Beckett shoved Jax. “I liked it better when we were busting on Carter for Summer.”
“Yeah, but picking on him now when he’s all gooey like this is pointless. He doesn’t even know we’re making fun of him. You, on the other hand …”
Beckett wiped down the countertop. “Hold on. Let’s talk about you for a second. If Joey would bother giving you the time of day, you’d be gooier than Carter. You’ve been back since June. Why the hell haven’t you made a move on her?”
“You think I like sitting back, letting her ignore me?” Jax tossed his empty water bottle into the sink with enough force to have it ricocheting back out. “I’m taking Summer’s advice. I’m giving Joey time to get used to me being back.”
“You’re taking love life advice from Summer Lentz?”
Jax shrugged. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Look, I love Summer. But the woman refused to tell anyone she had cancer. Then she falls in love with Carter and what does she do? She runs for the hills.”
“Yeah, but she came back. She’s happy now.”
“Jax, Jax, Jax.” Beckett shook his head. “You already had Joey and then you ran away. Don’t you think it’s time for something besides sitting on your ass waiting for her to fall for you again? Is that how you’d write one of your screenplays?”
Jax frowned. “Don’t take this the wrong way and get a huge, bloated head, but you may have a point.”
“Pierces don’t wait around and hope for the best. We get in the way and we make sure we stay on their mind,” Beckett said, poking his brother in the chest.
A slow grin spread across Jax’s face. “We install dishwashers when they didn’t ask for one.”
Shit. He’d walked into that one.
“Shut up, Jax.”
“You shut up. You set yourself up.”
“Don’t you have a woman to hide from or something?”
Eyes closed, Gia sighed blissfully and rested her head against the back of the couch. Her house actually smelled clean. And organized, too, if that was possible.
After dinner, she loaded the dishes into the newly installed dishwasher, packed the kids off to bed, and was now enjoying a second glass of wine and some exquisite quiet time.
She spent the afternoon purging and organizing. And when her bedroom was spotless — she’d had to secede some territory in the shed — she’d enjoyed herself in the kitchen making chicken panzanella for her family. She’d invited Beckett and Jax to stay for dinner, but was relieved when they both declined.
She could use some space from Beckett, she decided. Her resolve wavered every time she looked into those deep, searching eyes of his. In fact, her desire to stick to her resolve was practically non-existent by this point. He was a good man. A kind-hearted one who was a protector and a provider by nature. Family was so important to him, and that was part of the attraction.
Gia had fired off an email to her sisters after Franklin and Phoebe left. She liked Phoebe. The woman was smart and sarcastic, full of energy. The way she paid attention to Evan and Aurora made them feel important and interesting. She never once flinched at Aurora’s unending questions or Evan’s pre-teen smirks.
Phoebe was a solid match for Franklin. They seemed comfortable, yet still flirtatious with each other. And it was great seeing her father so happy after so many years. He deserved this. Her sisters were going to get quite the detailed report this weekend. She hoped that Beckett would come around sooner rather than later. It didn’t make sense to fight something that was so obviously good for both his mother and her father.
Gia took another deep breath and relished the fact that she didn’t have to do anything in that particular moment. The house was clean, the dishes were done, groceries were bought, and she had a whole day off tomorrow to spend with the kids.
Life was starting to look pretty perfect.
18
It had been six long days since he’d seen her last. Sure, Beckett had caught glimpses of Gianna hustling the kids out the door in the morning and one night had the unfortunate timing to witness her shucking off her yoga clothes in her curtain-less bedroom.
That had been a long, sleepless night for him. To be honest, he’d been missing a lot of sleep lately thanks to Gianna. He was starting to wonder if avoiding her since he showed up unannounced with a kitchen appliance was making him think of her even more often.