Page 34 of Secret Match
Anthony then said, “She’s having my niece or nephew which gives you strategic advantage. You can’t give her that much latitude.”
“Anthony…” Gio had no answer for him. His brother clearly had a different philosophy when it came to women. Kiwi’s smile brought him pleasure and he’d do nothing to erase that. Kiwi had a choice in all things, including him, though he’d amp up his chase. She was his, and he intended to keep her. But she needed to agree of her own free will.
He didn’t argue any of this with Anthony, who probably wouldn’t understand. When they finished, he asked his brother, “Can you please tell the staff to have more grape juice for the table?”
Anthony nodded and left.
Gio took the bottles of wine and ensured every table had plenty to drink. His brother disappeared, and Kiwi tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned and instantly his entire body felt a jolt of electricity. However Kiwi’s arms crossed and her brow wrinkled as she glared up at him. “Gio, I heard you and Anthony.”
His mind raced. Had he done something to upset Kiwi? He couldn’t think of anything as the conversation with his brother was mostly just his brother’s opinions that he ignored. Perhaps she’d misunderstood? “You said you didn’t want to drink wine, so I asked for extra grape juice.”
“That wasn’t the conversation I was referring to.” Her stance widened.
Whatever Anthony had said clearly bothered her. Gio straightened the napkins and table settings so everything was in order. “What, then?”
She followed behind him. “Why did you tell Anthony you asked me to marry you?”
“Because he’s my brother.” This shouldn’t bother her. His heart began to beat a little faster as he continued to straighten every chair so everything was aligned.
She tapped her foot behind him. “About choices?”
Great. He turned, ignoring the imperfection of his table, and stared down his nose. “I meant what I said. The choice is yours. Why all the questions?”
Her jaw clenched but her arms were still crossed and she had the look of a mom about to scold him. “You didn’t tell your brother to mind his business when he talked about keeping me on a leash.”
Leash? Gio flinched though his muscles tightened in his shoulders. Perhaps he had spoken enough but he’d wanted to end the conversation with silence. He returned to setting the table, ensuring everything was perfect and using the time to cool his own temper. “Those weren’t his words exactly, but I didn’t correct him because I didn’t want to argue with him. He’s already upset that Jennifer might choose Peter because she’s having his baby.”
Again Kiwi followed but this time her footsteps behind him grated on his nerves. “Which gives himstrategicadvantage. Do you think like him?”
“Absolutely not.” He stared at the line of glasses across the table to ensure everything was in order.
Her tapping foot stopped and through the reflection of the glass, he saw that her hands were at her side. “Then why not tell him?”
Trust was something they needed to work on before they got married. He turned toward her, needing to have this conversation in a direct manner. “Because he’s upset already, and his words don’t mean anything to me. Why don’t you trust me?”
Her eyes widened like he’d sucker-punched her. “Trust you?”
“Yes. Trust me.” He didn’t bat an eye.
They needed to clear the air, fast. His guests would be here at any moment, and no one needed to know about their personal lives, except what they wanted to share. He refused to ever cause drama. He’d never be his father or anything like him. Simple was better.
A memory washed through him when his father had invited the media into their lives to watch them eat dinner like they were actors in some television show instead of a family and all because he’d wanted his American family to see him on their televisions. Luckily it never aired. He blinked and swore he’d never do anything like that to his own child.
“I…” She looked down and then back at him with her shoulders slumped. She took a deep breath and nodded. “I don’t know. I swore I’d give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Gio was glad to know that she at least saw reason. He reached out and hugged her waist. “Then please give me that now and trust me a little.”
“I’m sorry, Gio.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, tightly holding him.
The wound-up clock he had for a stomach stopped spinning and he let her go. With a nod, he hoped this was the end of the conversation on Anthony. “It’s fine. How was your meeting with Victoria and Caro?”
She stood next to him, fiddling with a cloth napkin. “They wanted to know if I wanted to move my design department to Italy.”
If she was here, then they would have an easier time. Victoria was clearly thinking ahead. He smiled and fixed the last of the settings while he asked, “And you said?”
Kiwi looked down at her leather flats. Again his body tightened before she said anything. Finally when she looked at him, she twisted her nose a little as she said, “I hadn’t thought about any of that. I was upset that you’d talked to Victoria about moving my department here without talking with me first.”
