Granted Wishes (The Granted Series Book 1) (18 page)

Kat looks disturbingly angry for a second, but then she calms down and asks everyone to have a group hug. They all hug and it’s all resolved, for now.

They eat dinner together again and Kat and Anne decide they’ll come over tomorrow to say farewell to Gracelynn since it’ll be her last day in New Hope.

Gracelynn and Gio accompany both ladies out and wish them a fabulous evening.

Gio is glad they’re gone though. Now he can try to make Gracelynn’s last night in New Hope truly magical.

GIO AND
GRACELYNN COME BACK
inside the cabin and start dancing with one another like it’s become a habit.

“What are you doing to me, Gracelynn?” he whispers as they dance.

She smiles. “What are you doing to me, Giovanni?” She places her head in the crook of his shoulder and continues to dance with him until Holly barks and needs to go out.

Gio tells her that he will let Holly out and will be right back.

While he’s gone, Gracelynn looks down at her new Christmas present and still can’t believe the beautiful ring that symbolizes Gio, Angelo and herself. She heads towards the kitchen to get a drink; but when she turns around she sees Gio in a tight flannel shirt, flannel pajama bottoms and no socks. Talk about Adonis in the flesh. This man could wear a plastic bag and make her skin crawl with desire.

“Anything I can help you with, mister?” she asks him as she pours some juice into a glass.

He stares at her and looks at her with pleasure and sorrow too. “I don’t want you to leave tomorrow.” He reaches out for her; but goes around her and drinks the juice she just poured for herself.

She smacks him playfully.

He smirks and gently taps her on the bottom and tells vher she’ll get over it. They laugh and then he grimaces. He rakes his fingers through his hair and frowns, which makes wrinkles appear on his beautiful forehead. “It’s tearing me up thinking you’ll go back home and find someone else.”

She laughs, not to make fun of him but because this is humorous. He thinks she’s going to go home and get a boyfriend? Doesn’t he know that she cares for him, probably way deeper than she should after knowing him for four weeks?

Crossing his arms over his chest, he sneers. “What’s so funny about this?” He looks disappointed she could find his feelings amusing.

She glares at him and walks towards him, pointing her finger at his chest. “You’re a real piece of work. You think I’ll go home, sleep with someone or get a boyfriend?” He gives her an innocent look, but she continues. “You think that the time I spent here, the information we’ve shared, would make me go home and pretend nothing happened here?”

She sits down on the chair and brings her legs up to her chin. “You saw me when I first came here. You could see how I looked,” she croaks and wipes a tear that falls from her eye. “You think I would forget about you and move on, after the ring and everything?”

She shakes her head and gets up, leaving him standing in the kitchen. She heads straight for the bathroom. If he’s going to act like a child, she’ll treat him as such.

She decides she’ll grab a shower, hoping it’ll make her feel better. She brushes her teeth and dresses in a long, red nightgown. As she exits the bathroom, Gio is lying on the bed waiting for her. She ignores him and his stares as she walks around the bed and gets in without a word. She knows she’s being childish but he’s being a jealous man who deserves the silent treatment for a bit. She knows he will cave but until then, she’ll be mute.

“Gracelynn, can you turn around and face me?” His voice is laced with emotion.

She doesn’t respond.

“I was an insensitive prick. I guess I don’t know what we are and you’re leaving tomorrow, and it has me petrified.” He rubs her back, but she still won’t talk to him. “I know this feels good. I will continue to rub and pamper you until you fall asleep or until you talk to me. I will beg, grovel, whatever you need; just please talk to me,” he continues to rub down her back, her calves and her toes.

After about a half hour or so he stops. He leans up against her and she almost forgets she’s angry with him. He smells delicious as always. He whispers, “I’m sorry. I care about you so much.” As he’s about to exit the room she leans up in the bed.

“I care too. Please don’t leave.”

He runs back to the bed, grasps her in his arms and holds her in a tight embrace.

He lets her go, moves away from her and then lies down next to her, holding his hand in hers.

“I’m sorry I didn’t speak to you; but you needed to realize you were being an ass,” she speaks tautly, staring into his eyes, ones she could get lost in.

“There’s nothing wrong with my ass, sweetheart.”

She laughs but won’t be fooled by his charm. “Oh, I know that. I said you were
being an ass
, not that there was anything wrong with your delectable ass.” She wiggles her eyebrows at him which leaves them both laughing.

“Want to do something fun?”

“What do you have planned?” She snuggles next to his body and taunts him a little.

“Please, stop taunting me,” he softly asks her as he showers her forehead with a kiss.

She feigns innocence. “Whatever do you mean?”

He gets out of the bed, adjusts himself, not discreetly this time, and looks at her. “Did you pack a swim suit?”

She nods. “I think I saw one in my bag, why?”

He grins, which leaves her wondering what he has up his sleeve. “Put it on, grab a towel and when you get into the kitchen there will be a robe on the island and your shoes will be next to it.”

He leaves her alone in the room, grinning because of this man who now has captured a piece of her heart.

