Page 8 of And Everything In Between (Love By Any Means #3)

The city rolled beneath them, smooth as butter on fresh cornbread.

Giovanni gripped the wheel with that easy, dominant calm.

One hand on the wheel, the other resting out the window, claiming the road and everything under the sun.

Paige settled into the seat, an unfiltered smile riding the wind.

For the first time in months, she wasn’t bracing, she was breathing.

Her ponytail had given up. Belly chains jingled, thighs stuck to leather.

She felt good. Comfortable. Held without being touched.

Giovanni was smooth, no doubt. But silence could be a strategy or a sanctuary. Either way, she wasn’t rushing to decode him. All she had for trade was the premium package of pussy between her thighs. A commodity she hadn’t decided to put on the market yet.

They only sound came from the stereo until Giovanni glanced over and asked, “You always this quiet?”

Paige turned to face him. “Not usually.” A small smirk played on her lips. “But I don’t feel like I need to fill the air with bullshit, you know?”

Giovanni nodded, appreciation flickering in his eyes. “Most people can’t handle silence.”

“Most people ain’t me,” she replied, a small smirk playing at her lips.

“Figured that out already.”

When he reached to adjust the volume, his fingers found hers on the console. Not entirely an accident—he was reading her energy, gauging her interest. A whisper of contact, but enough to send a fuse up her arm and make her shift in her seat.

“Emon warn you about me?” Paige asked, keeping her voice light, curious.

Giovanni let out a low, rough chuckle, still not looking at her.

“He did.” Giovanni paused. “But not the way you think. Said you ain’t for the bullshit. Said you the type that makes a man either boss up or bow out.”

Paige arched a brow. “Smart man. Hopefully, you listen to him.”

“I don’t need anybody to tell me what I’m looking at. I know a one-of-one when I see it.”

The words made her ears perk up and ring.

Paige turned her head, pretending to study the passing scenery, as if the heat crawling up her neck came from the sun and not his mouth.

But the truth was, she’d felt this brewing since the first time they’d locked eyes at Blake and Emon’s.

Giovanni was Emon’s first cousin. Blake was hers.

That made the tension between them feel even more undeniable.

Their circles had been overlapping for months, awkward hellos, brief nods, shared glances across rooms. They’d been orbiting each other like planets pulled by gravity, never quite colliding until now.

“You think you know me off a few looks?”

“Not at all,” Giovanni replied. “But I know energy when it calls mine back. And your energy been ringing my line for a minute.”

Paige went still. His words stripped her bare, sweet, steady, and full of things she wasn’t sure she deserved. She cleared her throat, trying to reset.

“I’m not lookin’ for what you’re lookin’ for,” she said, tossing it out like she could read his mind.

Giovanni’s smile deepened, full of something wicked and patient.

“And what exactly do you think I’m looking for, Ms. Bishop?”

She gave a shrug, nonchalant. “Whatever you think you see... it ain’t up for grabs. If it ain’t dick and fun I don’t need it.”

Giovanni didn’t argue. He wasn’t going to give it any more thought or conversation on the subject because they’d see. “You hungry?”

Paige shot a side eye his way. The change of subject threw her off-balance. She was waiting for pressure. None came. She swallowed her thoughts and decided to play the game, however, he was playing it.

“A little.” She tried to sound breezy, even though her stomach had been hollering since they left the fairgrounds. She’d picked at a smoked turkey leg, but it didn’t hit like she thought it would.

Giovanni flicked the turn signal, the low click mimicking her beating heart.

Don Toliver’s Glock bumped low between them.

He’d turned down into the old part of town where the concrete was cracked from years of neglect.

No fancy spots tonight, he’d chosen a Coupeville classic.

The dingy building flashed FISH - WINGS - FRIES in red neon lights as he helped her from the car.

She noticed how the men posted up outside nodded as Giovanni stepped out, their recognition immediate.

Inside smelled like heaven wrapped in grease-stained paper, the air thick with perfectly seasoned fried food and decades of history. She was with a hood nigga through and through.

Paige leaned against the counter, pretending to read the menu while feeling Giovanni’s presence heat the space behind her.

He stepped in close, his chest brushing her bare back, when he pointed at the board.

The graze was nothing, but his breath on her ear caused a little ripple down her spine and the hair on her arm to stand.

“Six-piece hot honey, extra crispy,” he said breath teasing her ear. “That sound like you?”

