Page 88 of Lodged

I know he’s being sincere. I see it in his crystal blue eyes. I stand up from my chair and sit on his lap.

“I know, Gio. I know you love me as much as I love you. And you’re right about following the doctor’s orders. I think I’d have done the same if the roles were reversed.”

He releases a deep breath, and I kiss him on the cheek. I grab a piece of bacon from his plate and take a bite.

“Hey, I gave you your own bacon,” he says, fake indignation in his tone.

“Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do about it?” I say with a smirk as Gio gets up from the chair with me in tow and walks back to his room. He tries to take the bacon from my hand, and I giggle. We make good use of our time before dinner with the family.

“Mama, they’re here!” Miles shouts when Gio and I step inside the house.

I smile at Miles and whisper to Gio, “I’m going to go change real quick. I’ll be right back.”

He kisses me and goes to say hi to Miles and the rest of my family.

When I walk inside my room, Rain is waiting for me with a shit-eating grin on her face and petting Cobalt, who’s wiggling his tail at me. I go and pet him a bit before I speak to my sister.

“What?” I ask, trying to play innocent, but my sister is not having it.

“What do you mean, what? How was it?” she asks, bursting with excitement. I chuckle at her eagerness.

“It was a perfect night.” I say simply before grabbing a clean dress and underwear.

“That’s it? I need details.” She pouts, and I throw my head back in laughter.

“Yes, Rain. That’s it. I’m not going to share any private details.” She huffs in frustration, and I roll my eyes at her.

“Okay, fine. But at least tell me—was it better in the van or at his place?” I shake my head. I can’t believe Rain, but then again, it’s Rain—there have never been secrets between us.

“If you must know, nothing happened in the van. But last night sure made up for the lost time.” Rain kicks her feet in the air, and I laugh all the way to the bathroom.

“Hi, Mama.” I hug her as soon as I enter the kitchen. “This smells delicious, thank you for inviting Gio over.”

She hugs me back and says, “Oh dear, I’m so happy you remembered him. I’ve been praying for that to happen. He truly loves you.” I smile at her. I know he does.

I help Mama set the table and bring the food in. Once everything is ready, I go to the living room to let everyone know dinner is served. From what Gio has shared, I know he talks to my siblings, but what I see when I walk into the room is fourfriends chatting as if they’ve known each other forever. Warm, fuzzy feelings wash over me as I watch Gio so at ease with my family. It feels like he belongs here with me.

“River, why don’t you bless the food?” Mama says, and he nods.

“Thank you, good Lord, for this food that Mama has cooked for us. We thank you for giving Ruin her memories back and for letting her find love in Gio. Amen.” I squeeze Gio’s leg under the table, and he winks at me. I can tell this means the world to him, going from having only his siblings in his life and both living far away to having my entire family loving him and supporting him.

“Thank you,” I mouth to River, who gives me a curt nod.

Dinner starts quietly, with everyone enjoying the delicious stew and warm, buttery cornbread, until Miles breaks the silence.

“Hey, Granny, I was wondering which one of us is next to find love.” We all chuckle, but I can tell he is asking genuinely.

“You don’t need to worry about that. You’re not next in line.” Miles whines, faking annoyance, but I see how Granny looks at Rain. Maybe she’s next?

“Okay, okay. I want to hear from Ruin,” Mama says, and everyone settles down. “What do you remember, dear?” I give her a warm smile as I straighten my shoulders and wipe my mouth with my napkin.

“I think everything is back. I mean, I remember everything about Gio.” Miles and Merlin snicker, and River smacks their heads with the napkin. Mama gives them her no-nonsense look, and River murmurs an apology. I look at Gio, and he’s smiling at the situation.

“It’s funny we’ve been dating for a couple of months, but everything came rushing back to me last night as I was singing a song I sang to him while we were at his beach house.” River opens his eyes wide, half shocked, half terrified to know my dirtysecrets. I laugh but cover my mouth. “Anyway, I remember being in Raleigh and coming home to see you all.” I place my hand on Gio’s leg, and his hand immediately covers mine. “I remember Daddy’s accident now,” I say as I swallow the lump in my throat.

Gio gives me a gentle squeeze, and I breathe in his scent, immediately calming down.

“And now that you have your memories back, what do you want to do?” River asks, and I take a deep breath.

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