2. Giana

CHAPTER 2

Giana

THEN

M y best friend Nettie is a twit. I’ve told her as much. The idea of being tied down at the young age of twenty is ludicrous. Personally, I have dreams that are bigger than marriage and having children.

But the war has nearly everyone on the edge of their seats. Making decisions they might not necessarily make if our men weren’t being sent over to Vietnam left and right. I’m selfishly grateful I only have a sister and my father is still recovering from an injury at the mill from a decade ago, so his card won’t be pulled unless the Secretary of Defense gets awful desperate.

Pete Martin might be a catch, but times are changing. Shit, just because Nettie wants to have sex with him and pop out a couple of babies, doesn’t mean she has to marry him. But Nettie is stubborn. And so head over heels in love with Pete, there’s no changing her mind .

The only benefit I’m getting from this wedding is a date. Pete’s cousin is flying in from Texas for the wedding. He thinks we’ll hit it off. The idea of a summer fling has my skin buzzing with anticipation.

Nettie has every right to give me a hard time right back when I tease her about settling down with one man. I’m all talk. I’m still a virgin.

But maybe that’s about to change.

“How much longer till your cousin gets here?” I ask Pete while I lick my ice cream cone, being extra careful not to smudge my lipstick. Heartbreaker Red.

Pete plucks the back of Nettie’s blouse, yanking her into his lap, and she squeals. “My dad picked up his family from the airport this afternoon. They should be rolling into town any minute.”

“You sure Giana is going to like him?” Nettie asks, licking her rocky road.

Pete shrugs. “The girls sure go crazy for him back home.”

“If that’s the case, then why is he still single?” I begin imagining an unattractive hillbilly with missing teeth. I’ve never met anyone from Texas before.

“Maybe he’s like you, and he’s so doggone picky, he’s done and given up,” Pete teases me.

“Oh, Pete. Stop it. She’s not picky,” Nettie says.

“That’s right. I’m not.” I slump down on the bench next to Pete and Nettie outside the Freeze Hut and go back to enjoying my ice cream.

It’s not warm enough in our mountainous town of Colorado for capri pants or shorts even. But it’s never too cold for ice cream. Something about the sweetness on my tongue reminds me that there’s still good in this world.

“I guess I just haven’t met someone who can keep up with me. My mama says the right boy won’t give up when I give him a run for his money.” I smirk and Nettie giggles.

“Guess we’re gonna find out if Leo is up to the challenge.” Nettie pulls Pete’s arms close and snug around her, and he kisses her neck.

As much as I want to grumble about their open affection, I’m so happy for them. Their love is a lasting one. I just know it. Their wedding has been the talk of the town for the last nine months. It seems everyone has had something to do with the planning one way or another. At least it gets their mind off the war.

“Hey, speak of the devil,” Pete says, nudging Nettie off his lap as he stands.

My head tilts in the direction Pete is looking, and I push my hair out of my face. Strolling down the sidewalk toward us is a stupid handsome guy. Brown hair and a chiseled chin. Thin in stature but sturdy. His muscled forearms peek out beneath the sleeves of his shirt. Dressed in cowboy boots and bell bottom jeans that make his long legs look that much longer. I just know they could wrap around my entire body. My belly flips, and I rise to my feet without even thinking.

Pete embraces Leo in a hug, and they exchange smiles and a greeting. Pete introduces Leo to Nettie first, and he teases her by going in for a handshake and then at the last minute he swoops her up into his arms, giving her a big hug. Nettie giggles and swats at him.

Once Leo returns her to her feet, Pete gestures to me. “Leonardo Moretti, this is Nettie’s best friend, Giana Russo.”

Leo’s face softens as he takes me in. His brown eyes linger on my legs in the slim blue jeans I’m wearing. He shakes my hand, and his smile builds the longer he holds it in his. Heat rushes at my body, and I can feel my cheeks burn as his calloused thumb rubs against my knuckles .

