Page 20 of Come Back to Me

“I think all they’ll need is a bed,” Giana says, snickering under her breath, and it heats my skin. And gets my mind working on all the things Giana and I could be doing if we had a bed.

Pete gives her a knowing look as he waggles his brows, and I have to swallow back my bark of laughter.

Uncle Jim either doesn’t hear or pretends he doesn’t. Probably just as well. He takes a couple of long strides toward the stairs. “C’mon, Pops, let’s let the two lovebirds have a chat with their friends.”

Pete’s grandfather follows Uncle Jim down the stairs. They holler their goodbyes over their shoulders while Pete and Nettie ring out a chorus ofthank yous. By the time I turn my attention back on Giana, she’s rushing at Nettie once again.

I figure they have a lot to catch up on, so I nod my chin at Pete. “Wanna walk down to the Freeze Hut and get a soda or beer or somethin’?” I suppose we have things to catch up on too.

“Yes, please.”

We slip out, and the girls hardly notice. Out on the sidewalk, the streetlamps have turned on. I stuff my hands into the pockets of my blue jeans and study my cowboy boots as they shuffle over the cracked cement.

“So? How was the honeymoon? Y’all have a good time?”

“Yeah, it was fun. But Niagara Falls wasn’t really for me. I missed this place.”

“Shit. Maple Ridge has a way of doing that, huh?”

“Sure does. But I was also ready to get back and start our lives. As a married couple.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, still studying my feet.

It’s quiet for a beat until Pete pipes up. “How were things here?”

“Fine,” I drawl out. “Good.”

“Good? How good?”

He’s insinuating something. And I’m fairly certain I know what that something is. We may be cousins, but we’ve only been together a handful of times. So this topic of conversation is new territory for us.

When I don’t answer, Pete stops walking, so I stop walking too and glance up at him. He pins me with a knowing look. I rake my fingers through my hair, and my eyes flit away.

Pete lets out an amused whistle and lightly shoves a fist intomy arm. “I knew it! Did I call it, or did I call it? I knew you two would hit it off.”

I exhale a chuckle. “I’d say we more than hit it off. Pete, I’m completely smitten. I think she might be it for me.”

“No shit. For real?”

We reach the Freeze Hut, and I yank open the door, giving way for Pete to enter first. “For real. It’s not only Maple Ridge that has charmed me into wanting to stay. I love Giana Russo more than cornbread on a Sunday.”

Pete looks at me funny. Like I’ve got two heads. Or like I’ve just said the most ridiculous thing.

“I don’t know what that means exactly, but I’ll assume you love her enough you might plan on staying in Maple Ridge longer. And that’s sufficient for me.”

It’s sufficient reason for me too. Because the summer doesn’t feel long enough.

Wherever Giana is, I want to be. Forever. And if that’s Maple Ridge, then so be it.

CHAPTER 8

Giana

With only two more days until we’re scheduled to close on the cabin, I’m getting antsy. There’s only so much work Leo and I can do without having the keys. Not only that, Leo and I have barely been alone since Pete and Nettie’s wedding night.

All these thoughts are racing through my mind on a continuous loop. Wondering if I did something wrong. Or if he even wants to have sex with me again. What if that one night was all we get?

When I receive a phone call that the refrigerator we ordered from an appliance store in Denver has arrived, we make a trip to pick it up using Pete’s grandfather’s truck. While we’re there, we grab a few more home improvement items we couldn’t find at Martin’s Hardware. I climb onto the shopping cart while Leo stands behind me and pushes it down the aisles.

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