Lodged (Kinsmen Billionaires #2)

11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Gio Bianchi

Gio : Thank you for an amazing time, Ruin. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

I send a quick text to Ruin after I get home. For a moment, I thought I’d follow her to her place to make sure she made it safely, but I took the Range Rover with me, and I didn’t want to risk being seen in the car I lent her the other day.

Ruin : I did. Thank you for everything.

Gio : You’re welcome. I guess we’re going to have to do it again, huh?

I facepalm after I send the text. She’s going to think I’m a creep. I definitely need to work on my game. I’m so lame.

Ruin : Definitely! Good thing there are so many fun places for us to visit in the city.

Thanking my angels that Ruin just ran with it and didn’t make fun of me, I reply instantly.

Gio : You’re right. Maybe we should visit the Natural History Museum next weekend.

Ruin : Yup, I think I’ll be there on Saturday at one in the afternoon.

Gio : Sweet dreams, Ruin.

Ruin : Night, Gio.

“You’re lucky you're my best friend,” Penny says loudly as she takes a seat next to me at the cafe where we always get together on Monday’s to catch up on things. I wince because even though I left her with Vicente over a week ago in London, I haven’t seen her since.

“I’m sorry, I know I’m the worst, but if I didn’t trust Vicente, I wouldn’t have left you there.” I take a sip of my coffee, and she smiles.

“I’m not a kid, boss. I told you I wanted to stay a few more days, and Vicente was the perfect host,” she says as she goes for my coffee, but I swiftly remove it from the table before she can grab it. She glares at me, and I laugh.

“I take it things went well?” I ask after taking another sip of my coffee.

“Oh, they did, but not the way you’re imagining.” Penny grabs a bite of my croissant, and I frown in confusion. “Well, I had a great time, and Vicente is indeed a great host. But nothing happened between us.”

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking that.” I hurry to assure her as I feel my face growing hot.

She chuckles. “Don’t sweat it, Gio. I’m not going to lie—I think Vicente is attractive, but the moment we got to Ecstasy( that’s the name of the place we went to), he couldn't take his eyes off a woman there. I think there’s something going on between them, but I didn’t feel it was my place to pry.”

I bite my nail as I search my brain for anything Vicente might have mentioned about him seeing a woman, but I can’t recall anything.

“So if he was preoccupied, what did you do?” I ask honestly, but the look Penny gives me is comical as hell. She raises a brow in question as if saying, Have we met yet? “ Well, I did what I always do. I had a great time. It turns out, Ecstasy is a private club for the one percent, and most of the men there were wonderful to talk to. Some of them even kept up with me on the dance floor.” My eyebrows shoot to the sky. That’s actually impressive—Penny is a great dancer.

“I’m glad you had a great time, and I’m sorry again I didn’t go out with you. But as it turns out, I got a message from this girl…” I trail off, not wanting to say Ruin’s name in case someone can hear us.

“Oh. The redhead?” Penny’s eyes light up, and I can’t help the grin that forms on my lips.

“Yeah. We went out over the weekend. It was amazing.” Penny shrieks and jumps up and down in her seat. I chuckle at her excitement.

“Are you going out again?” she whispers, and I nod as I take another sip of my coffee. She shrieks again and I shake my head as I smile. “What? Can’t I be happy for my bestie?” She smacks my arm the way she always does when she’s happy about something. “Gio, this is fantastic. A nice girl is what you were missing in your life.” My heart warms at my friend’s words.

“It was just one time, I don’t want to get ahead of myself.” I close my eyes, trying to carve these words in my heart: I cannot fall for my student. I need to at least wait until after the semester is over.

“Gio. Look at me.” Penny places her hand on my forearm, and I open my eyes. “Don’t close yourself off to the possibility of something special because of your duties. Yes, you’re in a position of power, but I know you, and I know you would never take advantage of that.” I know what Penny is saying is true, I would never abuse my authority. But going against the code of conduct makes me ache in places I didn’t even know existed. I pride myself on being a righteous man. And this behavior is definitely the opposite.

“Speak of the devil,” Penny murmurs, and that’s when I see her—Ruin, standing in line to order. My body lights up like a firecracker on the fourth of July. I adjust in my seat, feeling my jeans tightening. I try to act normal, but I’m the worst actor on Earth. Penny is trying hard not to laugh at my miserable failure to play it cool.

When Ruin spots me on her way out, she smiles and gives me a little wave but doesn’t come to where I’m sitting with Penny. A part of me is disappointed that she didn’t come over, or that I can’t go and give her a hug, but I know it’s the smart thing to do.

“And that face right there tells me you have to pursue this, Gio.” I glance over at Penny, who’s watching me intently. I release a sigh. Ruin will be my demise.

“Now onto the not-so-fun part.” I groan at Penny’s words.

