Gianni - The Santinis (11 page)

“
What was that
for?” she asked.

“
I wanted a
little privacy for what I want to say to you.”

She glanced to the
window and he followed her line of vision. Most of the customers and
all of the staff were watching. Gianni cursed.

“
I wanted them
out of earshot at least.”

She crossed her
arms. “So say it, PJ. I don’t have all damned day.”

He looked at her
then laughed. “I swear, Zoe was right about you. You aren’t
as sweet as everything thinks you are. Damned pain in my ass. I try
and tell a woman I love her and she throws me out of her house and
disappears.”

Her throat closed up
and she tried to swallow. “You love me?”

“
Of course I
do. God, I can’t think of anyone but you.” He cupped her
face. “I’m sorry I was such an ass. I didn’t mean
to do that. I shouldn’t have said those horrible things.”

Just hearing him say
it had tears burning the backs of her eyes. When she blinked a few of
them escaped.

“
Don’t
cry, baby. I can’t stand seeing you sad.”

She shook her head.
“No, not sad. I should have told you about Charley. It’s
just…well I have a lot to tell you about that part of my life.
But I never have been ashamed of you. Are you kidding me? Hell, I
want to flaunt you around on campus.”

He chuckled. “I’m
not sure how I feel about that.”

“
It was
exactly what I said. I hate that part of my work. I only go
because…well I feel I have an obligation. I would hate to make
you do that kind of thing.”

He kissed her then,
slowly, deeply. “I love you, Kianna.”

“
I love you
too, Gianni.”

He smiled that
pretty smile of his and she couldn’t help but laugh and hug him
closer. “I really do love you, even if you are my boy toy.”

He laughed, then
sobered and reached into the pocket of his jeans.

“
I know you
were married before and it wasn’t going the way you wanted it
to before Charley was killed.” He opened the box. In the center
of the red satin sat an engagement ring. Not something new. It was
antique, a simple solitaire. It sparkled in the bright sunlight.

“
I found it in
an antique shop the other day and I bought it.”

She couldn’t
take her gaze away from it. “The other day?”

“
I wasn’t
sure why, but for some reason, I felt the need to buy it.”

She glanced up at
him. “Yeah?”

He nodded and for
the first time since meeting him, he looked…well…nervous.

“
It’s
beautiful.”

“
It’s
just the thing I thought you would like. Its circa 1920.” When
she didn’t say anything he sighed. “I’m asking you
to marry me, Kianna.”

Her vision wavered.

“
I know it’s
a lot to ask for and you might be hoping to make tenure and having to
move will hurt any chances of that.”

She shook her head.
“That’s not important.”

“
No? Are you
sure?”

“
I’ve
only cared about teaching. I love the job. Tenure was just something
I thought I wanted.”

“
So, is that a
yes?”

She drew in a deep
breath and nodded.

“
Are you sure?
It isn’t the easiest of lives.”

“
When you left
the other day, I thought we were through. I thought that I would
never see you again. That was worse than anything else I have ever
been through.”

He smiled.

“
Yes, Gianni,
I’ll marry you.”

He took out the ring
and put it on her finger. The fit was almost perfect. He hugged her
close and kissed her neck. “You’ve made me the happiest
man in Georgia.”

He pulled back and
kissed her.

“
Hey, Gee, get
that woman in here,” Leo yelled.

They pulled back and
realized the whole shop had been watching them. She blushed.

“
Get used to
it, Kianna,” MJ said. “Santinis always like an audience.”

She laughed as she
and Gianni walked hand in hand into the sweet shop.

“
I hope you
don’t mind going to Virginia for the weekend,” Gianni
said, as they waited at the airport.

Kianna smiled at
him. “Of course not. What woman in her right mind would
complain about get a private jet ride?”

Gianni chuckled.
“It’s hard to think of Alana of being that rich, but I
guess she is.”

“
So, she’s
not snobby?”

“
First, none
of the Santinis would want to deal with a snob. Secondly, Alana is
the antithesis of snobbery.”

She smiled but it
faded. “I’m still worried about how your family will take
me?”

“
I told you.
Mom is kind of a hippy child. Your radical political views are no
problem.”

She snorted and
Gianni couldn’t help but smile. Three weeks since they had
gotten engaged and he was ready to tie the knot right now. His mother
would have freaked if he’d called to say they’d eloped
though. And there was one thing every Santini understood: Don’t
upset Joey Santini.

“
I wasn’t
asking about that. I’m worried about my age. I am a bit older
than you.”

“
Yeah, you’re
a year or two away from AARP membership and social security
benefits.”

“
I’m
serious, Gianni. I’m not so sure most Mamas would be happy
about their sons marrying someone so much older.”

He studied her and
realized that she was serious. Damn, he hadn’t realized she’d
been worrying about this. He pulled her into his arms.

“
Mom is going
to love you. She’s so happy with more women in the family, she
doesn’t care. But, she will love you not only because I love
you, but for all the reasons I do. You’re sweet, smart, and
beautiful, inside and out.”

