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“This is incredible.”
“You want to learn? I’ll teach you.”
“Yes, I think I do.” And he meant it. This could be a fun hobby, and it would keep the Weavers in wine. “I liked that red we had at dinner quite a lot.”
“It’s my wife’s favorite Cabernet.” He pointed at two buckets. “It’s my most popular of the wines, so I have two going. That last one is a fruit blend since some of the younger folks prefer those.”
“And you say there’s a shop with the kits?”
Georgio nodded. “I’m sure there’s one in Savannah, but you can also order them online. Runs you anywhere from forty to a hundred dollars per kit, but you get a lot of wine out of the deal, so it’s cheaper in the long run. Especially if you have a big family.” He chuckled and pointed toward the empty bottles. “I don’t have to hardly buy bottles anymore. They’re always bringing theirs here. I wash and sterilize them, of course. Use the bottle trees to dry them out.”
Lucien looked at the row of red bottle trees. “This is quite a process you have going here.”
“It’s my one major hobby. That and fishing on Marcello’s boat. I heard you all caught some redfish and black bass today. Should have brought them for the grill.”
“We’ll have to do that next time.” They’d ended up letting the fish go this time since they’d planned to come here for dinner.
Gio walked into the room and gave Lucien a saucy smile. “They’ve set up the bonfire out back. Come on, we’ll go enjoy it.”
“He wants to learn how to make wine,” Georgio said with a beaming grin. “I’m going to teach him.”
Gio lifted an eyebrow at Lucien, who nodded. “Yeah, I’d like to learn.”
“Then I’ll have to bring you again so you can watch him set one of these up. It’s fairly easy with the kits. Like Ma said, it’s when he tries the other way that we end up with interesting er, tastes.”
Georgio ruffled Gio’s hair. “Come. We’ll enjoy some coffee by the fire.” He strode from the room and Gio stayed still, watching Lucien.
“What?” Lucien asked.
“You seriously want to learn how to do this? You weren’t only humoring him?”
“I do. But I don’t expect him to teach me with us living so far apart.”
“I can teach you.” He held out his hand. “But first, the bonfire. You’ll enjoy all the stories everyone will be telling.”
Lucien took his hand and lifted it to kiss his fingers.
Gio’s lips parted, his eyes going wide. “You should see your expression right now. So sexy.”
“That’s because I’m looking at you.” He tugged on Gio’s hand, pulling the shorter man into his arms. He wrapped them around him. “Your family is wonderful, Gio.”
“They are.” Gio kissed his lips and whispered, “But the family I’m building with you and Calder is just as special.”
Lucien almost told him he loved him then, but he decided to wait. That was something for when the three of them were alone. Calder needed to be there, too. Instead, he slanted his lips over Gio’s and kissed the ever-loving hell out of him. When he pulled away, Gio’s eyes had gone heavy-lidded and his lips were all puffy and red.
“Damn,” he whispered. “Now I want to go back to the hotel room.”
“Later,” Lucien promised. “For now, more family time.”
Chapter Twenty
The night had turned chilly with the setting sun, but the bonfire Baer had helped to build with Gio’s cousins and the flickering Tiki torches around the backyard had created a cozy atmosphere. Calder had sat giggling to himself as Gio teased Baer about the proper way to start a fire. The Animal Weaver had given the man some warning looks that he was going to pay for those remarks later, but that didn’t stop Gio.
They really should be thinking about heading downtown to their hotel for the night. On the other hand, no one else was leaving yet, and this was a good chance for Gio to spend some time with his family.
Calder had enjoyed the night far more than he’d expected. He wasn’t a social butterfly like Lucien or Gio or even Baer. Those men could comfortably talk to anyone about anything. Wiley tended to be more introverted like him. Of course, once Wiley warmed up to a person, he had no problems striking up a conversation.
But Gio’s family had been instantly welcoming, embracing them all from the moment they’d first arrived, as if they’d always been part of Gio’s family. Yes, Gio’s mother could be kind of bossy, but it was clear that it was all done out of love and devotion to her sons.
It was a little surprising to Calder that Gio had been able to move from Charleston at all when he was obviously close to his family. But then, putting some distance between himself and the constant reminder of the pain caused by Dave and Lee was a pretty good reason to try something new.
