Harlequin Romance October 2021 Box Set by Jessica Gilmore

Author:Jessica Gilmore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

It had started to feel awkward, with him just standing there getting dressed as she talked on the phone. If he were being completely honest with himself, he’d felt a little rattled at the way she affected him. So he made his escape. Some might call that cowardly. Or simple self-preservation. He was going to go with the latter.

It was bad enough she had no clue who he was or why he was there. And as he pulled up into the parking of the twenty-four-hour boxing gym, he still hadn’t been able to put Laney out of his mind.

A nagging sensation tickled the back of his mind. During her phone call, the person on the other end had been loud enough that he’d heard part of the conversation. He could have sworn the caller had called Laney “Elaine.”

Pulling out his smartphone, he called up his business drive and opened the file on acquisitions to confirm. And there it was in black-and-white on the small screen, just as he’d suspected. Owner/proprietor of intended property: Elaine Taytum.

Elaine. Laney. A quick online search of various local business pages verified his conclusion. She wasn’t a cocktail waitress at all. She was merely waitressing at her own establishment.

Gianni bit out a sharp curse. Way to complicate things even further given the fierce attraction he felt toward her as soon as they’d met.

All the better that he was here at the gym. A few rounds with a heavy punching bag would go far to settling some of the inexplicable frustration he was feeling.

Something about the woman had triggered a need in him he hadn’t even realized he had. Less than ten minutes later, he was changed and pummeling the bag. Only two other men were also present, sparring in the center ring. Within no time, Gianni’s heart rate was pumping and sweat rolled down his face.

Though it took a while, the exertion finally started to temper the storm of relentless angst he’d been feeling since he’d left the Carpe D.

“Thought I’d find you here,” a familiar masculine voice bellowed behind him. “You’re not answering your phone.”

Gianni stopped mid punch and turned to face his brother. Angelo was the complete opposite of him in every way. Fair where Gianni was tan, not exactly short but nowhere near Gianni’s six foot one. Angelo’s amber-hued eyes changed color with the light, whereas Gianni’s were perpetually dark. Angelo was a devoted family man. And Gianni would never follow that path, he was almost certain. Falling for someone meant opening yourself to humiliation and hurt. Hurt that could spread out toward others like ripples in a pond after a boulder fell into it. For two men who were brothers, the differences between them ran surface level as well as far deeper.

They both knew the reason for that—a poorly kept secret that no one dared to talk about.

Still, despite that damning secret and all their differences, they’d always been close as siblings. Gianni would trust his brother with his very life.

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