tux with a different color flower boutonnière.

Three beautiful flower girls, ranging from what looked like two to six years of age, dance-walked down the aisle between the guests, dropping multi-colored rose petals as they went. Gio bent to say something to one of the flower girls. She smiled and hugged him before walking over to sit with her parents.

Pachelbel’s Canon in D started and the guests all stood. A stunning bride in a simple, floor-length white dress walked slowly down the aisle, holding a bouquet of pink roses. Gio stepped forward to meet her as she approached the altar. They stood facing each other and the bride’s huge smile was heartwarming as was the tender expression on Gio’s face.

Both confused Gigi. She hadn’t expected Gio to have a softer side. She’d half-hoped coming to the wedding would allow her to confirm what she thought of him and his brothers. They were cold, awful people she was better off without in her life.

Her heart twisted in her chest when the scene before her implied the exact opposite. Luke took a step forward, his eyes shining with emotion as his bride walked down the aisle to meet him. She was visibly pregnant, but no less radiant. Her wedding dress was of a similar style, yet subtly different than the bride before. She took Luke’s hand and moved to stand face to face with him, just off to the right of Gio and his bride. He touched her cheek softly, as if reassuring her.

Nick smiled widely as his bride walked toward him, and he jokingly checked his watch as if to imply she should hurry herself along. His bride shook her head in amusement and waved her bouquet at him in a playfully threatening manner. They took their place to the right, another strikingly attractive couple who looked head over heels in love with each other.

Max walked to his place on the end and held out his hand to his bride who stopped to wave at an older couple before joining him. She said something softly to Max that made him chuckle and glance back at his brothers before bending to give her a quick kiss.

Gigi had never felt more miserable in the face of such beauty. She wanted to run away, pretend she’d never come. Yet she also wanted to step away from the tent and announce herself, somehow become a part of the day. The result was a sense of being trapped within herself, a feeling she was accustomed to.

The minister began to speak, but Gigi was lost in her own thoughts. She studied the people in the crowd. How many in the crowd were related to her? She recognized some from photos that still adorned her mother’s house. Her father’s two brothers were sitting with their wives less than a hundred feet from her.
Would they welcome me if they knew I was here? Or would I be a cause for embarrassment? The one they invited who was never supposed to come.

She wanted to wave to them, gain their attention somehow, but she didn’t. Even after she’d moved to England, she’d dreamed they would seek her out. She’d kept a part of her heart open to them only to face more than a decade of indifference from them.
I could have handled threats from you. But to never even acknowledge me was the ultimate rejection.
No, she would never give them a chance to do that again.

So why am I here?

A female voice startled her. “Are you okay?”

Gigi sniffed and blinked away tears she didn’t realize had been close to the surface. She turned and met the steel green eyes of a tall, beautiful red-haired woman with an American accent. “Yes, thank you.”