19. Kylie

Chapter nineteen

Kylie

H eart pounding, I scramble to put the frame back where I found it and move the watches back into position.

"Little bit? Where are you?" Gio calls out.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"I'm upstairs." Taking two steps at a time, I rush down the stairs, hoping Gio will mistake my rapid pace as the reason for my flushed skin.

As I round the second floor stairs, Gio's standing at the base, waiting for me.

"Hey! You wouldn't happen to know where Luca would stash the swimwear he bought me, would you?"I try to sound casual, and not like he caught me snooping. Something tells me Luca wouldn't want me to see that photograph.

Gio rests his hand on the newel post as he waits for me to reach him. "I don’t think Luca’s filled the pool for the season yet."

Shaking my head, I stop two steps above him and lean against the banister, breathing hard from the burst of exercise. "No. He mentioned the sauna and said Joanna sent swimsuits for me, but didn't tell me where they were. I assumed he would stash them in his closet, but I can't find them."

Struggling to keep from fidgeting, I skirt around him and head to the kitchen.

"Maybe he has them in the basement by the sauna. Did you try looking there?" He asks as he follows me .

Distracted, I head straight to the refrigerator and grab a couple of bottles of water. I turn to hold one out to Gio, which he takes.

"Thanks," he replies.

"I went down there to check out the space, but didn't think to look for the suits there. It makes sense, though." Uncapping the bottle, I shrug before taking a drink.

Gio does the same as he turns to go to the living room. "Since I stopped by to hang out, let's skip the sauna or Luca will kill me." He grabs the remote as he flops down on the couch. "Let's watch a movie. What do you like? Action? Horror? And please, have a care for my man card, and don't say romance."

Chuckling, I lean against the kitchen island and set the water bottle down before regarding him. "Are you my babysitter tonight?"

I can't help but wonder if it's why Luca warned me Gio could walk into the house at any moment.

He glances at me with a smirk before swinging his gaze back to the tv, still flipping through channels. "Nah. I'm bored. Luca and Rafael are busy, so it's now your duty to keep me company."

I snort, then pivot to rummage through the kitchen cabinets. "Does Luca keep popcorn down here? We can't put on a movie without popcorn. I saw the machine on the third floor, but I don't want to climb those stairs again."

"Take the elevator. The popcorn's better in the machine than making microwave popcorn, anyway."

"Elevator?" Pausing, I glance over at Gio, brows dipped. "There's an elevator in this house?"

"Yep." He stands and places the remote back on the coffee table. "Come on. I'll show you."

I shut the cabinet door and rush to catch up to him. He opens the pocket doors to Luca's office and proceeds to the paneled wall that seperates his office and the garage.

He presses on the underside of the sconce on the wall, and I tilt down to see a button hidden there. Huh. I never would have seen it when I was checking out Luca's office earlier. Not that I lingered. I didn’t want to invade his office space. Still, I never saw signs of an elevator on the other floors either.

When a section of the paneled wall pushes in about an inch and slides behind the side panel, revealing the elevator, my jaw drops. "Well, I'll be damned."

The panel trim hides the fact that the wall is moveable. As I peer into the elevator, I see a door on the opposite side, from what I assume to be an entry from the garage.

Cool.

"Why make it hidden?" I check out the interior as I follow him in.

"It’s more for aesthetic reasons." He presses the button for the third floor before facing me with a fierce expression. "But tell no one about it. You hear me?"

Startled, I nod as I retreat until I bump into the steel wall. I know I just met Gio, but he's only ever given me his goofy side. This Gio scares me.

He busts out laughing. "Holy shit, Little Bit, you should see your face right now!" He continues to laugh as he steps out of the elevator and into the movie room.

I growl, following him. "You jerk. You looked like you were about to threaten me if I told anyone." I smack the back of his arm, relieved but also wary of him now. I realize I never want to be on his bad side, that's for sure.

I turn around in time to witness the elevator closing and the panel sliding back into place.

"So cool. You really can't tell it's there. Where’s the button to open it back up?"

"Look at the bottom of the frame there." He nods to a framed poster of The Sopranos before turning back to prepare the popcorn.

I duck down and find a small black button that goes unnoticed unless you're specifically looking for it. "Wow. This is like spy shit."

Gio snorts.

Done with examining the elevator, I move to watch Gio make the popcorn so I'll be able to do it by myself later.

Gio pushes the switch to start the machine before turning to open the fridge under the counter and pulling out a beer. "Want one? "

"No, thanks. I'm not much of a drinker."