“Hot damn, you’re much prettier than Pete led me to believe,” Leo says with an obvious twang in his voice.

I yank my hand free and glance over my shoulder as an older couple I recognize from church passes us, their quizzical gazes prolonged.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I finally say.

“Believe me, Darlin’, the pleasure is all mine.”

He’s arrogant, and he talks funny, using an accent I’ve only heard on television. But he is undeniably beautiful, I’ll give him that.

“We were gonna go bowling tonight, Leo. You wanna come, or do we need to get back to see the rest of the family?” Pete asks.

Leo rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, no. Actually, I’m the only one who ended up coming. Y’all know how busy the ranch keeps the family.”

“That’s too bad.” Pete tries not to frown but fails.

“But no matter ’bout them. You’ve got me for the next two weeks. And I’d love to go bowling.” Leo pats Pete on the back.

“Far out. Let’s go get some grub, and you can tell us all about Texas.”

“I’d rather hear about Maple Ridge.” Leo pushes his fingers through his brown hair.

“Maple is Maple. What you see is what you get,” I say with a nonchalant shrug.

“Is that so?” Leo lifts a brow at me, his lips curving in an enticing way. “I’d love to get what I see.”

My belly dips, and shock ripples through me, coming across on my expression, I’m sure.

Nettie gasps. “Oooo,” she squeals. “I have a feeling Leo is up to your challenge, Gigi.”

“Yeah?” Leo questions. “And what challenge is that?”

I glare at Nettie so hard my eyes hurt. “It’s nothing. ”

Leo isn’t the first guy who’s looked at me like that. It’s like he’s trying to undress me with his gaze. But I’m finding I don’t mind it so much when he does it. I might even get turned on over it.

The four of us walk to the diner where I work the morning shifts, and while we sit at our favorite booth in the corner and eat, Leo tells us about the popularity of BBQ in Texas and Tex-Mex. I hang onto every word he says, suddenly growing captivated by the twang in his voice rather than being stuck on the oddness of it. Hope bubbles in my chest that things are different there and everyone’s not only focused on the war.

When we walk to the bowling alley after dinner, Leo and I fall behind Nettie and Pete on the sidewalk. They hold hands, and he whispers in her ear while she giggles. A bit of rare jealousy snakes through me. The angst to have someone hold me, touch me, and whisper in my ear is something I’m missing. It doesn’t make sense because how can I miss what I’ve never had?

My only two relationships ended because I grew bored. Both men were driven and career-oriented. Boasted about how they wanted to marry me and provide for me. The first guy never got physical with me beyond a kiss on the cheek at the end of each date. The second guy got too handsy one night and flipped up my dress and tried slipping his fingers inside my panties without asking.

I’m on the fence about longing to settle down and to have what Nettie and Pete have or saying to hell with men and buying that old cabin on the outskirts of town and living alone. Maybe instead of a house of kids, I’ll raise a yard full of golden retrievers. At least they’re a loyal breed, and I wouldn’t be completely alone.

But ever since I came across the listing for that vacant cabin, I’ve been saving every dime from my job waiting tables at the diner for the last five years. Even if no one else finds the potential in the abandoned cabin, I do. And one day, it will be mine.

“I had a feeling the two of us would hit it off,” Leo says to me as we continue strolling behind Pete and Nettie while the early summer evening air cools around us.

I flick my attention up at him, finding I don’t mind the way he admires me. His brown eyes hold promises in the dark hue. Promises I’m tempted to find out if he can keep. “I think that’s rather presumptuous of you,” I say, but I can’t keep from smiling at him.

“There’s somethin’ you should know about me,” he says.

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“I never back down from a challenge.” His voice growls against the bare skin of my arms.

When we lock eyes, desire pools between my thighs. A brand-new part of me awakens from a slumber I wasn’t even aware existed. No other man has made me feel this way with a single look. It’s as if I am suddenly alive.

And I am unexpectedly desperate to start fully living.