Page 38 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

“I’ve got black and brown shoes. I’m good.”

“How about blue for the suit?” she said, moving him closer to those tones on the walls. Not navy, more like a muted royal. “This one has very tiny stripes or is that too much?”

“Too fussy. Remember, I’m not wearing suit pants to work because kids have sticky fingers.”

She only knew what he had on the one day she worked with him. Tan cotton pants, a light blue button-down shirt under his lab coat. He had brown shoes on that looked more like sneakers.

“Okay. No stripes. I like this color, but you have to wear it.”

“What’s not to like? It’s blue.”

“Good answer,” she said cheerfully. “What color shirt do you want?”

“Can I help you?” A younger store employee asked, moving closer.

“Luca needs a suit. This blue suit.”

Let’s see how he was about her speaking up.

He didn’t seem fazed at all.

“I don’t remember my measurements.”

“We can take care of that. I’m Bentley. Come with me while we measure you.”

The smile was plastered on her face. “I’ll just be checking out shirts and ties, unless you want to do that yourself.”

“It’s your event. You know more than me. Go at it.”

Damn. She didn’t know the last time any guy had said that to her.

Thirty minutes later, they stepped off the curb together. “Your suit will be ready in a few days. That wasn’t too painful was it?”

“Nope. I’ll come over again on my own. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve got to get used to doing it anyway. If I didn’t have to try it on again, I’d just have it sent over on the ferry.”

“That’s right. Couriers are the way to go most times.” They returned to her building and got in her car. He’d already said he’d gotten everything he needed and they didn’t want to have to wait two more hours for the next ferry if they didn’t get to the docks in the next thirty minutes. “I’ve been thinking,” she said. “And before you panic, this is a low-pressure thought.”

He turned to look at her walking through the parking garage. “Those are the most dangerous kind.”

“Relax,” she said. “What if we were… friends?”

He stopped short. “Friends. What are we now?”

She waved her hand and laughed before she lost her nerve. “Friends who enjoy each other’s company,” she clarified. “Who can grab lunch, walk around the city, talk without things getting weird. You know, like today?”

“And steal each other’s fries.”

“Mandatory,” she said. “Non-negotiable. And you started it.”

She pointed her finger playfully. He reached up to grab it and just snatched it loosely but firm at the same time.

He seemed in thought as they got into her car. “I don’t hate that,” he finally said. Thank God because she was getting close to backtracking.

“Good,” she said. “Because I could use a reliable plus-one. Weddings. Work events. Anything that requires a human buffer. You might need it too.”

“And as you saw today, I clean up well,” he said. “I can pretend to be charming on command. I’m funny, you said it yourself, so that’s not a stretch.”

At the wiggle of his eyebrows, she burst out laughing and unlocked the doors to her car. “Perfect. I’ll return the favor when you need someone to go with you so people stop asking all those annoying questions about being new to the area. With me on your arm, they’ll go away.”