Page 14

My plan to announce our relationship to the families had to wait until Monday evening.

Saturday wasn’t enough notice to get everyone together, and Gianna explained that she had Aurora’s baby shower on Sunday.

When she told me how her friend was raising her baby alone and that Gianna and her family were her primary support, I agreed not to have her leave and run to our place as soon as the shower ended.

It might end up as an emotional day for her friend.

She had a busy weekend, so we didn’t see each other, but we texted and talked at night for hours.

It was exciting to learn about her. We laughed and got into a few deep topics.

We discussed our needs and wants in a relationship.

As frustrating as it was, it was a good thing we weren’t together.

It prevented the carnal side from taking over. We were able to learn about each other.

However, the wait was over. I’d invited her family and mine to meet at my place tonight after work.

My family had asked why and what was up, but I told them to wait until everyone arrived.

Gianna was stressed out, wondering how everyone would react.

She made an excuse for her family so she could drive herself.

She arrived an hour before they were scheduled to arrive. She was pacing my kitchen.

“Rian, maybe we should wait and do this. We should be sure of our union before we announce it to our families.”

I went to her and wrapped her in my arms. She sighed and placed her head on my shoulder. “Gianna, a stór mo chroí , my heart’s beloved, it’ll be alright. I promise. And I’m sure. Aren’t you?”

She sighed and nodded. “I am, which is crazy. We hardly know each other, Rian. We shouldn’t feel like this yet. What if—”

I cut her off with a kiss. When I let go, she relaxed in my arms.

“Better?” I asked.

She smiled. “Better. I’m sorry. I keep getting scared.”

“When you do, just tell me. And I don’t want us to wait. I’ll be taking you out and asking you here. We’ll spend a lot of time together if I have my way. They’ll see and ask. I don’t want them to think we’re sneaking around behind their backs.”

“I don’t want that either. Okay, let’s do this. What time is it?”

I glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes before they were due.

We’d arranged for us to meet at eight o’clock.

That was to give everyone time to get home, situate themselves, have dinner, and so on.

Since I was hosting, I’d made sure the house had been thoroughly cleaned while I was at work.

I wanted to show Gianna around, but it would have to wait until after the gathering for the whole tour. She was too wound up to concentrate.

“Ten minutes. Why don’t you take a seat? I’ll wait for them to come. My family should be showing up any second. They’re always—” A swift knock on the front door cut off the rest of my sentence, then it opened, and in came my brothers Declan and Rory.

Not far behind were my parents and then the rest of the family.

It was like being hit by a wave of people and chatter.

I saw some puzzled looks when they noted that Gianna was with me, but the other members of the DeSantis family were not.

Greetings were exchanged. Everyone made themselves at home.

They got drinks from the kitchen if they wanted.

We treated our houses as each other’s homes.

The only ones we were more cautious about these days were the couple’s homes.

It was okay to do it when it was just us, but when they had soulmates, the dynamic changed. They deserved privacy.

Everyone was settling when I got a text alert that the DeSantis men were at the front gate.

Gianna was talking to my sister Siobhan, so I didn’t tell her.

There was no use making her anxiety peak again.

When there was a ring of the doorbell a few minutes later, her head swiveled to look at me.

Her eyes were wide. I smiled to ease her instant anxiety.

I was beaten to the door by Fallon. The four DeSantis men came striding in.

They were friendly, but an alertness about them said they were wondering why this meeting was at my house.

I shook their hands, as did the other men in the family.

It took a bit to get through all the hellos and offered drinks, which they all declined.

Wanting this over with before Gianna fainted, I suggested we all have a seat.

Gianna and I sat on a loveseat. Others sat on the couches or in chairs I’d brought into the living room from the kitchen and dining room.

My living room wasn’t as large as the one at the family home, so there was less seating.

The kids remained at the house with Alexis and Agatha.

All eyes were on us. It was Daid who got it going. “You have us here, Mac , son. What is this thing you want to talk about or tell us? It clearly involves the DeSantis family. What is it?”

“Thank you all for coming. I wanted to do this over the weekend, but there were prior commitments. Daid , you’re right. It does involve the DeSantis family. In particular, it involves Gianna.” I hesitated a moment when I saw her dad and brothers sit straighter. Here went nothing.

