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Her eyes widened. “That’s a pretty big step for a man who’d never spent the entire night with a woman until he was forced to by a foot of snow.”
“Very funny,” Elio smirked, acknowledging the joke. “Just know that it’s happening.”
Gianna sobered up. “Seriously, Elio. I think we should take a teeny tiny step back, slow things down.”
She recalled his pronouncement that they were going to be a couple, and it had thrilled her to the tips of her toes. She didn’t have an issue with dating him. There was nothing she wanted more than to spend time with him, to see if that magical, wonderful time in the cabin could be recreated out here in the real world.
Optimistic Gianna was all in when it came to Elio, but realist Gianna, the one who’d just had her heart stomped by her last boyfriend, was skeptical, anxious.
“I want to date you, Elio. So much. But you have to admit, we don’t know each other that well. There are things about me that might bug you after an extended period of time.”
Elio narrowed his eyes. “Why do you say that?”
She shrugged. Not that her refusal to answer mattered.
“Are you saying that because of Sam? Because of things he said when he broke up with you?”
She never ceased to be amazed by how well Elio understood her. “I’m just saying, our time in the cabin was limited. My obsessive-compulsiveness might not seem so cute after a few weeks or months, but…”
“Let’s break this down, Freckles, since you’re stressing it out over it. You still vacuum every day?”
“Not lately, but I’ve been pretty distracted between the new job and…throwing up. I’m sure I’ll get back to it.”
“I can live with the vacuuming. And the Roomba. Still got the weekly menu?”
She nodded.
“Cool. Because I’ve started that habit at home, and it really works.”
She was touched that he’d picked up her menu habit, but those were just a small part of a larger whole. “Those aren’t the only idiosyncrasies I have,” she said, feeling as if she owed him full disclosure. “Those are just the ones you’ve seen.”
“So give me some others.”
“I’m a little bit of a control freak.”
“Are those your words or Sam’s?”
“His, but it doesn’t matter because they’re true. I like things in specific places, like things done in specific ways. Plus, the clean freak component.”
“Given what you told me about the apartments you cleaned with your grandma, I think that makes a lot of sense. Gianna, I’m not a slob. I like to think of myself as a pretty tidy guy. I’m also fairly adaptable. If there’s something you want done a certain way and I don’t have strong feelings about it, then it’s fine.”
“What if you do have strong feelings about it?”
“We’ll play strip poker. Winner’s way will become the way. And then we’ll fuck like bunnies.”
Gianna was pretty sure he was joking, but she couldn’t help but think it was an inspired plan. “I think I could get behind that.”
“That’s my girl. So what else?”
She grimaced. “I count steps in my head when I climb them. Like, every single time.”
He laughed. “If it’s in your head, why do I care?”
Gianna tried not to laugh but damn if he didn’t have a point. “Fine. My closet and sock drawer are organized by color,” she said, before adding, “this week.”
“How about your panties?” he teased.
She huffed out a laugh. “Perv.”
