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“Oh yeah?”
“It’s all the great sex.”
Gianna shifted closer, running her lips along the side of his neck. “You know what? I bet that’s it. So really, it has nothing to do with you at all. I just need to make sure to keep a hot guy in my bed at all times.”
Elio knew she was teasing him, but the idea of Gianna taking another man to her bed didn’t sit well with him. In fact, it pissed him off, made him feel…
What the fuck was this?
Jealousy?
He dismissed that idea immediately. He’d never been jealous a day in his life, and he didn’t intend to start now.
“It must be nice to be you,” she mused, falling on her back on the mattress.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you’ve already gotten where you want to be. You wanted to play professional hockey and you worked your ass off until you got there. I feel like I’m still a million miles away from everything I want from life.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m exactly where I want to be.” Elio hadn’t meant to say that aloud. He’d only told Aldo about the idea of retiring from hockey.
Gianna’s gaze focused on his face. “What do you mean?”
Elio considered whether or not he wanted to continue the conversation. He could brush her off, feed her some lie, but he liked talking to her. Liked sharing the parts of himself he’d never shown anyone else.
Besides, he wasn’t making a bit of headway on coming to a decision one way or the other. Maybe talking it out with Gianna would help.
“You said it yourself last night. Hockey isn’t forever.”
Chapter Twelve
“Wait.” Gianna sat up once more. “Are you thinking about leaving the game?”
He fell silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain his thoughts, his feelings. However, he gave Gianna too long to put two and two together.
Her eyes widened. “That’s why you came to the cabin, isn’t it? To think about your future.”
“I’ve been debating whether or not I want to keep playing. Some days I can’t imagine leaving. Some days I can’t stand the thought of going back.”
“That’s a big decision.”
“Yeah. It is. And one that I need to make soon. The thing is, I have a lot of good years left in me, and there are things I haven’t achieved yet, professionally, records I could break, stuff like that. But I’ve been off the road the last two months, home more with my family than I’ve been in over a decade, and I liked it.”
“Has your time here helped you figure it out?”
Elio grinned. “I’ve been a little distracted. In a good way. But no. I’m no closer to deciding. I suspect perhaps it will come clear once I’m back on the ice. Either the spark will still be there, or it won’t.”
“Well, if you decide to leave the game, I know Liza will be delighted to have you home to stay. She misses you like crazy.”
“I miss her too. Though she might not like having me around as much as she thinks once it’s a reality.”
“Oh God,” Gianna groaned. “You’re not going to be like Aldo, are you? Always showing up at the clubs to check on her?”
Elio knew all about Aldo’s protective streak when it came to their sister. “No. Liza’s an adult and she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself.”
“Said no Moretti man ever.”
Elio laughed. “Liza and I are very close in age, so growing up, we were basically playmates. Aldo, on the other hand, has six years on her, and he takes his big brother role very seriously. It doesn’t help that his best friend is Kayden, the cop, who tells him way too many horror stories about the crimes he investigates.”