"That's not surprising." He pops the cap off his beer on the counter. "The popcorn will take acouple of minutes. Let's pick a movie. We might as well watch it herewith the bigger screen." He walks over to the massive sectional, nabs the remote, and sprawls out onto the couch.

"Cool." I stoop to examine the contents of the beverage cooler and grab another water bottle. "Are there blankets?"

"Open the cabinet door there." Gio points behind him to the armoire in the back corner.

I examine the pile of folded blankets and grab the softest one I can find. With my loot, I go sit next to Gio already enjoying the scent of the kernels popping.

"What are we watching?" I ask as I spread the blanket over my lap.

Gio's pulled the menuscreen with movies sorted by genre. He turns to me, smiling so big, he's baring his teeth at me.

I pull my head back a fraction, wary. "What?"

"How do you feel about horror?" He returns his gaze back to the monstrous tv and clicks on the horror selections.

"Uh …" I swing my gaze to the screen as he shuffles between movie options. "I've not tried any horror movies. I watch mostly action since my dad's a fan, and my mom and I will go watch one of those dreaded romance movies on occasion."

I used finger quotes for dreaded just for Gio.

He dramatically shivers before taking a pull from his beer. Then he pulls an arm rest down from a recess in the back of the couch. It sits between us with two cup holders. He sets his beer in one and I follow with my water bottle.

"So you're a horror virgin?" He claps his hands together, rubbing them in glee. "I'll have to make my selection carefully." At his declaration, he stands and goes to the popcorn machine just as the popping noises slow down.

Hearing the click of the machine door being opened, the buttery scent increases, causing my stomach to rumble. After eating dinner a couple of hours ago, I shouldn't be hungry, but movie popcorn is one of my favorite snacks .

"So, the question is … do I ease you in or give you the good stuff right off the bat?" He asks.

Twisting, I place my arm on the back of the couch as he grabs two popcorn buckets and fills them.

"Why does that sound so dirty?" I scrunch my nose.

Gio stops what he's doing to turn to me. Seeing my expression, he sets the bucket down and puffs his chest out, running his hands down his chest. "You wish you had all this."

A laugh bursts out and I end up snorting. Covering my mouth, I can't help but laugh harder.

Gio chuckles as he goes back to filling the buckets. "I think I'll start you out in the middle."

***

Halfway through the movie, I've switched from hiding my face behind my blanket—much to Gio's amusement—to leaning forward when I can't look away. When orchestra music plays, someone always dies, so my nerves are on edge.

And I'm loving every minute of it.

When the music starts again, I scoot closer to the screen. I'm so intent on the scene playing out, trying to predict where the monster is going to grab its next victim, when Gio grabs my shoulder and yells. Startled, I jump to my feet and fling popcorn into the air while I scream bloody murder.

Growling at Gio who's laughing his ass off, I place my hand over my heart as it pounds out of my chest. I narrow my eyes at him while I contemplate giving him a matching black eye.

He's bent over on his side with his arms wrapped around his stomach, laughing so hard he can barely breath and the violence wins.

"You big jerk!" I grab one of the couch pillows and throw it at him. "You're like the annoying older brother I never wanted." I grab another pillow and throw it, this time hitting him in the face .

He's so unconcerned with my attack, he points at my face, still laughing.

I search around for more pillows when my eyes land on a statue on the credenza.

It takes me a second before I decide against it. I don't want to go to jail for murder.

Giving up, I kneel on the floor to clean the scattered popcorn. The short time it takes me, helps calm my racing heart.

"Laugh it up, buddy." I forcefully throw a piece of popcorn into my bucket. "I was two seconds away from throwing that statue at your head. You almost turned me into a murderer." I lean back, sitting on my feet to glare at him.

Gio finally calms down and rights himself before slumping down to put his feet on the coffee table. He's smiling cheekily at me as he clasps his hands on his stomach. "I had to do it. You made it way too easy."

"Har. Har. Har." I sneer at him, but it's hard to hold back my smile because of how much I'm enjoying myself. Despite what I said, Gio is like a big brother I wish I had. He's fun and carefree and I like that he can be goofy.

After picking up the last piece of popcorn, I set the bucket down on the table and resume my place on the couch. "You have to rewind the movie since you made me miss the last killing." I pout as I cover myself with the blanket. This time I only cover up to my nose as Gio rewinds to the scene and presses play.