As Helena pressed her palm to mine, she looked up at me with earnestness in her eyes. “How did you do that tonight?”
“Do what?” I helped her to her feet and waited until she was secure on her heels before letting go to close the car door.
“Lie so smoothly. Like you’re telling the truth. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve believed every word.”
“It helps that your mother was so good and drunk.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, taking the chance that she wasn’t quite done getting touched by me today.
“Not just with her. With everyone. You made the whole damn room believe that you loved me.” She slowed, looking down at the pavement.
I was almost worried she was going to throw up.
Until she whispered, “That I’m worthy of being loved.”
I pulled her against me and cupped her chin, forcing her to look up, to meet my eyes. I didn’t know how many times I could tell her, how many different ways I could word it, to make her see that she was beautiful, strong, incredible. And so, so worthy of love.
So, rather than trying to speak, I put my tongue to use in another way, as I kissed her. My tongue slicked across the seam of her lips, demanding entrance, demanding that she yield to me.
When her mouth opened, I took every last bit of space I could, possessing her, claiming her mouth, stroking and tasting until I couldn’t think of anything but the kiss.
And I doubted she could either.
11
Helena
Gio really needed to stop kissing me.
He was too good at it. As if his mouth was meant to be on mine.
And it was confusing the issue.
Confusing me.
Leaving me panting and oh, so wet.
When he pulled back, I almost grabbed the front of his jacket to pull him right back to my lips.
But that was a very, very bad idea.
“We should get inside. Daphne’s an early riser, even when she’s been out all night, and she’s not going to take us being late for even breakfast.”
I hurried to the front door of the rental, trying to push through the fog in my brain to remember the door lock code. Had I really had that much to drink? Or was it just Gio’s kiss leaving me this dazed?
His hand caught mine, and he quickly typed in the numbers, letting us into the house.
But he didn’t release me. Instead, he shifted his hold so that his fingers were entwined with mine. More casual, but no less possessive. No less captive.
The sound of my heartbeat thundered in my ears, roaring so loudly I wouldn’t have been surprised if the whole house heard.
He was looking at me like more than just friends. More than just someone he was helping out, someone he was using to inspire his art.
Giovanni Wright was looking at me like he wanted to keep kissing me. Like he wanted so much more.
“God, you two, get a room.” Daphne walked past, her ass barely covered by a pair of tiny white shorts. “Oh wait, you have one.” She winked and then continued on whatever journey she was on.
Of course. He was still putting on a good show. He must’ve seen her coming.
It made a hell of a lot more sense than Gio wanting me.
By the time we were in bed with the lights off, I was certain the attraction was all in my head. He didn’t reach for me under the covers. He didn’t even try to sneak a peek as I was changing.
Not that I was looking.
Morning came way too soon.
I pulled the covers over my head, hoping to block out the sun.
“Come on, Helena. I’m not going on this winery tour alone.” Gio tugged at the comforter, until my eyes were exposed. He held out a cup of coffee and smiled. “Unless you want me to make excuses to your family about keeping you in bed all day.”
I groaned and sat up. Even though the idea of staying in bed with him all day, letting him strip me out of my pajamas and find out if he was as good with his tongue all over my body, or just in my mouth, I didn’t want to disappoint Daphne or Mom.
That was the whole reason Gio was here. To keep Mom and Daphne happy.
“Okay, give me that coffee, and get out of here so I can try to make all of this look somewhat presentable.” I waved my hand over my face vaguely.
Gio smirked, and I would’ve paid just about anything to know what was going on in his head.
But instead of saying anything, he just flipped open his sketchpad and held it out.
It was a side of me I’d never seen before. He’d captured me while I was asleep, my hair wild around my head, my lips slightly parted, curved up at the corners like I was smiling. The curve of my breasts was just visible near the bottom of the page.
I felt like I should’ve been creeped out. But instead, I was astonished.
“How long have you been up?”
“Not long.” He smirked. “It was quiet, with my receptors off, and you looked so peaceful. I told you, you inspire me.”
Shaking my head, I got out of bed and ran my fingers through my hair. “Am I going to have to explain to my family an entire gallery of drawings and paintings while I was sleeping?”
“I do actually do other work besides sketches of you.” He laughed and put his pad away. “Although, lately it does seem like you’re the most fascinating thing in the world.” He kissed my cheek and said, “Get ready. I have to leave before I get distracted by all this bed-tousled look and I make you sit for me.”
It took me longer than I wanted to get ready, but when I finally made it downstairs, it seemed like Gio had the whole room eating out of the palm of his hand.
Mom, Daphne, and Marcus were all sitting around the table with him, listening to him as he told a story involving the triplets when they were all little.
Watching Gio, it was so easy to picture him painting. His hands moved with the rhythm of the story, occasionally slipping into a sign here or there, especially when he got to the good parts of the story. I could’ve stood there all day, just watching him excitedly tell stories about his family.
And they sounded like such a tight-knit group. I couldn’t imagine my sister willingly learning sign, just to be able to communicate easily. I couldn’t imagine bringing so many people together, from every corner of the globe, and making them mesh as a family.
