I wasn’t planning on introducing Gianna to Carissa, at least not for a long time. I’m very overprotective of my daughter, and anything I do has her best interests in mind. I don’t know if introducing her to someone I’m seeing—especially when I’m not sure if it’s going to lead anywhere—is such a good idea. Are we technically even seeing each other? We’ve only just started hanging out a few times.
I gently place a hand behind Gianna’s back and nudge her forward. “Go on. Be polite. Say hello to daddy’s friend, Carissa.” Was I supposed to call her that?
Gianna brings a finger up to her mouth and whispers, “Hello.”
Carissa looks back at me and smiles. “She’s so precious.”
I smile back. “Thank you, come on in.”
She walks in, and I close the door behind her. As she makes her way into the living room and places her coat and purse onto the couch, Gianna stays close to me. She’s shy when she doesn’t know someone. Plus, we’re not used to having new people over.
“Wow, that smells incredible,” she says.
“Thanks, it should be just about done.”
I pick up some of Gianna’s toys from the living room and try to apologize. “Please excuse the mess. I’m sorry, my sister should be here any moment to pick her up. She’s running late at work.” I sit on the arm of the couch and Gianna places herself in between my legs.
Carissa smiles. “It’s not a problem, really. I’m happy I got to meet her. I know how important she is to you.”
I nod, but is it possible for her to already know just how much Gianna really means to me?
“Can I get you something to drink?” I ask, searching her big brown eyes. Damn… gorgeous.
She shakes her head. “No, I’m good, thanks.”
Carissa’s gaze wanders back to my daughter, and I can tell she wants to say something. Just as she opens her mouth, the ringing of the doorbell stops her.
“Okay, now that’s Aunt Mari,” I say to Gianna. She’s trying to hide her smile as her eyes flash back to Carissa.
I chuckle softly and carefully move her to the side so I can answer the door. “Hang on, sweetheart.”
As I open the door wide for Marianna, she barges in without noticing Carissa. “I’m so sorry! I tried to leave on time, but this time of the year is absolutely nuts. Wow, the food smells amazing! What did you—” Marianna’s eyes meet with Carissa’s, and I just stand back watching. “Oh, I’m sorry. Hi, I’m Marianna, Lorenzo’s sister.” She steps forward, extending her hand.
I had already told Marianna I had a date with Carissa tonight, but I was hoping not to have to introduce them to one another. Not yet anyway.
Carissa’s radiant smile lights up the room. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Carissa.”
I’m never going to hear the end of this once I’m alone with Marianna on Christmas Eve.
“Auntie Mari!” Gianna shouts, throwing herself at my sister.
Marianna lifts Gianna up into her arms. “Hi, princess!” She places kisses on both of her cheeks. “Are you ready to go?”
Gianna nods fiercely a couple of times. “Yes! I’m ready!”
Marianna smiles. “Okay, go on and say bye-bye to Daddy.”
“Okay.”
Marianna places Gianna back down on the ground. My daughter comes darting at me, and I pick her up.
“Bye, Daddy!”
I give her a kiss and hold her tight. “Bye, sweetheart. Be good for Nonno, Nonna, Aunt Mari, and Uncle Maxy. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
“Okay, Daddy.” I place her down, and she goes straight for my sister’s hand. “Come on, Auntie Mari, let’s go.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Marianna repeats. She looks at Carissa and says, “It was nice meeting you. I’m sorry, she’s in a rush to go.”
Carissa shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “Oh, it’s fine. It was very nice meeting you too. Bye, Gianna.”
“Bye,” Gianna answers, finally smiling at Carissa. That smile right there tells me she likes her. That’s a damn relief for me.
Once they’re out the door and on their way, I lock it and turn around to face Carissa. “I’m so sorry. My daughter is always ready for the next big thing. Plus, she loves going over to my parents’ house and hanging out with them and my siblings.”
She chuckles softly. “It’s okay, really. She is adorable. Your sister seems very nice too.”
“She can be a real pain in the ass,” I say, shrugging.
She laughs. “Aren’t all sisters?”
I nod. “True that.” I remember her telling me things her older sister used to do to her when they were growing up. They were all jokes, and Carissa would do the same to her sister at any chance she got, but since Carissa was younger, her sister got her a hell of a lot more.
“Please, have a seat.” I motion toward the couch.
We sit fairly close to one another, and the sudden urge to kiss her—the one I felt last time we were together—comes rushing back. Sure, I was in awe of her when I first saw her, but I think because Gianna was here, it was holding me back from feeling what I am now… how much I want this woman, right here on my couch.
Damn, where the hell did that come from? I’ve been very physically attracted to her since the first moment I saw her, but actually considering touching her is something new… at least admitting it to myself is. I’ve wanted to kiss her for a while. I’ve thought about it plenty of times, and I’ve come close to doing it. But now, admitting to myself that I want her right here and right now, that’s something new.
And I want her in every sense of the word. If this were back in the day before I met Sylvia, I would have made a move on Carissa already. I would have taken her into my arms and kissed her fiercely, lying her back on this couch.
But not today. Today, I’m reserved, and although Lord knows I want to make a move, I won’t do it.
“So, are you still close to her mother?” Carissa asks, bringing me out of my very inappropriate thoughts.
I furrow my brows. “Whose mother?”
“Your daughter’s?”
Oh, crap. That’s right. We never discussed her mother, my late wife. I’m not used to someone addressing Sylvia as just Gianna’s mother. It was always your wife… even though she’s gone. Addressing her as just Gianna’s mother seems like we’re no longer together, not that she’s passed away. Of course Carissa is assuming Sylvia and I broke up. Any normal person wouldn’t automatically assume someone else has passed away.
I swallow hard and take a deep breath.
Carissa takes notice and her expression changes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I was just—”
“No, no. It’s fine.” I struggle with finding my next words, but somehow, I make it through without bringing myself to tears. “Her mother, my wife… She passed away when Gianna was just a baby.”
Carissa’s mouth forms an O as she gasps. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
I shake my head. “You couldn’t have… I don’t typically bring her up in conversation. I had a hard time pushing through it for the longest time…”