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Wait. Did they have a relationship? Was she expecting a commitment from him? His heart stilled. Did he want to make a commitment? His palms grew damp. In the past, the question wouldn’t have materialized.
The questions without answers swirled in his mind, distracting him from work. Now he was pondering it. He was supposed to be answering an abundance of neglected and waiting emails. He had to do something while he avoided Gia—while he figured out what to say to her. Somehow, he couldn’t imagine Wow. The other night was awesome. We’ll have to do it again sometime going over very well.
No. Gia was much deeper than that. Relationships meant a lot to her. She took them seriously. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be searching so hard for a biological father she’d never met. And she sure wouldn’t be pinning all her hopes and dreams on it being a happy union—no matter that the man’s past history said otherwise.
Gia was the type of person who couldn’t help but walk around with her heart on her sleeve. She might try to hide it, but she wasn’t very successful. And that’s why when she’d looked at him in the morning light, after they’d made love, that he’d known he’d made a very big mistake.
Gia wanted a relationship. A real relationship with entanglements and emotions—all the things he’d been avoiding. And he had no idea what to do about it.
And now, when everything was so complicated, he’d gotten the phone call that he’d been waiting for—hoping for. Mr. Grosso wanted to meet with him that evening. And Mr. Grosso wanted him to bring along Gia to tell him how the program had helped her company.
Ric stared in the full-length mirror in his bedroom. His dark suit with a white shirt and burgundy tie exuded success and confidence, but he felt like a fraud. Sure, he was successful at business, but his personal life was in shambles. And where he was once quite confident, now he wasn’t so sure he could be, or wanted to be, the man Gia wanted or deserved.
He checked the time. They had to leave for the restaurant. The last thing he wanted was to be late and give Mr. Grosso a bad impression of him from the start.
When he stepped into the living room, he was surprised to find Gia sitting on the couch with Gin, waiting for him. When their gazes met, she smiled. Not just a little smile, but a big one that lit up her whole face and warmed a spot in his chest. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.
Stay focused on business.
Ha! That’s easier said than done.
And then his gaze drifted lower, taking in the dazzling deep red dress that she’d chosen for the evening. His mouth grew dry. How was he supposed to focus on business when she was dressed like that?
When he stopped in front of her, she stood. “You look stunning.”
Color bloomed in her cheeks. “Thank you.”
Gin barked in agreement. They both laughed. After Mrs. Rossi scooped up Gin and moved to the kitchen, they were alone. An awkwardness descended over Ric. He wasn’t sure how to act around her.
“Shall we go?” He presented his arm to her. He told himself the gesture meant nothing.
She placed her hand in the crook of his arm. Her touch made his heart pick up its pace. This was going to be a long evening. Very long.
* * *
Everything is all right. It’s just a very busy time. That’s all.
It was what Gia had been telling herself since they’d made love and Ric seemed to have pulled away. At first, she told herself she was just imagining things. But as time went on, she noticed when he smiled at her, the smile didn’t go the whole way to his eyes. What was up with that?
And she hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask him about it. What if she was just seeing things that weren’t there? What if she questioned his commitment to this relationship when he was already invested? She didn’t want to do anything to rock the boat.
Maybe she was just expecting too much, too soon. After all, Ric was used to being a bachelor. He was used to doing things at his own pace. Now he not only had her in his life, but he also had an incorrigible dog living with him—who chewed on his good shoes if he forgot and left them out.
She just needed to slow down and let things happen naturally—even if it was slower than she’d like. They were fine. After all, if they weren’t, would he have taken her on this very important dinner meeting?
What she hadn’t anticipated was that they would be in a private room for dinner—just the two of them and Mr. Grosso. They were seated in a room that was obviously normally used for much larger parties than a party of three. When Ric said this man was a bit of a recluse, he hadn’t been kidding.
Still, she couldn’t dismiss the strange feeling of being in a big restaurant, but so alone. The murmur of voices reached them every time the server went in and out of the door. Gia wished they were out in the main room. Out there would be distractions that would perhaps put her more at ease.
She must not be the only one to feel the tension because Ric had been quieter than normal. He’d barely caught her gaze throughout the meal. He’d tried talking to Mr. Grosso, but the man wasn’t talkative. At one point, the older man mumbled something about too much talk ruining a meal.
Okay, then why request a dinner meeting?
But thankfully the meal was almost concluded. She wasn’t sure the mostly silent meal had helped Ric’s sale. In fac
t, she was thinking it hadn’t. And Ric must have felt the same way as the muscle in his cheek twitched like it did when he worked on his computer and something wasn’t going right. Or when the dog wouldn’t listen to him.
As the dinner dishes were cleared and their coffee was refilled, Gia decided to try to help Ric. “It was a lovely dinner. Thank you for suggesting we should meet here.” Her gaze met the older man’s. “We really appreciate you agreeing to meet with us. I’m sure once you hear about Ric’s creation, you’ll feel the same excitement about it that I do.”