But the Wrights certainly had it down.
“Are we going on this winery tour, or what?” I leaned in the door jamb, smiling.
Gio grinned and stood, easily crossing the space to pull me into his arms as Daphne said in her typical Daphne fashion, “It’s about time.”
I tried to keep my eye roll under control, a feat that was much easier with Gio there, smiling at me like I was the center of his universe. Here in Tuscany, I supposed I was. But it still made me feel special. And loved.
The SUV Marcus had rented had three rows of seats, and Gio took no time claiming the farthest back row for the two of us. He helped me crawl back there, and I doubted anyone missed it as his hands slid over the wide curve of my ass, pushing slightly to help me get situated.
I certainly didn’t miss it.
He had big hands.
When he settled next to me and pulled the seat back into place, it was almost as if we were in our own little world, separate from the rest of the group and far enough removed that I could almost pretend that we were in a bubble.
As the car rolled out of the drive, I started to imagine what it would be like to lean over and kiss him, to run my hands over his chest, to tease and touch. Idly, I wondered if anyone in the front two rows of seats would notice if my hand found its way to his cock.
Something was very wrong with me. My mother was less than two feet away. My sister and her fiancé not much farther ahead than that. And here I was, imagining giving my fake fiancé a hand job in the back of a moving car.
I didn’t know if it was the trip, or the hangover, or the kisses that Gio seemed to want to give me like I wanted to eat Reese’s peanut butter cups, but my brain was f
uzzy, clouded with ideas of taking things further with him, giving into all my dirty romantic fantasies.
Gio tilted his head at me and signed, “You okay? Your cheeks are flushed.”
I bit my lip, wondering what those talented hands would feel like all over my body. “Yeah. It’s a little warm back here, isn’t it?” I fanned myself with my hand, trying to cool off. But it wasn’t the temperature in the car that was overheating me. It was entirely the man sitting next to me.
“Do you want me to ask them to turn down the air? I don’t want you suffering.”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek before whispering, “I’m okay. Thank you for worrying about me.”
I doubted anyone in the front would care that I was warm, or that I was far more focused on the idea of Gio’s hands on me than I was about going through the Tuscan countryside.
If he were my real fiancé, and we were here for more than just my sister’s wedding, I would’ve so easily let him keep me in bed. I probably would’ve been the one keeping him in bed.
The drive to the vineyard was quiet, with only the occasional interruption from the front filtering far enough back for me to hear.
Gio clearly didn’t care to hear any of it, as I watched him reach up and flick the implant microphones off. He did the motion so smoothly, I wouldn’t have noticed it if I wasn’t watching, but now that I knew, it became so obvious—when we first met, when he’d been drawing me on the beach, he had them off.
I just felt like an ass for not noticing earlier.
When we finally pulled into the winery parking lot, I didn’t know how it had happened, but Gio had somehow managed to release me from my seatbelt and pull me against him, into his arms, so that my back was against his chest and his hands were almost in my lap.
It was comfortable, easy, being in his arms. Being with him.
I didn’t know how I was going to be able to let him go.
Getting out of the car was so much worse than getting in, and I really didn’t know how I was going to do it, but Gio stood by the door, his hands held out for me, offering help at any time I might need it, even though he didn’t force his help.
“Okay, should we get lunch first and then tour, or are we okay to do the tour and sample wine with lunch after we’ve seen everything?” Marcus had Daphne’s hand in his, and his focus was on Daphne and Mom, as if my opinion didn’t matter.
I supposed in his life, it really didn’t.
“I think the tour first would be nice.” Mom spoke up first, and Daphne was quick to agree.
Gio, though, looked at me. He signed, “What do you want to do? I know you didn’t really get breakfast.”
“I’ll be fine.” I was used to not being the focus of my family, and I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers.
I rose up on my toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, wanting to give in to the romantic fantasy, at least a little, before I pulled away.
Gio’s hands slid around my lower back, pressing in just enough that it almost felt like a soft, quick massage, before he let them drop down over the curve of my ass to pull me in closer. He let his tongue trace over my lower lip teasingly before his fingertips tightened, getting two good handfuls, and then he released and stepped back, letting the tension and need linger between us like a spark of heat.
Mom stared, mouth wide, as shocked as she would’ve been if we’d just practically had sex right in front of her.
“What?” I smiled at her, wrapping my arm around Gio’s waist as I stood next to him.
“We’re in public, Hellie.”
“You know, Mrs. Stratton, I believe she prefers to be called Helena.” Gio said it so smoothly, so matter of fact, it was hard to argue, but there was an undertone of bite to it, of a commanding tone that insisted she bow to his statement.
“She’s just been my Hellie since she was a little girl.” Mom chewed her lower lip, as if she were fighting whether or not to continue arguing. “But I suppose, as her fiancé, you probably know her best.”
I was shocked. I’d told them a million times if I’d told them once, to stop calling me Hellie. It was only my nickname because Daphne hadn’t been able to pronounce my whole name, but it didn’t feel right anymore.
