Page 20 of Mine to Love
Workout—5:45 to 7:30 a.m.
Breakfast—8:00 a.m.
Work—9:00 a.m. - until
Lunch (if home)—1:00 p.m.
Dinner (if home)—8:00 p.m.
Okay, well, that’s helpful. Though, it does seem like his work days can be a bit unpredictable. I wonder if he works from home or goes somewhere. Maybe both considering theif homenotation. Who knows? Delilah and I may even have the house to ourselves most days. With that thought in mind, I redirect my attention to the recipe for Gio’s protein shake and get to work.
It calls for two scoops of vanilla protein powder, one scoop of matcha powder, one scoop of collagen, one cup of Greek yogurt, and a handful of frozen broccoli blended with water. “Wait, what?” I glance at the recipe again after spooning all the powders into the blender. Greek yogurt and frozen broccoli? This sounds disgusting. Why does he torture himself like this? Although, it’s clearly working. His muscles are visible in pretty much everything he wears. “Alrighty, then…”
To my surprise, the Greek yogurt in the fridge isn’t expired. Although, it’s practically the only thing that isn’t. He must buy this regularly because he uses it every day. After adding the yogurt to the mixture, I open the freezer and find a bag of frozen broccoli with a chip clip holding it closed. It’s almost empty, but there’s just enough for this shake. “Here goes nothing,” I say after adding in the water and giving it a little stir.
The blended result is a light green creamy mixture speckled with flecks of broccoli that smells a little like vanilla and a little like sour milk with the faintest hint of dirt. I scrunch my nose as I take a whiff. Though I can’t lie, I’m curious. Looking around and finding Gio nowhere in sight, I take a small sip of the drink. “Ugh, Jesus!”
I place the cup down on the wooden prep table just as Gio and Ru reach the bottom of the staircase. “Not quite,” he says. As he approaches, wearing nothing but some black jogger pants and a grin, I’m not sure if he saw me take a sip of his shake or not. But that is the least of my worries as I do my best to avoideye contact with his naked, chiseled chest—for professional purposes.
I grab the blender off the prep table and quickly move it out of his way, which also puts some distance between us as he reaches for his cup. As he does, Ru runs and finds her bowl with an automatic dispenser near the French doors leading to the back porch.Oh, good!I didn’t even think about her.
“Good morning, Darcy,” Gio says, before taking his first sip.
“Good...good morning,” I stutter and move to put the blender back where it belongs in the pantry. When I return to the kitchen, I find Gio facing me and, this time, my eyes can’t help but to take him in.
I may be traumatized and the last thing I want is to be intimately touched by a man, but I’m not blind. Gio is a fine specimen, like a character from the books I used to read. His chest hair is perfectly groomed while his face is clean shaven. He has chiseled abs and cheekbones and broad, strong shoulders with equally impressive arms. I imagine his upper body strength is quite impressive. Though I then notice a bandage on one of his arms just beneath his shoulder. I suppose I didn’t notice it yesterday because his clothes covered it.
“Is…is that from? You know, the…the other night?” I ask, pointing towards the wound.
Gio glances down casually, almost as if he forgot about it. “Oh, yeah. It’s just a graze. Not my first and probably not my last. Nothing for you to worry about.” He smiles and his eyes are gentle with sincerity. I nod and offer him a small smile in return. Though, it’s not exactly comforting that he’s had multiple instances of being shot at. Maybe that’s why the code on the gate changes so much.God, this place was just starting to feel safe.
I shake my head, refusing to let my overthinking send me into a spiral this early in the morning. Changing the subject, I say, “So, is that how you like your shake? The Greek yogurt andthe broccoli seem a bit weird. I could try to swap it out for some milk and fruit, if you’d like. It might make it taste better.”
Gio takes another big sip. He’s already drunk half of it.God, how?“I appreciate the suggestions and offer, but the Greek yogurt is for extra protein and the broccoli, well, it’s sentimental. My mom always told me to eat my vegetables, at least a handful a day. My days can be pretty chaotic. So, I throw in a scoop of broccoli for her every morning just to make sure I don’t miss a day.”
“Oh, that’s um, sweet.” I relax a little then and make my way toward the coffee pot. The burst of energy I felt after very few hours of sleep is wearing off. I need a pick-me-up if I’m going to tackle the rest of this day, which I can already tell is going to involve cleaning out and restocking the fridge and pantry.
“You’ve never mentioned your parents. Are they still in Montana?” Gio asks then.
