Secrets of the Past

Chapter 62

Two weeks following their conversation Giovanna moved in with Brian. She had one month left on her lease but Brian said he would pay it so she could get out of there. She didn't have a lot of stuff so it only took a few hours to get her moved.

They were both busy with work during October and November, Brian on the TV show and performing live shows, while Giovanna was putting in a lot of hours getting acclimated to her new position. They went to a costume party for Halloween with Sal and Rachel, and spent Thanksgiving with his parents.

Giovanna took a few days off work the week leading up to Christmas, in part to wrap presents. Brian had grown accustomed to doing all of his shopping online but Giovanna had volunteered in early December to go shopping for his nieces and nephews. He insisted she didn't need to do it but she wanted to. She finally felt like she was part of a family and was feeling very much in the spirit.

Brian normally threw the gifts in gift bags but Giovanna wanted to wrap everything properly. She'd bought paper, tags and bows and on those few days off she had Brian help her. He made a fuss about it but she insisted it would be fun. When they were finished it was evident which presents he had wrapped.

The morning of December 24 they loaded everything into his jeep and headed to Pennsylvania. Halfway through their drive it started to snow. Flashbacks to two Christmases prior when they'd been caught in a blizzard swam through Giovanna's head.

When they arrived at his parents' house Brian's three youngest nephews ran outside to greet them. They all wanted to help take the presents inside and Brian gave them each a bag to carry. Once inside the kids unloaded the bags, placing all the gifts under the tree.

After saying hello to Brian's dad and brothers they went into the kitchen where his mom was unloading the dishwasher.

"Hey guys," she said, turning to hug Brian, then Giovanna.

"Hey mom," Brian said.

"I brought cookies," Giovanna said, holding up a shopping bag. She pulled out two large containers and sat them on the kitchen table.

"Cookies!" came a child's voice from behind her. She turned around to see all of the kids filing into the kitchen.

"Can we have some cookies?" one of his nieces asked.

She looked to Brian's mom and she nodded her approval.

"Sure," she said. She opened the containers and stepped back from the table. The kids all gathered around the table and attacked the cookies.

"Those will be gone by the end of the day," Brian said with a laugh.

"What can I help you with?" Giovanna asked Brian's mom.

"Nothing right now, but thank you. I'll be putting food out in about an hour. Go relax."

She shooed them back into the family room with the rest of the family. The day was spent eating, playing games with his nieces and nephews, talking and laughing. Once again stories of Brian's childhood came to light, stories Giovanna loved hearing.

It was nearly midnight when Brian and Giovanna headed to bed. Brian flopped down on the bed but Giovanna went over to her bag. She grabbed something and headed over to join him.

"I got you something," she said, handing him a box.

"For me? You didn't have to do that."

"I know."

They had played this game the last two Christmases, each having a gift for the other, each insisting it wasn't necessary.

"I don't have anything for you," he said, sitting up and taking the box from her.

"That's ok."

"Really?" he asked, surprise in his voice.

"Yeah."

"Liar. You're only saying that because you know it's not true."

"Just open the gift already," she said.

He ripped the paper off and stared at the box.

"Where did you find this?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Same place I usually find your gifts."

"This is incredible."

He was hold a Peter Venkman action figure.

"It looks just like him," he said.

"I know. Cool, right? That's a new toy, not an old one. I looked for an old one but couldn't find one still in the box and they don't look very good. This one has so much detail. I hope you like it."

"I love it. This is going on my desk as soon as we get home. Thank you so much."

He leaned forward and kissed her before getting up and going to his own bag. He pulled a rectangular-shaped box from it and handed it to her as he sat back down.

"Did you wrap this yourself?" she asked.

"I did. I wrapped it this morning when you were in the shower."

"Sneaky," she said, slowly removing the paper. Beneath the paper was a plain white box. The box had a little bit of weight to it and she opened it carefully, not knowing if the contents were breakable.

Inside the box was a sterling silver jewelry box with a letter G engraved on the top.

"It's beautiful. Thank you so much."

"Open it," he said.

She did, and inside found a sterling silver necklace. Attached to the chain was a hollowed out circle with a small silver heart in the middle. "you are my one in six billion" was engraved around the circle. She picked it up and stared at it, tears coming to her eyes.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"It's beautiful," she said looking up at him, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I love it."

"I mean it."

"What?"

"What it says. I mean it. I don't know how I got so lucky. Out of all the people on the planet I found you. You have made me feel things I never thought I'd feel again. You've made me happier than I've been in a very long time. My heart is now completely yours. I love you."

She placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him as another tear trickled from her eye. It was a soft, sweet kiss that seemed to last forever.

"I love you, too," she said when they broke apart. "I never thought this kind of love was possible. And I never dreamed when I met you that I would end up here, madly in love with you and feeling like part of a family for the first time in my life. I'm the lucky one."

She put her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He returned her embrace and felt like he never wanted to let go of her. When she did finally pull away from him she held out the necklace.

"Can you put it on me?"

He took it from her and placed it around her neck.

"I'm never taking it off," she said, putting a hand over it.