GIO CAN’T
BELIEVE HE TOLD
Gracelynn to put on her swim suit and meet him. What is he doing? Being around her makes him different. He wants to do things to surprise her.

He figures the hot tub on the back of the property will be a great surprise, since she hasn’t seen it yet. He grabs his suit, towel, two robes, and his shoes and places the robe on the counter for Gracelynn, as well as her shoes.

He leaves the house to get the hot tub started and goes back inside, where he finds Gracelynn who is about to put the robe on. He grabs the counter to refrain himself from going over and taking her on the damn kitchen counter.

* * *

Gracelynn notices Gio stare at her and slowly slides the robe on top of her tight, form-fitting, pure perfection swim suit.

He stares at her gorgeous body until she covers it up by wrapping the robe around herself.

Then she gives him a full blown, naughty smile like the Cheshire cat from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.

* * *

He knows he’s in trouble; in the last few days she’s come out of her shell, showing him the vixen she can be.

She walks over to him, swinging the end of the robe string around her finger, whistling and giving him a jaw-dropping smile.

“Like what you see, Gio?” she seductively asks as she twirls her body around him, instantly getting more of a reaction from him.

He stops her mid-second turn and grabs ahold of her body.

“Okay, you’ve made your point. Stop or I won’t be able to control myself and be gentlemanly any longer.”

That earns a blush across both of her cheeks as he kisses them, grabs her hand and covers her eyes before taking her outside.

Once outside, he uncovers her eyes when they stand in front of the hot tub, inside an enclosed gazebo. He’s surprised he didn’t think to show her this sooner; but this is the best time for them to continue to talk while relaxing and enjoying time together. The lights in the gazebo make it feel intimate, a little too intimate for this occasion though, and he hopes she doesn’t think he’s seducing her.

She gasps when he removes his hands from her eyes.

“I’ve never had a gazebo or a hot tub.” She stares at it in awe. “Thank you for bringing me out here. I have a bunch of stuff I want to talk to you about.” She winks, drops her robe and enters the hot tub.

Gio’s mouth hits the floor watching this beauty enter the hot tub in that pure seductive swim suit.

He drops his robe. He gets in at the other side of the hot tub and closes his eyes wishing he could have her here longer. He knows she needs to go back home though…but he knows so little about her home. He’s never asked what she does or anything personal really, other than questions about Angelo.

* * *

Gracelynn stares at the sky through the hole in the gazebo and wishes Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun could have been here, and Angelo too, of course. She reaches for her necklace out of habit and realizes that Gio is staring at her.

“I’m sorry. I just seem to grab at my necklace when I’m scared or afraid,” she whispers. She lets go of the necklace and continues. “He was my rock. We hardly fought and when we did, it was a real catastrophe.” She smiles, remembering all the make-up times, but she won’t tell Gio about that.

“He was well-liked, kind, polite and a respectable man. You remind me of him,” she says, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger and enjoying the jets on her lower back.

“What do you do for fun, where do you live?” Gio asks her, interrupting her thoughts.

He looks damn sexy, scrumptious even, in the hot tub.

The bubbles around them and the lighting make it seem much more intimate and she enjoys being alone with him outside in the cold weather and snow. She runs her fingers through her hair and decides she hasn’t told him much about her life. “I live in Layton Hills. It’s a nice, respectable place not far from where I work.” She covers her eyes, tries to retain her composure.

“It’s okay, Gracelynn. You don’t need to tell me anymore,” Gio says, nudging her shoulder. Once he touches her, she’s a goner and embraces him oddly in the hot tub.

“I…I… I was mad he was leaving. I didn’t want him to go on a trip. I was being selfish and wanted him to stay with me and for us to do something fun together. He told me it was important and that when he got back we’d spend all the time in the world together. He kissed me and told me he loved me and that was the last time I saw him, Gio,” she weeps into his shoulder.

He embraces her with both arms. He lets her cry it out and when she’s done; he wipes her tears and goes back over to his side of the hot tub again.

“I didn’t get that. You should be lucky those were your last words together.”

She glances at him, noticing the sadness radiating all over him.

His hands clench the outside of the hot tub tightly. “I accused my wife of cheating. I suspected her of having an affair because she wasn’t around, always going off doing something. I was the doting husband and provider. I felt I was an amazing spouse to her and she wasn’t thankful for anything I did for her. I found out the day she died that she was in the car with another man.”

Gracelynn shakes her head. “I doubt that your wife would’ve cheated on you. There has to be another reason she was with another man.”

Gio shrugs. “We had our issues, every couple does. After losing the baby she went silent and didn’t want me anymore. She damn well should’ve known I was hurting too. It was my damn baby too!” His voice wobbles.

“I’m sorry, I’m getting out now,” he tells her, standing up, reaching one leg over the side of the tub.

But she knows this conversation shouldn’t end here. “Stop. We need to discuss this further, Gio. You can’t just leave when it hurts you. If we’re friends, I’m here for you and want to help you… deal with the pain.”

He instantly turns towards her, his gorgeous face scrunched in pain.

