Chapter 5
Holt
“We should get to stay home today,” Lauren says around her bite of cereal.
Leah’s giving me a look that clearly expresses how she feels about going to school. “Yeah, G might need help in town.”
“I have a feeling Gia is capable of finding her own way around. Besides, today is the book fair. If you don’t go to school, you won’t get to pick out any new books.”
The girls look at each other, silently communicating in the way they always have.
“Can Gia come to the book fair?” Lauren asks.
“I don’t know what her schedule looks like.”
“Well, go ask her,” Leah demands.
“Ask me what?” Gia’s sleep-roughened voice has my stomach tightening.
Her silky blonde hair has been thrown into a messy bun on the top of her head, and on anyone else, the matching pajama set would be chaste.
On Gia, it highlights every one of her curves.
I have to clench my fists to curb my desire to get my hands on her.
I turn to the coffeepot—instead of grabbing her around her waist like I’m dying to—and pour her a cup. I grab out the creamer and place both in front of her.
“Would you come to our book fair today? Dad won’t let us stay home from school,” Lauren asks her.
Gia gives me a shy smile and then looks back at Lauren. “You want me to come to your book fair?”
“Yeah! And you could meet my teacher too!” Leah wiggles in her seat.
I frown at the girls. They’re friendly to everyone, but to be this interested in a complete stranger is weird. Granted, she pulled me in within minutes of talking to her too. I can’t expect the girls to hold out any better than I did.
I probably could’ve found a different place for Gia to stay. Even though the Ice Festival does take the majority of the rooms in town, I’m sure there’s a vacancy somewhere.
But if I’m honest with myself, I wanted a chance to spend time with the woman I haven’t been able to stop thinking about for months. I need to know if she still thinks about that night the way I do. “Girls, Gia probably has to work today, just like I do.”
“But you’re coming to our book fair.” Lauren raises her eyebrow in the exact same way Hannah used to, and I have to swallow past the heartache.
A year ago, something like that would have cut me in half.
Now, it feels like a gift—little pieces of Hannah to remind me of all the good memories instead of just the bad.
“I knew about it ahead of time and could rearrange my schedule. Gia didn’t know about it until just now.”
The girls look at Gia, turning those bright blue puppy dog eyes up to full max.
Gia’s eyes widen. “I… Sure?”
“Yes!” The girls cheer.
“Do I need to be there at a certain time?”
“Leah’s class goes at ten thirty, and Lauren’s goes at eleven thirty,” I tell her.
“Got it.” Gia’s eyebrows furrow. “No, wait. Do you think I’ll be able to drive my car by then?”
“I doubt it. The tow truck company doesn’t open until eight, and I can only imagine how many other cars are waiting on the side of the road.”
“Daddy can take you! He’s going anyway,” Leah offers.
“And you guys could have lunch after you leave,” Lauren adds.
“Oh,” I start, not wanting Gia to be put on the spot. “I’m sure Gia has plenty of other things she needs to do today. Besides, she’s already spending her morning with you two pushy monkeys.”
“She has to eat, and she doesn’t have a car, Dad. It’s the kind thing to do.” Lauren’s tone is her no-nonsense one, which means if I don’t take Gia to lunch, there will be hell to pay when Lauren gets home from school.
Gia’s denim-blue gaze sparkles with mirth. “Sounds like my day is planned out.”
“Apparently mine is too.” I grab the girls’ empty cereal bowls to give myself something to focus on instead of how pretty Gia is.
She’s fresh-faced and more gorgeous than anyone has a right to be at seven in the morning.
“Everyone needs to be ready to go in fifteen minutes if we’re going to make it to school on time.
The roads are going to slow us down this morning. ”
“It’s baffling that you still have school with six inches of snow on the ground,” Gia says as she brings me her coffee cup.
“If school was canceled every time it snowed, they’d never go in the wintertime,” I tease her.
