She was staring up at him with an odd mixture of amusement and sadness. It tugged at him and made him want to reach out to touch her. Pull her in close and tell her that everything was going to work out. But he didn’t.
“See? My balance isn’t so great.”
“Gianna, you don’t have to do everything yourself,” Beckett reminded her. “You have … family.”
She shook her head. “My dad has given me so much in my lifetime. It’s not fair to ask him to help me clean up my own literal mess.”
They were quiet for a few moments. “I should go,” Beckett said finally.
Her expression went a little sadder. “Thanks for coming over. It was really nice.”
“It was.” He meant it, too. “Thanks for the pie.”
She lifted onto her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for the company.”
He let himself out, using all his will not to look over his shoulder at Gianna. If he did, he was afraid he’d end up dragging her back to her bedroom and spend the night making love to her or helping her organize the mess. He wasn’t sure which urge would win out.
He’d made it halfway across the yard before he realized he hadn’t gotten around to telling her the reason for his visit. Beckett briefly debated just going home and talking to her tomorrow. But once he realized he still had her skimpy little thong wound around his hand, he reconsidered.
He knocked softly on her front door and saw her turn away from the sink. She padded over to the door and opened it.
“Miss me already?” she teased.
He held up her underwear between his fingers. “I accidentally took these.”
Gianna pressed her lips together and grabbed the thong out of his hands. Her green eyes danced with humor and heat. “Thank you for returning them. They’re one of the only pairs that I can find.”
Great. Now he was going to think about her running around town without underwear. He shook his head, trying to rattle that thought out of his mind.
“I also forgot to tell you why I came over in the first place.”
“You weren’t just being neighborly?” she laughed.
“There’s a town meeting tomorrow night. It’s always good for business owners to attend and we’ll be talking about the Halloween carnival, too, in case you were thinking about taking the kids.”
“Thanks, Beckett. I’d like to come.”
Yes, he’d like her to as well, he thought darkly.
15
There were so many people out on the streets of Blue Moon when she locked up the studio that Gia wondered if the Pope or Pink Floyd had come to town. But as she watched everyone funnel into the second-run movie theater on the far end of the square, she realized they were all there for the town meeting.
Apparently the theater was the only venue large enough to handle the attendance.
Gia hustled through the park to the well-worn theater. The smell of fresh popcorn teased her when she opened the heavy door. She was delighted to see that the concession stand was open. She treated herself to a box of malted milk balls and stepped into the theater. The Art Deco-style theater boasted romantic frescos and hand-painted pillars that held up the fading, muraled ceiling. On the weathered stage in front of them was a podium flanked by a handful of metal folding chairs. A heavy velvet curtain covered the movie screen behind the chairs.
She found a seat on a worn velour cushion in the middle section next to Beverly from the HVAC place in town.
Beverly was working her way through a tub of popcorn the size of an ottoman. “They always get me with the ‘You can full-moon-size that for just a dollar more,’” she said shaking her head. She tilted the greasy bucket toward Gia. “Want some?”
Coming straight from her last class of the day, Gia was ravenous. “Thanks,” she said, helping herself to a handful. “This is my first town meeting. So far I’m a fan.”
“You’re in for a treat,” Beverly predicted.
Gia craned her neck to get a look at the crowd around them. She recognized several familiar faces. Evan’s science teacher was there with her husband. The rat-tailed Fitz was chitchatting with Donna Delvecchio, who was still wearing her scrubs. She spotted her dad — using his trademark expansive hand gestures — and Phoebe standing in a small knot of people toward the back.
The lights flickered and the standing stragglers took their seats. Once everyone was settled, Beckett and four others took the stage. All business, he strode toward the podium in his suit and tie, hesitating only for the briefest of seconds when “Hail to the Chief” crackled over the speakers.
A smattering of applause rose up from the audience and Beckett shot a frown over his shoulder. The man behind him in the argyle sweater vest strutted unconcernedly to his seat.
Beckett shook his head and took his place behind the podium. He made a slashing motion over his neck and the music cut off abruptly. “Well that was a … surprise.”