She knows he’s fighting this… she can tell he’s unsure of whether to get out or stay with her. She decides for him. She stands, grabs his hand and pulls him back into the hot tub.

He sits down on the seat with a blank expression.

“Gio, I know this is hard for you. I think you need to get this out of your system. Have a good, hearty cry and let go of this anger.”

He leans back and rests his head on her shoulder. Deep sobs radiate from his body. His body shudders and she embraces him as she knows he needs to let go off all the baggage he’s been carrying around.

Once he’s done crying, he tries to speak, but it comes out in a wobbly voice. “Thank you for listening and putting up with my shit.”

Gracelynn moans quietly as he rubs her back, and his embrace makes her deliriously happy.

“Enjoying this, huh?”

She laughs and realizes they’re back into their friendly banter again.

They separate and sit back down in their separate spots. Gio runs his fingers through his hair. “While we’re being honest, I was wondering what you’re going to do about Xavier?” he asks, staring at the stars.

She flinches at the sound of that man’s name. She would like for him to be sentenced with community service at the Vet clinic due to animal cruelty towards Holly and rehab for a year due to what he did to her as well. One year of sex, alcohol and domestic abuse or house arrest for a year.

As she tells Gio what she wants to do against Xavier, he turns pale. “We’ll call Office Hughes tomorrow and let them know your decision. Xavier Farley better not hurt another woman or animal again or I will hurt him myself.”

Gracelynn doesn’t want to talk about Xavier or Ron anymore. She wants to enjoy the evening in the hot tub with Gio. To change the subject, she starts talking about hoping to see him again when she goes back home. He agrees and they continue to talk for what seems like hours in the hot tub. They eventually get out, get changed and stop when they both come out of the separate bathrooms and stare at one another. Like neither of them want this to be their last night together.

Gio steps in front of her and kisses her forehead, telling her goodnight before heading back to his room.

“Good night, Gio,” she whispers back, feeling depressed.

GRACELYNN TOSSES
AND TURNS
, unable to fall asleep. She gets out of bed, thinking maybe looking outside will calm her nerves, but nothing works. She tries clasping her necklace, but it doesn’t settle her nerves either. She can’t remember the last time she’s felt so anxious. Giovanni brings out the good in her. The life and joy she used to have. She decides to go to the library and find a piece of paper and write him a note.

She finds paper and a pen and heads back to her bedroom. She decides she’ll give him another gift and write something from the heart. When she’s done with her note, she lays it on her bed. As she’s about to drift off to sleep, she feels a breeze and a touch on her cheek.

“I love you. You need to move on. Your heart is too gentle and kind to not let someone else love you for the rest of your life. Go to Gio, he needs you, now, more than ever.”

She sits upright and turns on the lamp next to the bed and sees a shadow fade away from her.

“Angelo, is that you? Please come back to me. I need to see you again. I love you! If that’s you please, please come back to me,” she sobs. She doesn’t see anything else but hears Giovanni screaming in his sleep – at least she hopes it’s in his sleep.

She gets out of bed, petrified, wondering if that was Angelo… why he didn’t show himself? Why didn’t he want her to see him? She runs out of her room into Gio’s room where she finds him completely covered in sweat and sitting up in his bed frightened, shaking, his hands on his head, rocking back and forth and mumbling.

“No, no, this can’t be. That can’t be real,” he mumbles over and over again.

Gracelynn doesn’t know what to do since he doesn’t realize she’s in the room. She steps next to the bed, touches his arm in comfort and tells him she’s here for him. When she lets go of his arm, his hands fly off his head and he hugs her tightly to his sweaty body, gripping her like a vice.

He pulls her body to a lie down position and holds her, covers them up and kisses her forehead repeatedly.

Gracelynn’s heart is racing. She doesn’t know what’s going on. She lies still and listens to his heart calm down.

When his breath regulates, he finally speaks. “Gracelynn, are you awake?”

She nods.

“I dreamt you were dead. I dreamt you died.”

She tries to turn her body next to him, but he doesn’t let her go. He’s holding her so tight that a piece of paper couldn’t fit between them.

“Gio, I’m real. You’re starting to hurt me. Please don’t hold me so tight,” she says as she tries to turn and see his handsome tear streaked face.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I completely forgot you had bruised ribs, which I’m sure are probably still a bit tender. I can’t believe I was that careless.” His eyes close as if he’s truly in pain.

She touches his beard and runs her fingers through it. It’s coarse but soft and has just enough stubble that it isn’t prickly. She loves the feel of it in her fingers. He finally relaxes as she runs her fingers through his beard, mustache and hair.

She tells him she is getting up for a drink and asks if he would like something. He shakes his head no.

She decides to make it quick since she can feel he’s not in a good place at the moment. As she grabs a cup from the kitchen cabinet, the voice appears again.

”I told you he’d need you. He can love you so much. He can make your life shine. Open your heart to the possibility of love again.”

She turns around and again no one is there. Why does this voice have to keep coming around? She grips her necklace and immediately feels better. She knows she needs to start living and hopes Gio will want that with her too. But can he want something with her when they’re both broken?