Her laugh cracked out before she could stop it, full, warm, and genuine. She turned around and found herself caught between his arms. His eyes were beautiful, a light brown that made the dark tattoos on the side of his face fade into the background.

“You a psychic now?” she teased, but she was a little shocked.

“I don’t know,” Giovanni murmured, smirking. “You kinda got heat and honey all in your face.”

The older woman behind the counter caught the exchange, popping her gum and shaking her head.

“Baby, whatever y’all got going on here is working. Keep this one, G,” she called out, grabbing a to-go box.

Giovanni smiled, showing his perfect teeth.

His cologne was planting seeds in her brain.

They’d be the reason this grew into something more.

He smelled so damn good and looked even better.

His full lips were practically begging her to pull his face down to hers.

She was losing her mind a little, and they hadn’t even left the chicken spot yet.

His hand found the small of Paige’s back, thumb tracing slow circles across her exposed skin as he locked eyes with her and replied, loud enough for the woman to hear, “Trying to.” His head tilted slightly as he continued, “She says she ain’t what I’m looking for.”

“Snitch,” Paige muttered under her breath, but her voice came out softer than she meant.

She didn’t move away.

Instead, she allowed the contact, soaking in the heaviness of his hand, the silent reassurance behind itshold.

She let herself drift, for a second, into the idea of this.

Wanting it. Letting it unfold without checking for strings.

But it didn’t last long as reality smacked her upside the head, reminding her that this was one night.

Life was heavy enough without overthinking a man’s hand on her back.

She wasn’t looking to make space for anyone new, not long term at least.

Tonight, she just wanted to remember what it felt like to be out after the sun went down. But everything about Giovanni was whispering that he would make her space ten times better than it was. She was conflicted, and she didn’t like that.

“Why don’t we eat here?” Giovanni nodded toward a small seating area in the back corner of the restaurant. “I like my shit fresh. And I’m tryna figure out if you really ain’t what I’m looking for.”

Paige had just picked up her phone, skimming for any missed alerts. It wasn’t blowing up, but that wasn’t the point. It gave her a moment to breathe. To dodge the weight in his words. She raised an eyebrow at him, lips twitching. “Sure. That’s cool.”

“You plan on checking that thing all night?”

“No,” she said, slipping it away. “It’s on DND, nosy.”

“Cool.” A smirk formed as they settled into a worn booth tucked away from the counter.

The vinyl seats had seen better days, but the table was clean, wiped down with lemon-scented cleaner.

Ms. Leah herself brought over their plates, golden catfish, wings glistening with sauce, extra hush puppies piled high on a separate plate.

“I threw in something sweet for y’all too,” she added with a wink, sliding a small container of peach cobbler between them.

“Appreciate you,” Giovanni said, genuine warmth in his voice.

When Ms. Leah walked away, Paige bit into a Hush Puppy and her eyes fluttered at how good it was, crisp outside, soft inside, with the right amount of onion.

She wiped her fingers on a napkin. “So, you must come here a lot.”

“Since I was knee-high,” Giovanni replied, flashing a grin. “Ms. Leah used to slip me extra Hush Puppies when my pops wasn’t looking.”

“She still is,” Paige noted, nodding toward the overflowing plate.

“Some things don’t change,” he said, dipping a piece of fish in hot sauce. “What about you? Where’d you grow up?”

“Born and raised in South Coupeville. Never left except for college, and even then, I was only an hour away.”

“So, you’re real Coupeville too,” Giovanni said, eyes still on her. “I dipped out for a bit, tried the Midwest. That cold and wind? Nah. I’m a tropical nigga.” He shrugged like it explained everything.

“Is that the only thing that brought you back? No woman? Babies?”

“Nice try, but no, it was family. Roots always pull you back.”

Paige nodded, her smile dimming into something thoughtful. “Families like gravity sometimes.”

“For better or worse.” They shared a look that cut a little deeper than casual should have allowed.

Paige broke the moment, reaching for her drink. “What took you to the Midwest?”

“A woman,” he admitted without hesitation. “And opportunity. Thought I’d build something bigger there.”

“And?”

“Built something, but it was shaky foundation. Didn’t take long to crumble.”

He wiped his mouth slowly. If they agreed to see each other again, he’d tell her more. But just as guarded as Paige could be he could too. “What about you? What keeps you in the city?”

“My job and family,” she answered.

“Dig that. That bank job must be treating you right?”