Fall Into Temptation (Blue Moon Book #2)(42)

She’d planned to tackle at least a small portion of the hot mess that was her bedroom today, but two birthday invites and an impromptu dinner party later and she would be lucky if she saw the inside of her room before ten tonight.

Not that she was complaining. Seeing Evan get excited about a party invitation from a classmate was an awesome sign that he was making new friends. Quiet and a little reserved, it usually took him longer to make friends than the gregarious Aurora. And in the leapfrog moves they’d made to follow Paul’s dreams, he’d had to start over too often.

But in Blue Moon, no one was a stranger … or strange.

Gia grabbed the grocery bag and hauled it into the kitchen. She’d throw together grilled cheese sandwiches before hitting two parties on opposite ends of town that started at the same time. She could drop off Evan at the Lord of the Rings themed party, but it was probably frowned upon to abandon a five-year-old at a party with a bunch of strangers.

At least she had dinner to look forward to. She’d invited her dad and Phoebe over for a nice quiet dinner. Part of the reason for moving here was to spend more time with her father. And that also meant his girlfriend.

She quickly assembled sandwiches — with three different combinations of ingredients —and was getting ready to toss them in the pan on the stove when her tablet signaled an incoming call.

Her older sister’s face grinned up at her from the screen. Emmaline was an auburn-haired beauty with a head for business and a smart mouth. Their weekly video chats were always entertaining.

“Hey, sis,” Gia answered, deftly transferring a sandwich to the pan.

Emma wrinkled her nose. “What are you making?”

“Grilled cheese. It’s no broiled chicken breast and celery stalks, but it’ll do.”

“Smart ass,” her sister said, sticking her tongue out.

“So what’s up? How’s the life of a big, important five-star restaurant manager?” Gia asked.

“Oh, you know,” Emma answered adjusting her tailored suit jacket. “The usual. Wining and dining celebrities, jetting off to Tuscany to woo a potential new head chef. Nothing special,” she winked.

“Give me a hint on the celebrities,” Gia said, flipping the sandwiches over.

“Hmm, okay. One very good looking secret agent in the box office joined us for lunch with his very famous wife and then returned for dinner with an unknown, huge-breasted aspiring actress.”

“Gross.”

“Players are pigs,” Emmaline shrugged. “Always have been always will be.”

“You’ll meet a non-player someday, Em,” Gia told her.

“Maybe if I get myself out of a city crawling with celebrities and athletes. How’s Blue Moon? Maybe I should move in with you.”

Gia tried to imagine her urban chic, balance-sheet-loving sister finding passion in rural paradise.

“There’s always room for you here. You might have to sleep in the bathtub or the shed, though.”

“I’m reconsidering my rash decision to throw away my nice, fat salary and apartment with its squishy king-sized bed.”

“Yeah, I’d put some thought into that if I were you,” Gia teased. “So what do I owe the pleasure of your face today?”

“I’m calling on behalf of Eva and myself with orders for you to get the dirt on Dad’s girlfriend. Since you’re on the ground, we’re depending on you to give us a full report on this Phoebe Pierce.”

It was hard for her sisters to be so far away from their father, especially since Franklin was often less-than-forthcoming about the details of his life. But now that Gia was close by, Emmaline and Evangeline had a direct line for information.

“I mean, it’s great that he’s getting out there and dating. But what do we really know about this woman?”

“They’re not just dating, Em. They’re moving in together. They’ve been house hunting together.”

Emma sat forward. “What?” she demanded icily.

“You’re using your manager voice,” Gia reminded her.

“Sorry,” Emma said. She leaned back and fixed a phony smile on her face. “What?” she asked through unmoving lips and clenched teeth.

“Yeah, Beckett spilled the beans on that one. I guess Dad wasn’t ready to share that particular piece of information.”

“Who’s Beckett?”

“My … landlord. And Phoebe’s son.”

“Interesting.” Emma pursed her lips together.

“What’s interesting?”

“The way your face gets all soft and dewy when you say his name.”

Gia fumbled a sandwich, dumping it on the counter instead of the plate.

“Very interesting,” her sister reiterated.

Gia was about to argue when there was a knock at the door.

“I got it!” Evan shouted, hurrying down the stairs. “Hey, Aunt Em,” he waved as he raced by Gia’s screen, dropping a crumpled envelope on the table.

“Hey, Van Morrison,” Emma returned.

Evan rolled his eyes at the nickname and missed Gia sending his aunt a wink. Emma’s eyes widened at something behind Gia. “You’ve got company.”

Gia glanced over her shoulder and proceeded to burn herself on the hot pan when she spotted Beckett coming through her front door.