One More Chance

His World

Giana

"So where are you going this weekend exactly?" Io asks as I switch off my laptop.

"Lake Tahoe. He's taking me to a family reunion."

Her eyes widen. "Oh wow. You're meeting everyone then. Now, that's serious, but at least it's a couple hours' drive from here."

"We're just spending one night there and then driving back."

Io pulls up a chair and sits down. "Not to be nosy or anything—which I am—but if you're engaged, where's your ring?"

I glance at my hand. We'd been so busy with other things that we never got around to buying a ring or using the one that his father gave him, the one that belonged to his grandfather. "We haven't picked one out yet," I lie. "He wants something huge while I want something I can wear without blinding anyone within a 5-mile radius."

Io sighs. "If I were Bryce Holden, Jr.'s fiancée, you bet I'd be blinding everyone with my rock. But I also know you, Giana, and it's just not like you to do that. It's just weird that you're still not wearing a ring. But it doesn't change the fact that everyone's dying to see it, especially me."

"I'll get around to it. Anyway, the reunion was already on his calendar so it only made sense to bring me along now." Besides, I can't seem to get out of it even if I tried. But that little fact I keep to myself. It's been a whirlwind two weeks and with two more weeks left before our agreement is over (unless Bryce extends it), I don't know what to think anymore.

Everything's happening too fast. The dinner dates, that meeting with his mother, the presentation. The sex.

OMG, the sex...

I've only ever been with one other man in my life—that would be Travis—and we were both just out of high school when we finally did it. After he joined the Navy, our sex was limited to whenever he was in town which wasn't often. When Mom received her diagnosis five years ago, I sent him a Dear John letter and that was it. He moved on and I just focused on family and work. It means I haven't been with a man for at least five years and boy, am I making up for it with Bryce.

To say it's been a week of sex-a-palooza madness would be an understatement. We've done it in his bed, on the kitchen counter, on the dining table, his couch, his other couch, and his office desk. Even all the lingerie that Harper had added to my wardrobe finally got some use although they only stayed on for a few minutes.

It's not just the sex that's amazing. Bryce is funny and smart. With his experience working in New York and being involved in bigger projects, he knows more about the field than I do but he's also the first to admit that I know more about green building designs than he does. He knows just how to lift me whether it's my skills, my knowledge, or my mood.

Have I fallen for him?

I'm afraid to find out the answer.

"Earth to Giana, you still there?"

I look up to see Io watching me carefully. "Sorry. I was just thinking about what to pack for this weekend."

"You need help shopping for something?" she asks. "Maybe we could check out that shop that you liked on Main Street and even have dinner together? If you have the time, that is. You've been pretty busy ever since word got out that you guys are engaged. No one even knew you were seeing each other."

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. We weren't sure how HR would see it, him being kinda my boss and all that," I say as Io shakes her head.

"Girl, I would have kept him a secret, too. That way I'd have him all to myself," she says, grinning. "Anyway, what do you think about checking out that shop or having dinner?"