Granted Wishes (The Granted Series Book 1) (8 page)

“Nice to meet you, Mallory. I’m Gracelynn.” She wonders if Gio and Mallory had a relationship in the past, or are having one at the moment, based on the way Mallory is looking at him. She’s never been a jealous woman, but she is at this very moment.

Mallory glares at her. “I need to talk some business with Mr. Antonetti, if you don’t mind. Could you give us a few minutes?”

Gracelynn doesn’t know what to do. This was obviously the woman she heard him talking to on his phone before he got back to their table. She’s jealous of this woman, knowing she can’t ever compare to the looks of her. “I should go get a box for this pizza anyways, it’s getting late. You two talk. Nice meeting you, Mallory, and thanks for the dinner conversations, Gio.” She leaves the table to find the waiter and ask him for a box for the pizza.

* * *

The moment Gracelynn is out of sight and won’t be able to pick up on what he says, Gio clenches his teeth in anger and lowers his voice.

“What the hell are you wearing, Mallory? How many times do I have to say, I’m not interested in you? Why would you dress like that just to drop off some documents?”

He wonders what Gracelynn felt about the whole situation. She rushed off in a hurry right after Mallory appeared, so obviously she wasn’t happy of it either.

“Where I’m going before or after work is none of your concern.” Mallory pulls up her nose. “But for your information, I’m going out with friends after I’m done here. It seems though that I’m the only one who got around to do some actual work today, considering you’ve been distracted.”

He glares at her. The bold tone she used on him makes him furious. “You’ll be wise to remember that I’m your boss. You won’t speak to me in that tone again. Are we clear?”

She nods her head in agreement. “However,” he continues, “since my blunt and bold assessment didn’t help, I’ll apologize and we can go from there, sound fair?”

She nods again and grabs her briefcase, pulling out her planner, his calendar, documents and a pen. She sits at the table with him and glares at him before saying anything. “In the past I tried to make a pass at you and you declined my offer,” she says.” I get that and I’ve moved on. I’m here on official business. Let’s move forward, shall we?”

He stares at her, dumbfounded. For once, he actually believes her.

“I’m sure you didn’t remember that I’m off on Monday. That’s why I needed your signature for a few important documents you left on your desk.” She grabs the documents and places them in front of him with little sticky tabs showing him where to sign.

“Oh and by the way, I wanted to remind you of your Management Conferences you have going on Thursday and Friday at your other hotel,” she says when he’s done signing.

He can’t believe he has forgotten all of this. He was so focused on Gracelynn that he forgot all his other responsibilities. Despite her odd behavior, Mallory is an excellent assistant and he wouldn’t be able to do his job without her.

She gathers all the documents he’s signed and places them back in her briefcase. She then hands him some more documents. “You’ll need these for the rest of the week at the conference.”

“Thanks for coming, Mallory. I appreciate your dedication to the hotel, and I hope you’ll have a fabulous vacation.”

She smiles and gets up from her seat. “No problem, Gio. This is what you pay me for. Glad to help.” She leaves, bidding him a good night.

After she’s gone, he looks around the restaurant for Gracelynn. Surprisingly, she’s still around, smiling at Antonio, their waiter, tucking her hair behind her ear and giggling like a school girl. The sight of them happy together makes his blood boil.

He leaves the table abruptly.

He swiftly walks up to the counter and possessively places his hand around Gracelynn’s waist.

She turns around to face him and smiles. “Hi, Gio. This is Antonio. We’ve been discussing food and the family business, while you were busy talking with your assistant.” Her voice is laced with sarcasm.

Gio grimaces at the sarcasm, clenching his teeth together in frustration. He needs to clear up any confusion now. “She’s only my assistant. Nothing more. She’ll never be anything but my assistant.”

As he informs Gracelynn of this, he notices Antonio looking rather uncomfortable.

“Excuse me,” the waiter says. “My break is almost over, and I best get back to work. Here’s your box for the pizza. Hope to see you again sometime.” With those words, he leaves them alone standing at the counter.

Giovanni keeps his left hand on the small of Gracelynn’s back and leads her back to their table. He puts the remaining pizza in the box without talking to her.