She gave him a small
smile, “Yeah?”

He nodded and gave
her a kiss. “Yeah.”

“
Is that the
plane?” Kianna asked looking over his shoulder.

He turned and saw
the plane taxiing up to the hanger. “Probably. Not many private
jets fly into Valdosta.”

It took a few
seconds and they watched together, his arms wrapped around her as she
stood in front of her.

“
You know I
love you, don’t you?” she asked.

He did, and every
time she said it made him feel twenty feet tall. “Yeah, I do.”
He kissed the side of her neck as the door to the jet opened and the
stairs descended. “Come on, you have some Santinis to meet.”

Coming May
^24th
,
the last of the Santini Brothers!

Vince
Santini
 considers himself the last man standing. Being the
only unmarried brother is a badge of honor, until the woman had
always been in his heart returns. Acting on his attraction hadn't
been an option seeing that she was his best friend's girl, but now
she is single and free for him to pursue.

Julianna
Andrews
 is a survivor. It took her years to walk away from
her abusive husband, and now all she cares about is building her
business. She doesn't have time for Vince or the temptation he
represents. He is a reminder of her past. One argument leads to a
heated kiss, and the passion that threatens to consume them both.

Vince knows that
Jules might not be ready for happily ever after with anyone, but he
is bound and determined to convince her that he can give her that—and
more. This Santini is happy to be the last man standing—as long
as he is HER man.

Now, enjoy the
entire first chapter (unedited)

Chapter
One

Vince Santini fell
in love for the first and only time in his life thanks to getting hit
in the face with a locker door. He didn’t even remember where
he was going or what he was doing. He just remembered turning to
hurry out of school and walking straight into steel. He fell back,
smacking his head on the tiled floor. When he opened his eyes, his
world was spinning.

“
Oh, I’m
so sorry,” a girl said. She was leaning over him, her dark
brown eyes filled with worry, her red curls tumbling over her
shoulder. “I didn’t see you coming.”

He shook his head
trying to clear it and found himself face to face with a titan-haired
goddess. And she kept putting her hands on him. Jesus. If she didn’t
stop, he was going to embarrass himself. He could smell her. Some
kind of mixture of baby powder and lust. Although the lust might have
been his part.

Then she stopped.
“Vince? Vince Santini?”

He nodded then
winced. “Damn.”

She laughed and
offered him a hand. “You don’t remember me. It’s
Julianna Andrews, from Twenty-nine Palms. You know, the seventh
grade, Mrs. Gillepse’s Algebra?”

Then it clicked. The
gangly girl, taller than most, so skinny…always with a smile.
“Yeah, Jules.” It had been more than three years since
he’d seen her and Jules had definitely filled out. He let her
help him up and shook his head trying to clear it.

“
You live here
now?”

She nodded. “Dad’s
an instructor. We moved in a month ago.”

“
Julianna, I
see you met my best friend, Vince,” Mike Callahan said as he
walked up and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I told you
about Julianna, didn’t I, Vince?”

He nodded. “I
didn’t make the connection. We were at Twenty-nine palms
together. Of course, I called her Jules.”

“
Yeah, well,
Mike doesn’t like that.” Then she bent down to help him
pick up the books he’d dropped. “I thought it might be
you he talked about. I mean how many Santini families are there
especially with four boys, but, you never know.”

Once he had all his
books and papers in his arms, Mike smiled. “We were going to
get a burger, you up for it?”

He shook his head.
“Naw, you go ahead. I’ve got some studying to do.”

Mike chuckled.
“Vince is kind of an egghead, but then, he’ll probably
get into Annapolis. See ya, later.”

They turned to walk
away and Jules smiled back over her shoulder at him. “It was
great to see you again.”

He watched as his
best friend walked out of the school with the girl of his dreams.

Almost 18 years
later.

“
Vicente, are
you there?” his mother asked him. He was sitting the back of
his parents SUV daydreaming.

Great instincts,
Marine
.

“
Yeah, just
sort of dozed off back here.”

She sighed. “I
thought you two would help me. You will help me pick flowers, both of
you.”

His father gave his
mother an indulgent smile and followed her out of the SUV. That’s
the way it was for Santinis. Hard as nails military men, always done
in by a woman. And he was about to come face to face with the one who
always tied him in knots for the first time in fifteen years.

* * * *

Jules wanted to
scream. Worse, she wanted to do harm to an inanimate object. The one
thing about running her nursery was that she had a lot of freedom.
Unfortunately, she also had to handle the computer work.

There was a knock at
the door and through the glass she saw Joey Santini waving at her.
Immediately, Jules heart lightened. Since starting her business six
months earlier, Mrs. Santini had been a godsend, suggesting her to
friends and even giving her advice about advertising.

She waved the older
woman into her office and stood. “Mrs. Santini, I didn’t
know you were coming by today.”

She hugged her and
it felt good. With her parents back in California, Jules was pretty
much on her own. Mrs. Santini had taken her under her wing and had
checked on her from time to time.