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He gave her a crooked grin. “To the altar.”
She giggled quietly.
“After I called it quits with Paula, I decided to take a break from women. And sex.”
“Liza’s told me all about your aversion to anything even slightly resembling a relationship. So Paula’s been your only girlfriend?”
Elio was amused by her question because Gianna clearly had very black and white ideas of what to call sex partners. “You’re not listening. She wasn’t a girlfriend, Gee. She was a steady booty call. One that’s having a hard time letting go.”
“What’s that mean?”
He hadn’t meant to get into a conversation about Paula. Primarily because he meant what he said. The woman never registered on his radar as anything more than a few hours of fun between the sheets.
But Gianna was surprisingly easy to talk to, so he went ahead and answered her question. “It means that while I’ve told Paula countless times and in countless ways that we’re through, she’s harboring under the delusion that I’m either kidding or going to come to my senses.”
“Damn. Sounds like you’ve got yourself a stalker.”
He chuckled. “Nothing that dramatic. More like a minor annoyance. When I get back to Baltimore, I’m going to reiterate that it’s over, and—hopefully—that will be the end of it once and for all. It’s past time for her to move on.”
“As easily as that,” she said, more to herself than him. Gianna was struggling with the moving on part when it came to her ex.
“Yep. The truth is, the only commitment I’ve ever made is to my career. Even if I had the interest, it’s not that easy to start a relationship when you’re traveling most of the year. And during the off-season, there’s conditioning, exhibition games, volunteer work with the team, stuff like that. I’m away from Baltimore as much as I’m there. I’ve never had the time to invest in dating someone seriously.”
“Sure,” she said sarcastically. “Time is the only issue.”
Elio bopped Gianna on the tip of her nose with his finger. “Liza really has given you the full rundown on all my perceived bad habits, I see.”
“Your sister knows no secrets.”
“I’m aware.”
“And she loves the sound of her own voice. The only one to give her a run for her money on that front is Keeley.”
Elio laughed. “You’re not wrong there.”
They lay in companionable silence for a few minutes.
“So, should we make a plan for the day?” she asked.
“You like a schedule, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I’m pretty sure I’m OCD. Because the truth is, I like to know what I’m doing and when. I kind of get stressed out if I don’t have a plan. I know that’s weird and annoying. It used to drive my grandma and Sam crazy.”
Elio liked Gianna’s openness, even when sharing things that might be embarrassing or unfavorable. It shone a light on something he’d always suspected but never thought too much about in terms of the women he slept with. They’d all been playing games, saying things they thought he wanted to hear, never revealing anything real about themselves.
There was none of that with Gianna.
“I’m a professional athlete,” he said, “so I’m no stranger to schedules.”
“Yeah, but those are made up for you. If you’d come to the cabin and I hadn’t been here, what would you have done?”
He could lie, could tell her he had a game plan for each day, but Gianna had offered him honesty and he wanted to give her the same. “I would have gone with the flow, done whatever I felt like. But I like your idea better.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“So I say we start with a big breakfast. I saw bacon in the fridge.”
“I am kind of hungry. I brought eggs too.” She pushed away from him, sitting up.