“Why don’t we head out now, Gracelynn? It’s seven and my assistant came to remind me of my Management Conference I’ve forgotten about. I will be gone until Friday,” he states sadly. “I’m sorry for Mallory ruining our evening. Let’s gather our items and continue our conversation on the way over to your car?”

She nods and they grab her stuff and head out to his jeep.

He opens her door for her and says, “My lady”, and allows her to sit and buckle up before shutting her door.

As he starts up the jeep, he notices her looking out of the window. “You’re beautiful, you know that, right?” he whispers.

It’s now her turn to look over at him and blush, something she often does around him. “Thank you, Gio. You’re not bad looking yourself, especially in a suit.”

That makes him laugh. “If you like the suit, baby, then I’ll wear them all the time for you.”

She chuckles and then looks back out of the window, clutching her necklace.

An unexpected sadness overwhelms Gio – he doesn’t want her to be sad, and to hold that necklace as if it’s the only thing that can save her from the sadness.

“What did you do today?” he asks, curiously.

“I went to the café where I met Kat. Then I went to Anne’s shop – she’s really nice. Then Kat took me to the salon. Kat and Mara gave me a makeover and then we came to the restaurant as you know.” She smiles like it was the best day ever.

“You seem happy. I like seeing you smile. Did you find anything interesting at Anne’s store, if you don’t mind me asking?”

She smiles at him again, the kind of smile that makes his heart race faster. “I got my friends a Christmas gift and a little something for myself too.” She holds out her wrist so he can take a look at the bracelet.

He glances at it, then stops the car at the stop light, grabs her hand and looks at the bracelet more closely. Nausea overwhelms him.

“Everything okay, Gio? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

The light turns green. He bites his lip, struggling with how to explain it to her.
Oh yes, by the way that’s my grandmother and I think she’s playing matchmaker with us
… He clears his throat. “Do you want the truth?”

“I always want the truth, Gio. You of all people should know that, especially after what we just learned about my husband and your brother.” She still sounds crushed when she mentions it. She hadn’t looked at him like she did before yet, and he can tell he really hurt her feelings.

“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. That was never my intention. I just don’t know how to answer this without you freaking out on me, okay?” He grips the steering wheel. “Your silence is killing me. I hate it that you aren’t talking to me now and that I’ve hurt you. I will just come out and say it. Or better yet, show it.” He pulls over to the side of the road and lifts up his shirt sleeve, showing her an engraved bracelet that almost matches her own.

She gasps, but then a smile appears on her face. “Why would I be freaked about this? It’s delightful to know you have a bracelet that represents the same as mine.”

* * *

Gio doesn’t speak the rest of the way over to the café.

Gracelynn looks at the town and wonders what it would be like to live in a town where everyone knows one another and that feels like a large home, with a real family. For the first time she’s envious of Giovanni and the town he grew up in. But then she remembers he only grew up here because he was kidnapped from his family and Angelo.

“I think we should talk about everything,” she blurts out. “Looking around this town, I’m jealous of the life you have, but I’m sad as well by what you’ve missed. Angelo and his family were good people and I wish you could’ve had a life with them.”

Gio sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m just as upset and hurt over this whole ordeal. I know you lost your husband and in-laws. I lost my entire life with them. The family you got to spend time with… that’s what hurts the most.”

Gracelynn leans over the passenger seat, grabs his right hand and takes it off the wheel and puts it in her left hand. With her own right hand, she clutches her necklace. She knows she needs to give them both some hope, but fears she might not have the strength to do so.

“Did I ever tell you about my necklace? It was a gift from Angelo,” she says. “He gave it to me on our wedding day. He wanted me to know that wherever he was, he would always be watching over me and protecting me with his love.” Sadness makes her look away and when she looks back over to Gio, he has pain in his eyes. For the first time, she sees he too is affected by the loss of something he never got to be a part of.

