Gianni - The Santinis (2 page)

He sighed. He just
had to get the woman’s number. With that thought in his head,
he made his way over to her. He had less than twenty-four hours
before he headed out and one thing Gee Santini understood was making
sure you lived with no regrets.

* * * *

Kianna was trying to
concentrate on the book she’d just downloaded, but it was hard.
The encounter with the military guy had her brain frozen a bit.

“
Excuse me.”

She looked up and
found him standing beside the table. Kianna knew she should be better
prepared, but it was hard to think ahead. He was standing there
holding a coffee cup and a little white bag. She smiled and tried to
hide her nerves. The man was gorgeous and gorgeous men made her
stutter.

“
Yes?”

“
I was
wondering if you would share your table with me.”

She glanced around
the shop. There were plenty of open tables. “Why?”

He chuckled. “Well,
you put me in my place.”

She frowned. “What
I meant was there are plenty of tables open.”

Cocking his head to
the side, he studied her for a moment. “You’re not trying
to play hard to get.”

She shook her head
trying to follow the conversation. “Hard to get? Why would I do
that with you?”

“
I am trying
to sit with you because I’m interested in you,” he said
shaking his head.

“
Oh.” It
took a few seconds for it to hit her. “You’re interested
in me?”

She said it so loud
several people glanced over.

“
I don’t
think this is going the way I thought it would. I must be losing my
touch.”

“
Hmm.”

He sighed. “So,
can I sit with you?”

“
Sure.”

He took his seat and
smiled at her. Damn he was fine. Blond hair and golden brown eyes.
Where did they make men like him? He was so handsome he made her eyes
hurt.

“
I’m
Gianni, but you can call me Gee.”

“
Why would I
do that?”

He stared at her for
a moment then laughed. “It’s my nickname.”

“
I just
wondered why you wouldn’t want to be called such a fabulous
name.”

“
Well, it’s
not half as pretty as Kianna.”

She tried not to
smile but she couldn’t help it. “Thank you. I take it
that your nickname came from family?”

“
I’m the
youngest in the family so they started calling me that when I was
barely walking.”

“
Ah.”
Okay that showed all her intelligence. A borderline IQ and all she
could say was a one-syllable acknowledgement. “Big family?”

He shrugged as he
watched her. God, he was pretty. Not too pretty, but he had blond
hair, milk chocolate eyes, and the cutest smirk. He was bigger than
most men his age—which she pegged for mid-twenties. She
inwardly sighed.

“
There are
four of us. All boys.”

“
Oh, wow, we
had three girls. Not sure how I would handle that many men.”

He stopped in mid
sip. “Really?”

“
Yes.”
Then she realized the double entendre. Her face heated. “I mean
I was raised in a mainly female household, so boys are a foreign
unknown.”

He nodded.

“
So, you buy
lots of girls sweets?”

“
Yeah. Well,
not a lot, but every now and then.”

She nodded and
played with the paper beneath her half eaten malasada.

“
Are you going
to eat that?”

“
Okay, I’ll
admit it. I am a bit of a freak and you’re making me nervous so
it’s hard to eat.”

He blinked at her,
and his lips curved. “No reason to be nervous. Wanted to spend
my last day in Georgia with a pretty Georgia woman.”

“
Oh? You’re
moving?”

Figures. Just her
luck that an attractive man who would buy her food was leaving. Not
that it was anything but him being nice, and apparently some kind of
thing that he did all the time.

“
No. Just
heading out for a two-month deployment.”

“
I didn’t
know they had a squadron going out from the forty first.”

“
You didn’t
know that we are airmen but you know that?”

She could tell he
was teasing by the tone in his voice. The man was so sweet she could
get a toothache just from talking to him.

“
Yes. Some of
my students are connected to the military. I also have a few spouses
and a few active duty in my night classes.”

He nodded. “What
do you teach?”

“
English.”

“
Just
English?” When she didn’t answer right away, he said, “My
mom teaches at the community college level in Virginia, so I know you
all have your areas.”

She smiled. It was
nice to hear a man talk about his mother with such pride. “I
teach beginning composition and reading comprehension.”

He said nothing for
a few long seconds. “You like you job.”

“
No. I love
it. It was what I wanted to do from the time I started college.”

He gave her a full
smile. Every drop of moisture dried up in her mouth.
Damn
.

“
That’s
all that is important.”

She nodded but
wanted to move on. “What is it like having three older
brothers?”

“
It was
horrible. They hated me because they’re all ugly and stupid.”

She laughed enjoying
him. “Yeah, so are my sisters. Are your brothers in the Air
Force too?”

He shook his had.
“We all went for different services. Leo is in the Army. Marco
is Navy and old man Vince is in the Marines—which is what our
father was.”