“Fair. Thank you for the coffee.” She’s standing next to me at the sink, her hip leaning against the counter. Memories of her mouth against mine flash through my head at a rapid rate. Her plush lips look just as kissable now as they did that night.
Why the hell does she have this effect on me?
What is it about her that makes my heart race and my blood pump thick through my body?
The barstools scraping across the floor make me jump. I turn away from Gia as if I got caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing.
The girls stomp upstairs, giggling with each other the whole way up.
“You do not have to take me to lunch today. I’d also say I don’t have to go to the book fair either, but I don’t want to disappoint the girls.”
“And they would be disappointed for sure. I don’t mind. I didn’t have anything on my calendar until after lunch anyway.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer. I handle mostly business stuff, but I do a little bit of everything since I’m one of the few in the area.”
Gia’s face shows her surprise. “I’d never have guessed that. The cowboy hat and jeans don’t jive with a lawyer, but that’s what I get for stereotyping.”
“What would you have guessed?”
“Something with cows. Or horses. Or a rope of some kind.”
Her teasing grin has a smirk quirking up the side of my mouth. “Who says I don’t know my way around a rope?”
With a wink, I leave Gia in the kitchen with her mouth hanging open.
“Will you drop me off at the Daily Grind? I figure I can work there until we have to go to the book fair.” Gia has been quiet since we loaded up the girls and took them to school.
At first, I thought it was because she couldn’t get a word in edgewise with the chatterboxes in the backseat, but the girls went into the building, and she hadn’t said a word until now.
I’ve been kicking myself for that rope comment. I probably made her super uncomfortable, and now she’s stuck spending the majority of her day with me.
“Sure. I can do that.”
We lapse into tense silence again, and I rack my brain to think of some way to ease this tension. Nothing that comes to mind will make this any less uncomfortable. And then it hits me that I won’t be dropping her off anywhere downtown.
There are swarms of people walking down the sidewalks, reminding me that the Ice Festival is still going strong, even at eight in the morning.
Every day of the festival has a different main event.
Yesterday was ice sculptures. Today’s event is a snowflake-making competition.
It keeps people interested in sticking around for the full week.
The town council has debated shortening it to a long weekend, but the crowds continue to grow every year. It’s a huge revenue source for us.
“Looks like we’ll have to head to the Grind on foot.
I can park at my office though. It’s right over there.
” I point out the windshield toward the two-story red brick building.
There’s a small parking lot on the side with a bunch of bright red signs that say “Basil Law parking only, violators will be towed.” Without them, there would never be a spot available, especially during a festival week.
I pull in next to my brother Gage’s car. He lives in the apartment above my office, but I have no doubt he’s already at his bakery. This week is a huge boost for him. He usually sells out before eleven despite making twice his normal inventory.
“Do you mind if we stop in to let my secretary know I’m around this morning?” I ask Gia after we get out of my truck.
“You don’t have to escort me to the coffee shop. I remember how to get there, and I should get caught up on the stuff I missed yesterday before we need to get back to school.”
Taking her hint for the brush-off it is, I nod. “Sure. Want to meet back at the truck at ten?”
“Works for me. See you later.” Gia takes off walking down the sidewalk without looking back. I really messed up this morning, but maybe it’s for the best anyway. She was only supposed to be a one-night stand, despite our accidental run-in.
I need to get it through my thick skull that it can’t be anything more.
She’s not even from here, so the only thing it could be is a fling while she’s in town. I’m not even sure I can have a fling with a woman. I’ve never been the type to have no-strings-attached sex. If we tried a friends-with-benefits situation, I doubt I could do it without catching feelings.
It would be all too easy to fall for Gia’s quick wit and outgoing personality. She seems like the kind of person who would get me out of my comfort zone—in the best ways. How could anyone not fall for a woman like her?
No, this is better. Distance and boundaries are the right move, and I’m glad she’s being smart about this.
I won’t cross that line, no matter how much I might want to.