“Ok, kids.” Gramps dropped a couple of file folders on the desk. “I have a few things I want to say.”
I hopped up onto the desk so Bianca could sit in the only other chair in the room while Gio continued to lean against the door jamb. It wasn’t a very big office so the four of us made for a close fit.
“What’d you do to get us in trouble?” I asked glaring at Gio.
He snorted and said, “It wasn’t me. What’d you do?”
“All right,” Gramps cut in. “First, you girls have done a great job with expanding with the delivery service. Profits are up already, we’ll clear the money we put into it by the end of the month which is unheard of. Bailey, you did a great job hiring these kids and the business portion is running smoothly, Bianca. But… ” I think we all saw that coming. “It’s time you all get out.”
“What?” Bianca’s face reflected what I was thinking for sure. Confusion. Outrage. Abject horror.
Where was he going with this?
“Yeah, you’ve all been working for what? Thirteen, Fifteen days straight? You need to take a few days off. In a row.” We all visibly relaxed but I was still on guard. This was our baby. We couldn’t just walk away. “I’m making it mandatory that you three take four days off. I don’t even want to see you in here. If you want an order, have it delivered. I’m serious. And no running off to Chicago to work either.” He looked squarely at Gio because I was pretty sure that’s exactly where his thoughts went. Mine went to Chicago as well. “You need days off. Period. Fun. Remember that?” he asked with a smirk.
“Hell, yeah,” I said with a smile and clapped my hands together twice. “Four days of doing nothing sounds just perfect.”
“I can get behind that.” Bianca and I high fived each other.
“But when you all come back, I think it’s time I start teaching Gio how to make the sauce,” Gramps added through our giggling. “It would be nice to have someone other than me and Bianca doing it.”
The entire room stilled. I went my lips and the nibbled on the bottom one as I watched Gio and Gramps in a stare down.
The saying you could’ve heard a pin drop had nothing on us in that moment.
One of the main reasons Trinity wanted to buy Gramps out was the sauce. I’d never tasted anything like it. But it was such a closely held secret that no one, and I mean no one, knew how to make it outside of their family. I regularly joked with Bianca that only four living people were allowed in on the secret at a time.
So when Gio returned and Bianca forgave him, the one thing he wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole was the damn sauce recipe. Having come to know Gio the way I had, I knew he could be trusted. It was that he either didn’t trust himself or didn’t think he’d earned the trust.
“I know what every one of you is thinking but Bianca and I can’t be the only ones able to make this anymore. With the added business we’re going to need a lot more of it.”
Gio shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not sure that’s such a great idea.”
It was a rare moment when I saw his face full of regret or anything less than his normal cocky swagger.
“Gio. Are you going to run off with it? Are you going to leave my granddaughter the minute you learn the recipe to use it to make Trinity even more profitable?”
Gio flinched but his face immediately hardened into anger. “Of course not.”
“Then this is happening. By my estimation, you’ll officially be family soon enough.” He looked from one of us to the other. “I can’t thank you kids enough. Now get the hell out and don’t come back until Monday.”
Whatever would I do with all my time?
Since it was Wednesday afternoon I had some time to figure things out. My first thought was to grab a plane to Chicago. Four days was plenty of time for a quick trip but then I started to get nervous about the newbies running everything for the first time. Maybe I should stay close just in case.
No. Gramps was there, he’d do whatever needed to be done and wasn’t joking about not wanting to see any of us. He’d kick all of our asses if we stepped foot in that building before Monday morning. Plus, I knew they needed to get used to being on their own especially when we really got busy during the official season.
“Hey.” I grabbed Bianca by the arm in the break room. “I’m going to Chicago.”
“I thought you might be.” She met my smile with one of her own.
“Is that weird? I mean what if he’s busy?”
“I’m thinking he’ll make time but even if he’s busy, it’s Chicago. Go shopping.”
“Trust me when I tell you shopping is not what I need or want at this point.” We both started giggling like school girls.
I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t going to fly up to Chicago to try to seduce Sal, but I desperately wanted to see him.
“That’s pretty disgusting.” Gio interrupted the silliness looking all Gio-like which was pretty gorgeous as far as looks go. The stern, hard demeanor he naturally gave off next to our silly delirium made the whole situation that much funnier.
“Sorry, Gio.” I laughed and pat him on the shoulder, not meaning a word of it.
I went home, made reservations then thought about calling Sal so he’d know I was coming. I assumed he’d want me to come to Chicago.
Oh, god, what if he was too busy for me to be there?
Shaking the doubt away, I started throwing some clothes into my well-worn suitcase, small with an expandable handle and wheels. That thing had seen as many miles as I had and had been my most prized possession the month I spent in Europe.
This was a last-minute plan and I didn’t have much time before I’d miss my flight if I didn’t get my butt moving.
Maybe a later flight would’ve been a better idea but I wanted to get there as soon as possible. Excitement made me impulsive.
