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Something in her voice—the way she said his name, the genuine appreciation—settled the restless energy that had been eating at him all day.

“That was the point,” he said. “Get some rest, P.”

“You too.” She said it soft, just before the line went still.

Giovanni smiled in the dark, phone still pressed to his ear long after she'd hung up. His boys would be clowning him if they could see him right now. He shook his head and laid back to watch the game. Wednesday couldn’t come fast enough.

Chapter 12

Giovanni had finally made it back to Coupeville, his home, his peace. Her text and call had made the last three days harder than they needed to be. Business had gotten done, deals moved, contracts in motion, networks impressed, but he’d been distracted the whole damn time.

Now that he was back, his body told him to go straight to his house, take a hot shower, and sleep off the jet lag and the exhaustion of the last few days. He hated traveling, it was such a hassle. It drained him, and after shaking hands and smiling for multiple days, his social battery was depleted, but he made a promise.

He moved on autopilot, his heart was already twenty minutes down the road, pulling into the parking lot at Coupeville Federal Bank. He’d promised her that the moment he touched down, he’d be on her. No fluff. No delay. And absolutely no broken promises.

The ride was easy for him. The kind of solo drive that gave him, a conflicted man, time to think. Traffic had thickened on the interstate outside the city, but he didn’t mind it. It gave him room to breathe. Space to reflect.

A lot had changed in a short time. Business was booming, opportunities flying in faster than he could catch them. What felt like the right time to bring Paige into his world was now starting to feel like good intentionscollidingwith bad timing.

He’d be flying back and forth. Press tours. Filming schedules. Media training. Would she understand that kind of chaos? Could she? Did he want that distance? He was jumping the gun, and he knew that. But he knew him, and if he wanted something, he’d stop at nothing to get it.

But damn, he couldn’t wait to see her.

Scrolling through her Instagram wasn’t cutting it anymore. Watching her post quotes and thirst trap pictures with her little sarcastic captions was cute, but it wasn’t her. He missed her voice. Missed the way she said his name. Missed the way she smelled. That warm vanilla and shea butter that clung to her skin was a love note he’d like to read over and over.

His phone buzzed against the console.

“Hey ma, what’s up?”

“Hey son. What you doing in town? Shouldn’t you be home resting?”

He looked around, trying to figure out where she was hiding to be this deep in his business. He didn’t see her, but he could hear that grin in her voice.

“I got business to handle before I duck off for a minute. How do you know I’m in town anyway?”

“I got eyes. I left the grocery store with ViceAnne not too long ago.”

He closed his eyes. There it was. This is exactly why he moved to Haven Springs, this damn town was too small sometimes.

“Going to see Paige?” she sang.

“Ma. For real. Y’all gotta chill. I didn’t tell you she worked in town.”

“Vicey told me. And I don’t know why you actin’ so damn weird. You’re a grown man, Gio. As long as she got some business about herself and ain’t no thief, you’ll get no issues from me.”

She paused, then laughed. “I only wanted to mess with you. Come see me when you reemerge. I’ll cook for you.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. She knew him too well. He was known to duck off from the world when his soul needed quiet. That’s why he respected Paige’s need for space so much, because heunderstood it.

“Love you, ma.”

“And you know I love you. Tell her I said hi.”

She couldn’t resist. He smiled, ending the call, and eased his car into a parking spot near the side entrance of the bank, the one not everyone used. Not to mention he didn’t like risking his shit getting hit.

He cut the engine, sat still for a second.

He inhaled deeply, then pulled the mirror down. He adjusted the collar on his Polo, made sure his chain was straight, brushed a hand down his beard, and stepped out.

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