“What do you mean it involves my daughter?” Alphonso asked.

“When we met months ago, we had no idea about each other. We were unknown entities. These past few months have been a learning curve that has led us to partner, which we’re all very excited and happy about.

Those same months have been filled with other things.

One was regarding Gianna and me. We’ve been fighting an attraction to each other.

She and I talked on Friday and decided we won’t fight it any longer. ”

“Over my dead body will our sister be your…whore!” Rocco shouted, coming to his feet. His fists were clenched, and there was a fire in his eyes. The other two stood before I could tell him that wasn’t what I meant. They had furious expressions, but I wasn’t happy either.

I came to my feet. Gianna came with me. “No one said she was to be my whore. That’s an insult to her, and you need to apologize for it. I don’t give a damn if you are her brother. You say shit like that, and I’ll knock your teeth down your throat,” I snapped.

“No need, I’ll do it myself,” Gianna growled. She had her narrowed gaze on Rocco.

“Then what would you call it? Friends with benefits?” Rardo asked.

“No,” Gianna and I both denied together.

“Rian and I have decided to enter into a relationship. None of you three knows what that is since you haven’t had steady girlfriends since high school. It’s when adults decide to do more than screw around and then move to the next person to get laid,” she said waspishly.

I had to fight not to laugh at her slam. They were hesitating, so I jumped in to add more. “That’s right. We’re together and working on this becoming something long-term.”

“She’s your anamchara ?” Mama asked hopefully. She was holding tightly to Daid’s arm.

I smiled and nodded as I said, “Yes, Mama , Gianna is my anamchara . I’m sure of it.”

She and my aintíni, sister, cousins, and the wives squealed. The men were all smiling. Well, the O’Sheeran men were. The DeSantises were puzzled.

As Mama and the other ladies got up and came over to hug Gianna, Luciano asked, “What the hell is an anamchara or whatever you said?”

“It sure doesn’t mean whore. It means soulmate. He plans to marry her one day. She’s the one he’s been waiting for,” Cillian answered.

“Soulmates? You believe in those?” Alphonso asked.

“Absolutely. We don’t marry or enter into a serious relationship with just anyone. We don’t do it if we’re not certain they’re our soulmates. Our goal is to marry once,” I explained.

“ Papà , are you falling for this? They’re lying,” Rocco protested.

“What reason do we have to lie?” I asked.

“So you can have sex with her without us pitching a fit and knocking the hell out of you.”

I chuckled. “You’d better grow, Rocco, if you want to knock the hell out of me. As for lying, we’re not. Again, you’re insulting your sister.”

“Roc, sit down and be quiet. You don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re adults. If we wanted to have sex, we could, and we wouldn’t sneak around. You’re not my boss, and I don’t need your permission to have sex,” Gianna told him.

“It’s our job as your brothers to protect you from being used. Do you want to end up like Aurora?” Rocco snapped.

Gianna lunged toward him, but it was Alphonso who got between them.

He’d been listening but holding his tongue.

He lightly gripped her wrists. “Calm down, figlia , daughter, no fighting with your fratelli , brothers. I want all of you to hush and sit. I need to discuss this matter further with Rian. I assume his family has questions. Did you know?” He directed the last to my family.

“I guessed he had feelings for her,” Alistair confessed. This earned him a glare from Aisling, undoubtedly for not telling her.

“He did confess it Friday night to me,” Aidan added, earning the same look from Karizma.

“Oh, Rian, I’m so happy for you,” Mama said, wiping a few tears away as she smiled. I saw Brenda, Cyndi, and the other O’Sheeran ladies doing the same.

“Another brother takes the plunge. There’s hope for you two,” Siobhan, or Siv, as we called her, directed to our single brothers, Rory and Declan. They rolled their eyes.

Finally, when everyone sat or stood back in their original spots, I gestured to Alphonso. “You have questions. Please ask them.”

“You say you’ve been fighting your feelings for months, both of you. Why not say anything to your families? Why spring it on us out of nowhere?”

“I wanted to be sure that what I felt went beyond superficial attraction. I tend to take my time when making important decisions,” I informed him.

“That’s for sure. He analyzes things inside and out. You’ve been warned, Gianna,” Cian said teasingly.