AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Still, I’m afraid they’re not going to be happy with me.”
“You’re kidding, right? This is Gio and Rafe we’re talking about. They won’t mind. If I know Gio, he’ll start begging to be godfather. They’re going to be happy for you, for us. Besides, how they feel doesn’t matter overly much.”
She frowned. “Of course it does. They’re my bosses and I—”
He shook his head. “They’re only two of your bosses. There’s a third one, and he’s the controlling shareholder.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no one else.”
“That was the other thing I drove home that night to tell you. I figured out my future, and I wanted to let you know. Just in case the back of your brain was itching,” he teased.
She laughed and shoved his shoulder lightly. “Very funny. What’s your plan?”
“The night I made my decision to leave the team, I called Gio, asked if he and Rafe would be interested in a third investor for the inn.”
Gianna’s eyes widened. “You?”
“Yeah. Me. Gio put me on speaker so I could present my case to him and Rafe. It didn’t take much convincing, both guys are stretched thin. They’d admitted to me over the holidays that the inn was turning out to be much more work than they’d anticipated. I’d been trying to think of a business to invest in, but the inn didn’t occur to me until you started telling me why it was your dream job. You planted the seed, and suddenly owning part of a haunted mansion sounded cool. I’ve stashed away a fuck-ton of money over the past decade,” he admitted.
“You professional athletes,” she joked.
He winked at her. “I’m loaded. Truth is, I have enough put away that I wouldn’t have to work again if I didn’t want to.”
“So you invested in the inn?”
“I bought fifty-one percent of the business.”
“You’re the boss,” she whispered. “So I got the job because—”
“No.” He raised his finger, pointing at her, not giving her time to finish that thought. “You got the job because you were the best candidate. Gio told me before I even signed the paperwork that they were interviewing you for the job. He asked if I wanted to sit in on it. I told him no. Told him I trusted him and Rafe to make the decision, and that if you were the right person for the job, they should hire you. I had zero impact on you getting that job. You earned it all on your own.”
She considered that for a moment, then smiled. “Okay.” Then she added, “Thanks for telling me that. But why didn’t they tell me you’d bought in?”
“I asked them to keep that between us until I had a chance to break it to my family that I was leaving hockey. So…what do you think about the two of us working together?”
Gianna couldn’t imagine anything better. She was excited about the job, but she also knew that once the baby came, she was going to need help. Knowing Elio would be there, carrying part of the load—at work and with the baby—was a huge relief. “Honestly, I love the idea.”
He leaned forward and gave her a kiss.
When they parted, Gianna sighed happily. She’d been too afraid to let herself dream of this moment, certain nothing this wonderful could ever happen to her.
“I did a bunch of research on pregnancy last night. Most people wait until the end of the first trimester before they tell people.”
Elio gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Fine. We’ll wait a month, then I’ll come home, and we’ll tell everyone together.”
“You’re sure Gio and Rafe—”
“I’m sure,” Elio said, “but if you’re worried, we could tell them. Swear them to secrecy.”
She considered that, then shook her head. “They’d want to tell Keeley. No matter what vow they take. I swear, those three share a hive mind these days.”
He agreed. “She’d kill them if they didn’t.”
Gianna giggled. “Keeley does like to know everything about everyone. And if Keeley finds out before Liza…”
Elio chuckled. “Total social circle breakdown. So, we wait a month, then start making the rounds, telling my parents, grandparents, siblings, the aunts and uncles, cousins… Shit,” Elio mused, with humor. “Might be easier just to have a big party and tell everyone at the same time.”
Gianna reached out and grasped his hand. “You know that’s a wonderful thing, right? You have the incredible problem of having too many people to tell. I…I don’t have anyone.”