And Mom was just going to let it go that easily, because Gio said so?
I leaned into him and smiled sweetly at her. “I would really appreciate it if you did it because I don’t like Hellie. Not because my fiancé told you to.”
Mom stood agog for just a second before nodding. “Of course. I didn’t mean to imply…” She let the rest of her sentence run off, and I wasn’t surprised by it at all. She didn’t like confrontation, especially when it came from one of her daughters.
And she entirely meant to imply that she was only doing this because Gio said something. I didn’t like it, but at least it meant for the rest of the trip, there was a good chance I’d be Helena.
Wandering through the vineyard with Gio was so much different than it would’ve been with just Mom, Daphne, and Marcus. They were like three peas in a pod, and Marcus seemed intent on making sure that both of them were happy, and well taken care of. And while he had always been generous, and always gave me equal consideration, he wasn’t trying to impress me.
Gio, though, seemed so in tune with me, with my needs, that he took care of things before I even asked. When I started to lag, tired from walking and feeling the ache of pain in my lower back from standing and walking so long, he made sure we found somewhere to sit and rest, before I had a chance to complain. Not that I would have.
And by the time we sat down for lunch, Gio snagged my menu before I could look at it. With a smirk, he signed, “Do you trust me?”
I nodded, just as Daphne said snarkily, “Would the two of you quit signing? It’s rude.”
Before I could apologize, or make promises that we’d stop, Gio squeezed my knee under the table and said, “It’s my first language, and sometimes I feel more comfortable using it. As someone who has family with hearing loss, I would think you’d want to learn, that you’d want to show your support and be able to communicate easily. I’m sorry that you find it inconvenient, but really, the world is an inconvenient place. The least you could do is try to be understanding to those of us who don’t navigate it the same way you do.”
Marcus let out half a snicker before he caught himself and put on a poker face.
I wasn’t doing as well at keeping my humor to myself, and I tangled my fingers with Gio’s, bringing his hand up to my mouth to press a kiss to his knuckles.
I didn’t know what got into Gio or me, confronting my mother and sister, but it felt good not to let them walk all over me. It was amazing to have someone take my side and stick up for me too. It wasn’t something I was used to, but I could definitely become accustomed. It lifted my spirits so high, I felt like I could even take them on by myself.
I glanced over at Gio and my heart gave another erratic beat.
God help me, I was pretty sure I was falling for my fiancé.
12
Giovanni
Lunch was a tense affair, with Daphne and Scarlet both shooting daggers at me when they thought Helena wasn’t looking.
It was probably for the best; if they thought I was too outspoken, not perfect enough for their perfect little family, maybe they’d have an easier time with it when she told them she’d broken it off with me.
But for my part, I was proud to stand up for Helena. For Rose. I hated that these women lived such surface deep lives, with their focuses entirely on not rocking the boat, not doing anything that would threaten their entitled attitudes.
I was certain it made matters worse that not only did I continue to talk with Helena in sign, but I also ordered our lunch and our wine in passable Italian.
“Why don’t we spend a little time here before heading back to the house? I wouldn’t mind getting some photos, and I’m sure they have a gift shop or something if you don’t want to spend more time among the grapes.” The itch to be
artistic, to create, was tugging at me again, and even though I couldn’t easily do it with all of them around, if I could at least get some pictures, capture the right light, the beauty of the Tuscan vineyard, the etherealness of Helena among the vines, I could use it as fodder for creation later.
And it would give me some alone time with Helena, which I certainly didn’t mind at all.
“Oh, you brought your camera? I would love to get a few taken, if you wouldn’t mind lending your artistic eye?” Daphne lit up, and I was tempted to tell her no, just to spite her.
But the look on Helena’s face, the soft pleading in her eyes, made me grudgingly say, “Sure.”
Helena squeezed my knee, and I leaned over to steal a kiss.
Her lips tasted like wine, but underneath that was a flavor that was all Helena. Just a little spicy, with the sweet of her lip balm, and something that reminded me of heat and fire.
I didn’t want it to end.
Daphne’s not subtle “ahem” made me pull back reluctantly, and I left my arm around Helena’s shoulders as I looked at the rest of the table. “Okay, photos then?”
We headed out into the vineyard again, leaving Scarlet at the restaurant with the last of the wine bottle. Every few feet, Daphne tried to pull Marcus in for a pose. I snapped away, uninspired by either of them, until we came to a huge tree surrounded by flowers and soft, green grass.
It was clearly somewhere well-loved in the vineyard, an area that someone took care of it with affection and heart.
“Helena, would you please?” I hung my camera around my neck as I took her hand and pulled her into position.
She immediately started trying to turn this way and that, to find her best angles, probably the directions that her sister and mom had told her were the ways to stand that made her look smaller, to stand out less.
But I didn’t want her to hide. I wanted her to stand out, to shine.
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently, telling her with a smirk, “Loosen up. Stand here.” I shifted her stance, her pose, the angle she held her head, until I was happy with the position. “Don’t smile. Look that way and think about a secret. Something that makes your heart happy.”
The Fiancé Agreement Page 10