“I’ll try to make it as painless as possible. Your fortune has increased by three hundred and seventy million in the past quarter.”

“Jesus Christ, Penny. What on Earth did you invest in?” I ask her, bewildered.

“Nothing illegal, of course.” She waves me off like it’s not a big deal.

“Is there a way to hold off investing more for the rest of the year? I need to figure out where to donate more, and right now I’m completely focused on finishing my PhD.” Penny gives me a knowing smirk, and I shake my head. I know I’m lying, I’m also thinking about the red hair goddess who has captured my every waking thought.

“You’re the boss, boss. If you want, I can set up a document with some potential charities that you’d be interested in supporting.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know.”

I couldn’t really talk to Ruin during the lab today, always trying to avoid being caught ogling her. Damn, it’s never been this hard to act professionally. I’m curious to see if we’re still up for our non-date this Saturday, so I decide to text her after taking a shower and having a bite to eat.

Gio : So about this weekend.

Ruin : What about it?

Gio : Are we still up for it?

Ruin : I can’t wait to totally randomly meet you at the museum.

Gio : Same. Have you ever been before?

Ruin : No.

Gio : Oh fun, then I get to show you all my favorite exhibits. Do you like rocks? Gems?

Ruin : Yeah, there are a couple of mines near my town that I’ve visited in the past, and it’s a lot of fun.

Gio : The minerals exhibit is pretty nice, and I love that the rocks there (mostly) were found right here in North Carolina—maybe we’ll even see your town's name.

Ruin : That would be super cool.

Gio : Can’t wait.

Ruin : Me either! Good night, Gio.

Gio : Sweet dreams, Ruin.

It’s just after one in the afternoon, and I park my car and jump out to head to the museum. I’m running a few minutes late, and I hate the thought of Ruin wondering if I’m going to show up. Unfortunately, I’m not a multitasker, so it’s either I run to the museum, or I stop and text her that I’m running late—I choose to run.

When I get to the museum’s entrance, the little air I have in my lungs gets knocked out when I see how beautiful Ruin looks. Her back is to me, she’s wearing a pair of loose jeans that hug her waist and an oversized forest green sweater that hangs from one of her shoulders, giving me a peek of her creamy, soft skin. Her hair is shining under the midday sun, a vibrant siren red, warning me of the danger this woman represents.

I slowly make my way to her, enjoying the view and committing it to memory. She turns, and her smile blinds me with the force of a thousand suns.

“Hey, I thought for a moment that maybe we had spoken about different museums,” she says with a chuckle as she fixes her hair behind her ear. It takes me a moment to speak since I literally had to catch my breath.

“No, you had it right. I just didn’t realize there were going to be construction crews downtown over the weekend. It feels like Raleigh is under perpetual expansion,” I say as I ruffle my hair, and she giggles. “Are you ready?” I ask her as I place my hand on the low of her back, she smiles and moves closer to me. I wish I could wrap my arm around her, but it’d be harder to remove in case we see a student here.

The first floor has lots of cool exhibits, from fossils and embalmed animals, to gemstones and displays showing the evolutionary timeline. We take our time, observing each and every single object. The next exhibit is about the Outer Banks, and as I see Ruin completely entranced in all the facts about the islands, an idea forms for fall break.

The longer we’re in the museum, the more comfortable we feel with each other. The last thing I have on my mind is being careful not to show too much PDA, I’m simply enjoying a Saturday afternoon with my girl. Fuck, not yet .

When we reach the second floor, we visit an area that takes us back in time to a science lab from the early twentieth century. For some reason, it is completely empty—I guess the kids and families would rather spend their time with the dinosaur fossils and bug animatronics than learn how science was done back in the day.

“Oh look, this is so cool,” Ruin says as she grabs my hand and takes me to an entire section of tree trunks, all native to North Carolina. Each piece has a little tag specifying the species and where in the state it was collected. My little nerd heart could sing right now. I love that I get to share this level of nerdiness with a girl—I’ve never experienced this before.

“Did you know the state’s tallest tree is a Pignut Hickory?” she asks, excited by this fact.

“I had no idea, but I wonder where it is in the state. It’d be cool to hike to see it.” She turns around, her soft hands resting on either side of my neck. For a moment, I freeze. I wasn’t expecting her to get so excited over my comment, but I guess it takes a nerd to know a nerd.

“I’d love to go on a hike with you.” She breathes against my chest, and even though the little voice in the back of my head tells me I shouldn’t kiss her in public, my desire to taste her lips is stronger, pulling me to her.

I lean down slowly, asking her with my eyes if she’s okay with this. When her eyes flutter closed, the little self-control I had snaps. I close my own eyes, getting ready to kiss her.

