Gio caught his breath. He hadn’t laughed that hard in a while so the words came out without thought. “I think it’s cute. I’ve always thought you were cute.”

That doe-eyed expression was abruptly back as what he’d just blurted out sunk in. Her laughing slowly subsided and she stared at him. Thinking fast he added, “My sister does this hiccup thing when she laughs.” He had nothing else. The mood had switched so quickly with his stupid admission he was grasping here.

“You have?”

“Huh?” His thoughts were still scrambling trying to think of something else to say, he wasn’t even sure what she was asking. Then she smiled a smile so sweet he had to suck in a fleeting breath.

“Even in high school you thought I was cute?” She tilted her head sideways. “I always felt invisible to you back then.”

No way was he telling her she’d been anything but invisible and that just like now there’d been too many times he’d gotten lost in those eyes of hers. Gio sat up straight taking a sip of his chocolate. Son of a bitch if he couldn’t think of a proper way to respond to that.

“Well, yeah. I mean, you sat right next to me. How could I not notice you?” He glanced at her. Those eyes were still doing that thing. There was no qualm, no questioning that her boyfriend’s friend—best friend back in high school—had just told her he’d always thought she was cute. “Just like I said earlier, you’re runway model material now. Of course you were at least cute back then.”

“Dinner is ready whenever you two are.” Ampara stood at the archway opening of the large room.

The second Bianca glanced away, Gio let out a huge silent sigh of relief. His body almost slouched in reaction to the amount of tension being released.

“Thank you, Amparo.” Bianca turned to Gio who straightened up quickly. “Shall we?”

Gio nodded and they stood together and made their way to the dining room.

~*~

Felix had thought of everything. The dinner he’d instructed his cooks to make for their first night back together was excellent. Steamed shrimp, oysters, stuffed mushrooms; crusty bread with some kind of gourmet spread the cook called bruschetta. They even prepared a chocolate fondue with strawberries and pineapple slices to dip. It was so perfect and she’d shared the dinner with Gio.

Not that any girl in their right mind would be complaining about having such a romantic dinner with a gorgeous guy like Gio. He was sweetly attentive and as polite as she remembered him but she couldn’t help wishing Felix had been there instead. Still she made the best of it and enjoyed their delicious dinner. When they were done, Gio sat back in his seat looking very stuffed but Bianca reached for another strawberry. “I’m stuffed too but these are so delicious I just have to have one more.”

Gio leaned his head back on his chair and closed his eyes. Bianca took advantage of the moment to better examine him. She wondered if he was still single. In high school he’d never had a girlfriend. Not one that she remembered anyway. Sure, she’d seen him with plenty and witnessed those perfect lips of his kissing girls on more than one occasion but she’d never heard of him being exclusive with anyone. For a moment, the very naughty thought of what his lips would feel like on hers, crossed her mind and without thinking, she cleared her throat.

His eyes opened suddenly and caught her gazing at him as she sucked on her strawberry. She looked away dipping what was left of her strawberry in the chocolate one last time as she felt her cheeks warm. “Are you tired?” she asked staring at the chocolate.

“Not really. I just get a little drained after such a big meal.”

She glanced up at him finally after staring excessively long at the chocolate. His expression seemed normal enough. Maybe he hadn’t thought it strange that she’d been literally eating him up with her eyes but she was still curious. “So what’s your story? You still single?”

He nodded, taking a sip of his beer. “Yep.”

“Really? A good looking guy like you?” She sat up, leaning her arms against the table as she picked up her own bottle of beer. “Obviously it’s by choice, right?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I have too many things going on to get involved in any kind of relationship right now. And just before I left Jack let me know me and the guys are pretty much going to be taking over the gym. So I’ll be even busier now.”

Bianca’s eyes shot open and she noticed that for some reason that made Gio smile. “Really? Like take over, take over? He’s giving the place to you guys?”

“Pretty much.”

“Wow, that’s great. But doesn’t he have family?”

He shook his head then took another swig of his beer placing the empty bottle on the table. “You want another one?”

“I’ll get it.” He started to stand, “You need one, too?”

“Yeah, I’ll take another,” she said standing up. “But let’s go over by the bar. I need to stand for a little I’m so full.”

They started toward the bar. “Me and the guys are Jack’s family. And since none of us have dads he’s pretty much stepped up and been that father figure we all needed. He’s done a great job, too.” They reached the bar and this time Gio was the one that walked around to look in the fridge. He pulled two beers out and opened them, handing one to Bianca. “I don’t think he’s ever told any of the guys because they seem to be under the impression he never married but he told me his wife died when they’d only been married for a couple of months—some rare kidney disease. He knew it was terminal and that she only had a short time but he still married her. She was his high school sweetheart and first love. He never remarried. Instead, he put all his energy into the gym. He said it was the only thing that kept him going.”