Sal didn’t answer my first call so I sent him a message saying that I really needed to talk to him as soon as he had a chance. It was important. Then I gave him exactly twenty seconds to read the text and dialed him again.
This time he picked up on the first ring.
“Is everything OK?” he asked instead of a greeting, his voice full of concern. Something scraped against the phone and I heard him say, “No, I’ll be back in a minute.” There was some more shuffling then a door closed. “Bailey, you there?”
“Yeah.” Why was I suddenly nervous? My hands vibrated and something heavy sat on my chest. I took a deep breath and blew out slowly.
“Is everything OK? I just got your text and was about to step out when you called again.”
“You were busy, right? I’m sorry but I couldn’t wait.”
“I was in a meeting but that doesn’t matter. What’s going on?”
I sighed because I wanted a certain reaction out of him and not the ‘you’re interrupting me’ vibe I was getting. He wasn’t putting that out there. My own insecurity was.
After long conversations with Bianca, we decided that the lack of concern over what other men thought or did in my life before Sal was because none of those guys mattered.
Sal did.
So. Fucking. Much.
“What are you doing later this afternoon?” I finally asked.
“Ah, working I assume. Why?”
“Well, I have this flight that’s going to land at O’Hare in three hours.”
“Really?” He drew the word out with what I had to assume was a smile on his face because there was certainly one in his voice.
I bit my lip because happiness was exactly what I wanted to hear.
“Yeah. I guess I could take a cab to a hotel but was hoping for a more personal welcome to the city.”
He chuckled low in his chest then wanted my flight details which I gave with a wave of relief and not a single thought to the fact that I was going to take him away from work. Work could wait.
“So, what are you doing tonight?” I asked again.
“Driving to the Airport.”
“Right answer.”
Finally, I had to laugh. We were being ridiculous.
“Don’t you have a meeting to get back to?”
“Right. A meeting to end, you mean.” The phone scraped against something again and his voice dropped. “I’m really looking forward to seeing you.”
“You have no idea,” I replied then ended the call before one of us started talking again.
Chapter Fourteen
Bianca and Gio did me the solid of dropping me at the airport because seriously I felt sick over the idea of leaving my corvette in short-term parking for four days. I didn’t even care about the cost of parking my baby there but the thought of what could happen to little precious was nauseating.
I didn’t have them come inside with me because I was used to traveling alone. I just needed the ride.
The flight took forever. No turbulence yet my knee bounced the entire time like I was nervous. I wasn’t. I was anxious.
We even landed a few minutes ahead of schedule which almost never happened. Still felt like days since I’d left Harbor Point.
I just wanted to be with Sal already.
O’Hare wasn’t the busiest airport I’d ever been in but I started scanning every single person around as I walked through. Until I found the face I was looking for.
I saw him before he saw me.
Imagining what he’d look like when I saw him didn’t live up to the reality. Though in all that imagining, I’d envisioned him coming right from work in a suit and tie or something official. Instead, I was given the gift of Sal in jeans and a dark blue tee. A warm looking leather jacket hung from his shoulders as he leaned against a wall talking on the phone.
The call must not have been a fun one from the tightness in his face and animated movements. The movement of his mouth indicated that stern words were coming out. I assumed the call was work-related.
When I saw him rub a hand on the back of his head, I wanted nothing more than to get him off that damn phone.
He was stressed. I could see that just from looking at him and I wanted to be the one to de-stress him.
Finally, he glanced around, did a double take when he scanned past me in the sea of faces then locked his gaze on mine. The tension left his jaw and a smile played on his lips which made me grin like a cheesy fool. I didn’t care one bit. Whatever conversation he was having abruptly ended.
The tightness was replaced by a full smile as he pushed off the wall.
My pace quickened. So did his, until I was close enough to leap into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist. He had to support all my weight which he did without complaint, one of his hands wrapped around the back of my neck, the other under my ass. He pulled me against him as tightly as he could, almost cutting off my ability to breathe.
I didn’t care.
“Skype sucks,” he said into my ear making me squeeze him tighter.
“It does. It totally sucks.” I agreed.
Regrettably, my feet had to return to the ground because Sal couldn’t carry me around Chicago like my own personal transporter. I wished he could. But if he hadn’t put me down, he wouldn’t have been able to kiss me.
His thumbs brushed my cheekbones twice before he leaned down to touch my lips.
It was like coming home after a trip.
My lips missed his. Missed the way they moved against mine with exactly the right amount of pressure. The way his tongue pushed its way into my mouth and the way mine accepted his without hesitation. He must have remembered that we were in public because he stood up tall which broke our connection.
I didn’t care if everyone was watching. I just didn’t want it to end.
“Welcome to Chicago.” He smiled.
“I think it might be my favorite city,” I said back, letting him put the handle down on my suitcase so he could pick it up by the strap. After wrapping an arm around my shoulders, Sal pulled me in close and led the way through all the people so we could get the hell out of the airport.
The cold winter air hit me like a solid wall when we stepped outside the airport. I didn’t have my coat zipped up because I hadn’t needed to on the plane and the wind surrounded my body on the inside of the coat making me shiver.
