Page 42 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

The excitement in his mother’s voice told him not to discourage this. If they saw how happy he was—how he was adapting—then maybe it’d be less time assuring them and more time he could spend working on himself.

14

LOST IN THE WEEDS

“Woozer,” Gabriela said almost two weeks later. “I thought that suit looked good when you were trying it on, but now it’s next level.”

Luca’s thumbs flicked at the collar of his suit jacket, giving him some swagger. “I thought I looked pretty damn good myself. But you.” His fingers went to his lips, gave a loud kissing sound and then flicked it away sending it to her. Or maybe that was what she just secretly hoped for. “Perfection.”

This playful side of him.

Yep, sign her up for more.

She did a little spin in her black dress. One shoulder bare, the other a thick strap at an angle, hugging her body and showing off a bit more than she’d thought. It was tight at the waist, straight down her hips and landing right past her knees. The black pumps with red soles were the final touch.

She wanted him to notice and it looked like he had.

For fun, because that was what she was all about, she did another little twirl.

Did she want to wiggle her ass at him?

Hell yeah.

But they werefriends.She had to keep reminding herself of that.

If he wanted more, he wasn’t really letting her know one way or another.

And for someone who was good at reading signs, she was lost in the weeds now.

“Well, I do try.”

“Who knows I’m coming with you tonight?” he asked.

She reached for her jacket on the hook, slipped it on, then flipped the front porch light on.

“My parents, my brother and Justine. To everyone else, you’re just a colleague. And a friend.”

She had to throw that out there. It was more or less a reminder for her to keep it clean.

Regardless of the fact that they’d spent some time together Thursday and Friday. She’d worked her five days, then he worked his rotation. Thursday was his first day off and they met up at the gym again, then got lunch.

Yesterday, she went to his place and watched a movie.

He almost seemed embarrassed over his rental home, but she didn’t care one way or another.

It was just another older home on the island with character and charm, modern inside, and worked for a place to crash when not at the hospital.

Or maybe it was the lack of personal touches he had inside of it.

She knew. She was looking.

Not that she’d gone into his room, where maybe there were pictures there.

Nope, they stayed in the living room, watched an action flick, got drinks and snacks in the kitchen and then she was out the door right after dinner because she knew her parents were on the island.

They hadn’t asked what she’d been doing that afternoon and she sure the hell didn’t volunteer it.

Though she was positive her mother could figure it out.