“
Ah. So you’re
all brats.”

“
And damned
proud of it.”

“
And you jump.
And you’re leaving tomorrow?”

He nodded as he
finished chewing a bite of his malasada. He rubbed his hands to get
rid of the sugar from his sweet treat. She could just imagine sucking
one of those sugar-covered fingers.

Dammit
.

“
What are you
doing today, Kianna?”

It took her a second
to dispel the fantasy she’d just conjured in her head. She
shrugged. “I was going to grade some papers.”

“
How about
spending the day with me?”

She didn’t
answer right away. “Why?”

“
I told you. I
wanted to spend my last day here with a pretty Georgia woman.”

“
This isn’t
some kind of incident that will have me ending up on a show on
Discovery ID, is it?”

“
What?”

“
This isn’t
some kind of date from hell where you lock me in a basement and leave
me for two months?”

He put his hand over
his heart. “I promise.”

His expression was
solemn but his eyes were dancing with amusement.

“
Just hang
out?” she asked.

“
Yeah.”

Normally she would
say no. Men like Gianni usually didn’t flirt with her and
generally didn’t ask her out—not unless there was
something they wanted from her. But he was leaving in the morning.
And, he was sitting there giving her the most beautiful smile. She
couldn’t say no.

“
Okay.”

His smile widened
and she felt her heart turn over. What the hell had she just gotten
herself into?

* * * *

By the end of the
night, Gianni was completely charmed. They’d spent the day all
over Valdosta, including the Wild Adventures Theme Park. It had taken
his mind completely off the worry of his deployment.

“
I had a great
time, Gianni.” She barely flirted, but those cute little smiles
of hers had his head spinning.

“
Thank you for
spending the day with me.”

“
It’s
the least I can do,” she said.

“
Well, there
is one more thing you could do.”

“
Yes?”

“
A kiss to
remember you by.”

She blinked. “Uh…”

“
What?”

“
Sorry,
just…never mind.”

She leaned forward
and gave him a kiss on the cheek. When she pulled back he was amazed
she didn’t pat him on the head. That was just not going to do.

“
That wasn’t
a kiss, Kianna.”

God, he loved her
name. It rolled off his tongue every time he said it. He could
imagine what it sounded like when he groaned it.

Whoa, boy, slow
down
. He had an o dark thirty appointment with a plane. He just
thanked his mother for her early training. He was packed and ready to
go, so it made it easy for him to spend the entire day with Kianna.

“
It wasn’t?”
She shook her head. “Then what was it?”

“
A peck.”

She frowned. “Funny,
I thought it was a kiss.”

He shook his head.
“No. This is a kiss.”

He slipped his hand
to the small of her back and stepped closer. Leaning down, he slammed
his mouth over hers. She tasted sweet as he thought she would.
Tempting, sugary…a decadent treat he wanted to gorge himself
on. By the time he pulled himself back, they were both breathing
heavily and he was busy convincing his body that there would be no
reward tonight.

“
Thank you for
the wonderful day, Kianna.”

He gave her another
brush of his mouth over hers. “I have your email. I hope you
don’t mind a few emails from me.”

She smiled. “I
wouldn’t have given you my card if I did.”

He opened her car
door and waited for her to slide in before shutting it. “Drive
safely.”

She nodded. “Be
safe, Gianni.”

He watched her drive
away, her taillights fading into the night before he walked to his
truck. Just like every other military man, he was always looking
forward to the homecoming even before he left..

He licked his lips
and he could still taste her there. Now he had something more to look
forward to when he returned.

I love my family,
but there are times they can be overbearing. Being Joey Santini’s
baby is a blessing and a curse. —Gee

Gee folded his last
shirt and placed it in the suitcase. Ten days in Virginia was enough
for him.

“
I made all
your favorites,” Joey Santini said studying him. He would sigh,
but he knew it would hurt his mother’s feelings. She’d
apparently been a wreck since his parents had gotten the call two
weeks earlier. Vince had said the once indestructible Joey Santini
had come undone. Gee hadn’t seen it, but just knowing made him
feel guilty.

“
Mom, you
really don’t have to do that. I know you and Dad are busy.”

She crossed her arms
and leaned against the doorjamb. “You’re injured.”

“
No, I’m
not. I had a concussion because of an accident so they sent me back.
I’m right as rain. You heard the doctor.”

That had been the
worst of it. His mother had insisted on driving him to his
appointment at Bethesda. It had been beyond embarrassing to have his
mother questioning the doctor as if Gee was five. Of course, he
didn’t tell her that the accident came under heavy fire and
they had to set the copter down hard. She probably would have been
even worse.

“
Vince did say
I was overreacting.”

“
He’s
right, Mom.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he slipped past
her into the hallway.