Thankfully he wasn’t parked far away so it only took minutes before we were snugly inside with the heat blowing.
Sal weaved us in and out of traffic like he’d been doing it his whole life. Which, duh, he probably had. He was born and raised in the city so this wouldn’t be anything new to him. As for me, I usually used public transportation when I was in unfamiliar big cities with insane traffic.
“Traffic is bananas.” I gripped the sides of my seat as he hit the gas to get around a much slower car.
“Eh, it’s Chicago.” He shrugged as he spoke. “So what brings you here?”
I lifted an eyebrow at him when he glanced at me.
“Stop,” he said. “You know I’m extremely happy that you’re here. I just meant, I thought things were really busy at work.”
“Yeah, they have been which is why Gramps kicked the whole lot of us right out the door.”
Sal laughed at the image I’d created.
“So I’m banned until Monday. Which gives me until Sunday evening when my flight leaves to do whatever I want.”
We pulled up to a building so large that I didn’t think it could possibly be a single home. Apparently it was. It was Sal’s house, he said. I guess technically Gemma and Gio’s too.
“Now I get why Bianca calls this place the Palace.”
The entryway was enormous with a set of stairs running up the right side and curving at the very top. If this was just the entryway, I couldn’t imagine what the rest looked like.
“Yeah, I know.” He shut the door behind us. “I need to get things organized and sell this place soon. It’s too big.” He started climbing the stairs without saying anything but still had my small suitcase in his hand so I followed.
He didn’t offer a tour for which I was glad. I didn’t come here to see the house. I came for him.
He took me inside a bedroom large enough to fit my entire apartment inside. It was set up like a studio apartment. Living area with a couch and television right when I walked in and a small refrigerator in the far corner that shared space with and small office.
On the opposite side of the room were the bed and dresser. I spotted two doors. One was the closet, he said and the other the bathroom.
“This is a guest room?” I asked continuing to look around.
“No. This is my room.” He dropped the suitcase next to his bed. Oh, man did my stomach drop at the way he’d taken control of where I’d spend my nights, letting me know that he wasn’t really asking me to stay with him, he was insisting upon it. “So…” He shrugged out of his coat then pushed mine down my shoulders. “Do you want to go out tonight?”
I shook my head. Again, I had very little interest in Chicago itself.
“I’d rather stay in if it’s all the same to you. You have to work in the morning, right?”
He nodded.
“Then I definitely want to stay in but you will have to feed me at some point.”
We ordered some take out. I didn’t even care what kind of food we were going to have.
I’d spent hours either in airports or on an airplane so I went into the bathroom to put on more comfortable clothing. Not the kind of comfortable that meant I was going to try to seduce Sal. We weren’t near that point yet. If I had my way we’d be closer after this visit but for now, it was pajama pants and thermal shirt.
After eating, we got cozy together on his massive couch. He was on his back and I was literally on top of him like a baby monkey with my eyes closed and my arms hanging off each side of him. It was the most relaxed I’d been during the truly exhausting weeks at work.
“How long has it been?” I finally asked him while
we were mindlessly watching TV and enjoying being able to touch each other.
His heart sped up under my cheek which was leaning against his chest.
“About a year.”
I loved that I didn’t have to explain. I’d been curious about how long it had been for him since the last time he’d had sex.
Eight months had passed since Bianca and Gio first broke up and Gio put things in motion to end the tyranny the three of them had been living under but I had no idea how long before that was his last assignment.
I guess now I did.
“Are you trying to punish yourself?” I didn’t move from my comfortable spot mostly because if I looked up at his chocolatey eyes I might lose my nerve to ask the hard questions.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
At this point, I had to look up at him. Even if only a small portion of that answer was true, my heart broke for him.
Nothing he’d done was his fault, and he was the one paying for the sins of his parents.
How long did he think he needed to suffer?
Scooting up his body further so that our faces were level I laid my hands, one on top of the other then set my chin on top and waited for more.
“I’ve done some pretty terrible things, Bailey.” He went quiet again.
“So tell me. What’s the worst thing?”
He shook his head as he started to push me off him.
“Sal.” I pushed him back into place. He could’ve very easily overpowered me if he wanted to. He just didn’t want to. “Might make you feel better if you told me something and you saw that it doesn’t bother me. I don’t care what you’ve done before. I care what you do now.”
His lips tightened into a thin line.
“The simple fact that you feel guilty tells me you’re a good person.”
He still said nothing and avoided looking right at me.
“Do you care about my past?”
“Yes, but not in the way you’d think. I care because I hate the idea of someone hurting you the way I hurt them.”
My face and my heart softened.
“Nobody’s hurt me, Sal,” I said quietly.
“Good,” he said equally as quiet then ran a hand down the side of my head. Our eyes locked in an intense gaze. Me trying to read him and him trying to read me. “I can’t tell you about that stuff, Bailey. I can’t. I don’t expect you to understand.”
Love by the Mile Page 12