“Professor Bianchi, is that you?” My eyes widen in horror at that voice. Fuck, this isn’t happening. I release a deep breath as Ruin removes her arms from around my neck and turns around, covering her face with her hair. I slowly turn around, widening my stance to block Ruin from view, my back pressed against hers. Forcing a flat smile, I face Alyssa, who’s grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

“Oh, hey! What’s up?” Holy crap, could I sound more idiotic? I don’t even talk like this. Is my brain short-circuiting?

“So glad to see you outside the classroom, professor,” Alyssa purrs as she takes one step toward me. I stiffen.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I interrupt something?” she says as she tries to look around me to see who’s behind me.

“Actually, yes,” I tell her, my voice stronger now. Her eyebrows rise in surprise but she tries to quickly mask it with a chuckle.

“Oh, okay. I see.” She takes a step back and turns around to leave, but not before giving me a saucy smile as she says, “I’ll see you in class, professor.” She gives me a little wave and goes on to the next exhibit.

When she’s out of sight, I turn to hug Ruin, who’s pale as a ghost. “Do you think she saw my face?” Ruin asks against my chest.

“I don’t think so, but your hair is a dead giveaway.” She groans, and I place a kiss on the top of her head.

“Maybe she didn’t recognize me since I always wear dresses in school?” Hope pours out of Ruin’s tone, and I honestly don’t know what to say, so I just continue to hug her.

“I’m going to have to burn these clothes as soon as I get home.”

I chuckle at her dramatics. “Don’t you dare. You look good enough to eat in them.” She hugs me tighter, and before we can get carried away, we sneak out of the museum using the emergency exit.

“Look at us, sneaking out of places like two criminals.” I laugh at her joke, and she curtsies. We stay outside, looking at each other not really knowing what to do or what to say next. The moment is gone since we’ll be looking over our shoulders at every turn.

“I guess I’ll see you in class,” she says as she starts walking backward.

“I guess so,” I say as I shrug and put my hands inside my pockets, feeling awkward as hell that I couldn’t kiss her when we were clearly both dying to do so.

Once she’s turned the corner, I start walking toward the parking lot. A long cold shower awaits at home.

“Gio. What’s up? Glad you finally showed up.” My brother Luca greets me as his image fills my phone screen.

“Hey, baby bro. How’s everything going?” Luca flinches at the term of endearment, and I chuckle.

“I’m twenty-five years old and a married man, boludo . I’m not a baby anymore.” He groans and whines, which only makes me explode in laughter.

“But you’ll always be my baby brother,” I continue, riling him up more, and he groans in frustration.

“You’re making it really hard to like you, Gio. I wonder why I even called you in the first place.”

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to give you some shit. What’s up?”

“My wife is wondering if you’re coming for Christmas, and I decided to call and check on you instead of texting.” My eyes widen in surprise—it’s not even October, and they're already planning Christmas?

“Well, I’m planning to defend my dissertation sometime in early November, then I’m graduating in December.” I pause, thinking about Ruin and how I’m planning on dating her after I graduate. But she seems to be close to her family, so I’m sure she’ll spend her break with them. I don’t think it’ll be wise to meet them so soon. “Count me in, I’ll be free during winter break.”

“Excellent. I’m glad we’ll get to see you somewhat soon.” Luca nods while he thinks, and I’m wondering what else is going on. Can he tell I’m developing feelings for someone? “You know I’m not as smart as you, so excuse my ignorance. But should we attend your dissertation defense or something? It sounds like a big deal.” I love my brother—always trying to be present, just like I was for him and our little sister, Isabella.

“Nah, you can watch the stream if you want, but it’s definitely not required.” He exhales a long breath, and I chuckle.

“No offense, Gio but I could already see myself trying to keep up and being completely lost,” he says as he scratches the top of his head.

“Hi, Gio,” Karina, Luca’s wife, chirps as she comes to stand next to him.

“Hi, Kari, how’s it going?” I smile at her. She’s been a great influence on my brother and has helped him become a better man.

“You know, trying to keep this one in line.” She shrugs, and Luca looks at her, fake hurt in his baby blue eyes. I can’t help but laugh at their relationship dynamic. When Luca pouts, Karina rolls her eyes but gives him a chaste kiss, which he then deepens in 0.2 seconds. I let them have their moment because now that I’ve hung out with Ruin, I understand how much you can feel for someone.

“Sorry, Gio, I didn’t mean for this to get X-rated,” Karina says, her cheeks turning crimson. I just wave her off—I’m used to my brother’s antics.

“Anyway, I just wanted to say that we’re so incredibly proud of you, and we’ll be there for your graduation. Just let us know the date when you have it.” I nod at her with a smile, suddenly unable to form words. My family might not look like a traditional family, but it sure is awesome.

“Okay, big bro, now that Karina is back from the field, I have some matters to attend to with her. We’ll talk soon.” Luca disconnects the video as Karina starts giggling. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what’s going to happen next in his office.

For the first time in my life, I find myself wishing I could have what my brother has—a happy, healthy relationship.