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He glanced across the room at Gage, begrudgingly admitting to himself that the second Russo son was a decent guy. He was obviously head-over-heels devoted to Rhys’s sister, Penny, something that would have had the old Elio cracking the imaginary whip above his head, complete with sound effects. But tonight, he wasn’t feeling it. Gage looked happy. And that was an emotion Elio had been struggling to find for far too long.
Liza continued to bitch, and Elio decided Gage Russo was one thing.
Matt was another thing entirely.
He tuned out Liza’s complaints as he studied the other party guests. It was just as Aldo said. Lots of love in the air. Tony and Rhys flanked Jess on the couch, the three of them bent close, talking like they were the only ones in the room. Gage was standing behind Penny, one hand on her waist, the other on her wrist as he tried to teach her the proper way to bounce a quarter into a glass. Keeley was slow dancing with Gio in the corner, while Rafe leaned against the wall, drinking a beer and chatting with Luca. He could tell Rafe was only giving the conversation about ten percent of his attention, the rest locked on Keeley and Gio.
Elio was starting to feel like the odd man out surrounded by all these happy couples.
“So what were you guys talking about?” Liza asked, drawing his attention back to her.
“Life, death, taxes,” Aldo teased. “The usual.”
“Actually, Aldo was going on and on about how much he’s going to miss me when I go back to Baltimore. You know our brother can’t function a single day without me around,” Elio joked.
Aldo rolled his eyes. “Yeah. That’s what I was saying. More like I’ll be glad when you and your smelly running shoes vacate the apartment again. I’m going to have to fumigate the place.”
Elio lifted his cup and drained it. “I’m going to go get a refill. You guys need anything?”
Aldo shook his head as he tilted his cup slightly, showing him it was full.
Liza glanced around. “Gianna was supposed to grab me a glass of wine, but it looks like she took my advice. Homegirl is getting her flirt on.”
Elio looked across the room and spotted Gianna Duncan talking to his cousin, Joey, and his cohost, Miles. “Her flirt on?”
“I’m determined to drag her into the dating scene with me, but she’s got zero experience. Thought tonight might be a good place for her to practice her flirting skills. I gave her a list to work from, eligible guys to bat those baby blues of hers at.”
Elio frowned. “Jesus, Liza. Why would you encourage her to do that? What if she gets the wrong idea and thinks I’m interested when—”
He stopped midsentence when Liza laughed loudly. “Dear God, El. I didn’t put your name on the list.”
He frowned harder. “Why not?”
His question only made her laugh harder. “Sorry,” she said between giggles. “You’re going to have to choose a side. Are you pissed that she might flirt with you or pissed that I told her to steer clear?”
“You told her to steer clear? Of me?” Elio wasn’t really sure why that bothered him so much.
Liza shook her head, looking far too amused. “No. But I’m thinking I should have. I only included the names of guys she might stand a chance with. There’s no way in hell I’d send the queen of committed relationships—you realize she dated Sam for eleven years—to flirt with the world’s biggest commitment-phobe. Give me a little credit, bro.”
Elio looked back at where Gianna stood with Joey and Miles. Both guys were talking at the same time, clearly telling one hell of a story. Gianna was laughing and, at one point, she reached out to put her hand on Miles’s forearm. It was a casual touch, one that could pass as friendly or, as Miles appeared to take it, flirting. He shifted a bit closer to Gianna, and there was no denying the guy was interested.
“Damn,” Liza murmured. “Maybe she doesn’t need the practice after all.”
Elio watched Gianna interact with Miles for a minute longer, aware his sister was right.
Gianna had been friends with Liza for years, but his path didn’t cross hers very often. Regardless, Elio felt as if he knew her fairly well, simply because his sister was a fan of long phone conversations, and for some reason, she felt it was her God-given duty to share all the news of home with him whenever they talked.
He used to find those long-winded calls annoying, but like everything else lately, his attitude on that had changed. Nowadays, he enjoyed hearing the gossip from home. And as such, he knew that Gianna had been dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Sam, whom Elio had met a handful of times over the years.
“She ran into Sam tonight. Found out he’d been cheating on her,” Liza said, still observing her friend’s interactions with Miles and Joey.
Aldo frowned. “Seriously? What a dick! And to think, I actually liked that guy.”
Liza shrugged. “He had us all fooled.”
“She looks like she’s doing okay now,” Aldo said.
Liza shook her head. “She’s faking it. I can tell. But sometimes you just have to fake it ’til you make it.”
