Fall Into Temptation (Blue Moon Book #2)(46)

After dinner, she loaded the dishes into the newly installed dishwasher, packed the kids off to bed, and was now enjoying a second glass of wine and some exquisite quiet time.

She spent the afternoon purging and organizing. And when her bedroom was spotless — she’d had to secede some territory in the shed — she’d enjoyed herself in the kitchen making chicken panzanella for her family. She’d invited Beckett and Jax to stay for dinner, but was relieved when they both declined.

She could use some space from Beckett, she decided. Her resolve wavered every time she looked into those deep, searching eyes of his. In fact, her desire to stick to her resolve was practically non-existent by this point. He was a good man. A kind-hearted one who was a protector and a provider by nature. Family was so important to him, and that was part of the attraction.

Gia had fired off an email to her sisters after Franklin and Phoebe left. She liked Phoebe. The woman was smart and sarcastic, full of energy. The way she paid attention to Evan and Aurora made them feel important and interesting. She never once flinched at Aurora’s unending questions or Evan’s pre-teen smirks.

Phoebe was a solid match for Franklin. They seemed comfortable, yet still flirtatious with each other. And it was great seeing her father so happy after so many years. He deserved this. Her sisters were going to get quite the detailed report this weekend. She hoped that Beckett would come around sooner rather than later. It didn’t make sense to fight something that was so obviously good for both his mother and her father.

Gia took another deep breath and relished the fact that she didn’t have to do anything in that particular moment. The house was clean, the dishes were done, groceries were bought, and she had a whole day off tomorrow to spend with the kids.

Life was starting to look pretty perfect.





18





It had been six long days since he’d seen her last. Sure, Beckett had caught glimpses of Gianna hustling the kids out the door in the morning and one night had the unfortunate timing to witness her shucking off her yoga clothes in her curtain-less bedroom.

That had been a long, sleepless night for him. To be honest, he’d been missing a lot of sleep lately thanks to Gianna. He was starting to wonder if avoiding her since he showed up unannounced with a kitchen appliance was making him think of her even more often.

He’d wanted to get some space, some perspective. Every time he was near her, his judgment clouded. He was distracted to the point that Ellery had suggested that perhaps he needed another vacation. The woman didn’t just occupy his backyard, she occupied his mind. If he wasn’t thinking about how much he wanted her, he was analyzing why he wanted her more than any other woman to date. And he’d been pretty damn excited about Moon Beam Parker at sixteen.

It felt unhealthy. He was used to dating and enjoying women who didn’t run in an obsessive loop in his head all day, every day. But Gianna? She was on his mind on his morning run, in the shower, during conference calls. He’d even had a few colorful dreams about her that left him disappointed when he woke to find himself alone in bed.

He briefly considered confiding his confusion in his brothers, but immediately rejected the idea. They’d only tell him to embrace the attraction … and then tease him mercilessly.

There were two choices. One, stay the course and leave Gianna as just a tenant and neighbor. Or two, explore the attraction that kept growing while risking it all. If it didn’t work out there were the kids, the town, and a year’s lease to think about.

All weighed heavily on his mind.

Beckett was still pondering his options over the sink as he washed his lunch dishes when he caught a glimpse of Gianna walking from the driveway to her front porch. Even with her head down, he could tell she was crying.

He was out the back door before she even made it to her porch.

“What’s wrong, Red?” he asked, climbing the steps behind her.

She hid her face as she dug through her bag looking for her keys. There was a definite nip in the October air that would transform to a real chill by the carnival that night.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just can’t find my key.”

Beckett reached up to the porch rafter and slid the spare into his fingers. “Here.”

Gianna finally looked up at him and frowned. “Where did you find that?”

“I had a spare made when you left your keys in my office. There’s a spare for your studio, too.”

“Do you think I’m some bumbling idiot who can’t survive on her own?” She sniffed indignantly.

“No, Red. I think you spend all your time taking care of others and you don’t leave any room in that brain of yours for yourself. You feed the kids lunch and forget to have any yourself. You stay late after class to listen to a student who needs to talk and forget where you put your keys. You prioritize your day by what’s important to you and that’s other people, not things like keys and lunch and probably your cellphone.”

Gianna glanced down in her bag and frowned. “Shit.”

“It’s probably with your keys.”

“Did you lock your studio?”

She winced. “I can’t remember.”

“Baby, this is Blue Moon. We could leave the bank vault open and send everyone out for lunch and no one would think to walk in and help themselves.”

She was tearing up again.