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Unable to resist any longer, he pointed to the extra chair. “Are you missing someone?”
Liza sighed. “Yeah. My date. I invited a guy from work, but he canceled on me this morning. He took a tumble while he was jogging and sprained his ankle.”
“No date for you?” Elio asked Gianna, who shook her head.
Interesting. Why hadn’t she invited Sam?
“I think your seat is with Aldo,” Gio said, “but since dinner is over and we have an extra place, I’m sure no one will care if you join us.”
Liza glanced around the room. “Let me grab one of the waitstaff and see if they can bring you a plate. You must be starving.”
“That’s okay,” Elio reassured her, claiming the chair they’d offered. “I’ll just steal Gianna’s piece of wedding cake.”
Gianna laughed. “You might try.”
Unable to resist, he subtly shifted his chair a bit closer to hers, drawing in a deep breath when he caught a whiff of her citrus shampoo.
God, she smelled good.
“You’d deprive a starving man an extra piece of cake, Freckles? You’re a cruel woman.”
Gianna laughed, but he could see his nickname had captured the attention of both Liza and Keeley.
Gio pointed toward the bar. “Want me to grab you a beer? Or something stronger?”
Elio shook his head. “I’ll get something in a minute. Thanks for the offer. How was the wedding?”
“Perfect,” Liza said, taking a few moments to fill him in on the ceremony, which, according to his sister, was the most romantic thing she’d ever seen. The women teared up, recalling the vows Gage had written for his bride, much to Rafe and Gio’s chagrin.
“The guy really set the bar high for the rest of us poor bastards,” Gio grumbled, while Keeley narrowed her eyes.
“If you’re worried, maybe you should start working on yours now,” she joked.
Gio wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Nah. Figure I’ll leave the vow-writing to Rafe.”
“Is that right?” Rafe asked. “And what’s your contribution going to be?”
Gio gave his best friend and partner a “duh” look before saying, “I’ll be in charge of planning the honeymoon sex positions.”
Rafe rolled his eyes as the women giggled.
“I’m not complaining,” Keeley said. “Sounds like you’ll both be playing to your strengths.”
Elio felt the tension of the last few hours melt away, relaxed and happy to be here, surrounded by his family and friends. The feeling reinforced his decision to leave the team once more.
Then, unable to resist, he stole another long look at Gianna. “You look beautiful tonight,” he murmured, leaning toward her, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Gianna said, her gaze traveling over what he knew was now a wrinkled suit. He’d gotten ready for the wedding in the locker room after practice to save time and he’d gotten a few playful wolf whistles from his teammates. He’d felt well-groomed leaving Baltimore. Now, too many hours later, he just felt disheveled.
“What am I?” Liza asked. “Chopped liver?”
Elio needed to get a grip, or he’d give himself—and his feelings—away. Forcing himself to look away from Gianna, he grinned at his sister. “You look alright.”
Liza narrowed her eyes. “Oh, that’s great. Gianna gets beautiful and I get alright.”
If there was one thing Elio excelled at, it was pushing his kid sister’s buttons. “What words would you prefer, sis? Okay? Pretty good?”
“Stunning,” another voice chimed in.
