Gio

I hum a response.

“I thought…you know, we were past this secrecy stuff. I get back there, you’re trying to assert your dominance - or whatever - in front of the guys, but in here-” she gestured between us in the car. “This is a safe space. I want us to be honest with each other.”

“Okay,” I hesitantly responded. I’m not very good at the whole emotions thing. “Honestly?”

“Yes,” she flashes me a brief smile. “Honestly.”

I inhale a long breath before responding. “It’s my ma’s birthday.”

Her lips form the shape of an O.

“So I might be a little pissy today, I’m sorry about that.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” she responds, reaching over to cover my hand that sits on the gear shift. “You’re allowed to have feelings about it. Thank you for sharing.”

“I miss her,” I add. “She was my rock. She was always there for us, no matter what, and we sure as hell didn’t make it easy on her.” I chuckle lightly. “She was amazing.”

“What happened to her?” Annie asks quietly.

I let out a low, pained noise. “This, us.” I inhale. “This life, this thing of ours, ya know? She was shot, fucking murdered because she was in my dad’s car. The shooter thought it was him.”

Annie gasps, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth. “Gio,” her watery blue eyes look at me. “That’s…horrible.”

“Yeah,” I mutter. “It’s broken us. Our family.”

“It’s okay,” Annie soothed, gripping my hand tighter. “I’m here for you.”

The words leave her mouth and settle over me. I’ve always had my family, and we were close, but not talk about your feelings close. I’m a made man. A tough guy. Men don’t talk about things like this. As Annie grabs my hand and whispers words of comfort, I think maybe I’ve been missing something.

We drive in silence like that. Her hand gripped over mine, the warmth of it makes me feel connected to her.

“I need you to do something for me.” I finally say, breaking the quiet calmness of the car.

Her pink lips curve up into a smile. “Something else?” she teases.

“Yeah, my cousin is getting married. I need a date.”

Her blue eyes lock onto mine.

She was all in, but she had no fucking clue.

I was claiming her, putting it out to the world.

Gio DelGado owns Annie Bryne.

I fucking loved that.

There’s a pile of discarded dresses on my bedroom chair.

I’m standing in front of the full-length mirror dissecting myself. I’m being stupid, I think, but I can’t help the idea that Gio DelGado could have any woman in the world, yet here I am. I can’t possibly be up to his standard.

I smooth the skirt of my sapphire blue dress. It has spaghetti straps with a low cut top that dips deep enough to give a glimpse of my cleavage, there’s a fabric tie wrapped around my waist above the skirt that flows to mid-thigh. It’s pretty but cheap. Twenty bucks from Forever21 to be exact.

I part my blonde hair down the center and let it fall in loose waves to my shoulders. My eyes are smoked out with black eyeliner and I paint my lips a pretty shade of pink. I throw on a strappy pair of nude heels to finish the look.

Pounding on the front door tells me my time is up, this is going to have to be good enough. I grab the matching nude clutch and answer the door to meet a stunning Gio. He’s wearing a black suit with a white silk shirt and a glossy black bow tie. His leather shoes are shining, and I’m pretty sure there are real diamonds on his cufflinks. He looks like wealth, and sin, and sweetness all rolled into one beautiful package.

“Hi,” I manage to say as my eyes rake over him.