“Gio, that letter gutted me. Knowing that Angelo never told me any of it… but he was trying to spare me until he and his parents found you. I accept it now and want to believe he didn’t do it to hurt me. He was a loving man, just as you are—Two good men with wonderful hearts. Don’t let the everyday crap in life take away your joy. Let’s try to move on from it and make the best of what we have.” She looks down at their hands and smiles. “I’m sorry for my speech. I just want us to be happy and know that we can get past it all. We have the choice whether to live or die, be angry or happy and from now on I want to try to live in the present and enjoy my life.”

* * *

Gio doesn’t know what to say. He’s amazed how Gracelynn feels. She’s a perfect woman in every shape and form. True inner beauty shines from within her and it scares and amazes him. No one has ever affected him the way she has in the last few days. He knows that Anne, his grandmother, Kat and even Mara, are up to something with them. He laughs at the thought of them playing matchmaker because it looks like he and Gracelynn didn’t need their matchmaking skills at all – they handled it just fine on their own.

He pulls his hands out of her grip, takes a piece of her wonderful angelic-looking hair and tucks it behind her ear. She breathes fast, chest rising rapidly, but he doesn’t care. He leans over towards her.

“You’re a wonderful, remarkable, beautiful woman. I’m jealous that Angelo had you. I’m jealous of the life you led, the love you shared and the memories you’ll forever have.” He looks away so she won’t see the pain reflected on his face. However, he doesn’t move fast enough. She grabs his face and turns it so he faces her.

“No one would be envious of the life I led, Gio. You don’t know half of it. I told you that I loved Angelo with my entire heart and that much is true, but we didn’t have the fairytale life, nor did we have a perfect marriage.” She sighs before she continues. “I bet if anyone needs to be envious of anyone, it would be me of you. You own your own business, live in a delightful town, and have a wonderful sister. You have a lot going for you.”

“Well, remember doll, it’s not always sunny in the paradise you don’t live in. Truth be told, I struggle every day. I too, lost someone in my life. Since their passing I’ve not been the same.” He can’t believe he’s telling her this. He pulls up to the café, parks his jeep and puts his head on the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry to hear you’ve been through something like this as well.” Gracelynn grabs his hands again and gives it a soft squeeze. “How long have you felt this way, Gio? Maybe you should talk with someone about it. I’m always here to talk or listen.”

He reaches up, takes her hand and brings it down to his lips and kisses it. “Thank you for being here, Gracelynn. I’m so glad you’re here. No one ever sees me like this.”

“Gio, I’m sorry to do this, but I’m exhausted. I’ve been running all day and I’m about to crash. I’m sure you have to get some sleep too, so you can get ready for your conferences for the rest of the week.” She yawns.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “When I’m with you I seem to forget about anything else other than us talking and getting to know one another.”

She smiles. “I feel the same way. I enjoy our conversations and being in your life, but I’m just getting tired… Hey, wait a minute… who will be watching over Holly while you’re away?”

“Typically she stays with Kat or Anne but sometimes she stays at the kennel,” Gio replies. He can’t believe he forgot all about Holly. “She doesn’t like the kennel too much though.”

“I can take her. That is if that would be okay with you.”

“I think that’s a fabulous idea. Holly fell in love with you the other night, so she’ll have no problem staying with you.” He likes the thought of both girls he cares about spending time together. “How are we going to do this? Can you have pets at the rat-infested motel you’re staying in?”

She smirks at him. “I think I can have pets there. To be honest, I’d prefer it if she was there with me. She’d make me feel safe,” she whispers.

“What do you mean, make you feel safe? Why don’t you feel safe at the motel?” he asks rather irritably.

She doesn’t answer and puts her head down, trying not to make eye contact with him.

He tips her head up. ”You know that I don’t like when you put your head down and you hide your beautiful eyes from me. If you don’t feel safe, you can always come back to my cabin or even my hotel. You don’t need to stay at a place when you don’t feel safe there.” She looks up at him like he is her life line and personal savior. Would she really look at him like that when he tells her everything? Would she still want to be in the same car as him? Because the other information he found in that box was devastating and heartbreaking all over again.

“Thank you for your offer, but l I’ll stay at the motel. I’ll be safe there with Holly around. I have a feeling she’ll be a good watch dog.”