Too True To Be Good

Chapter 2

2

Dirt sprayed the car next to hers as Gianna slammed on her brakes and stopped in the parking lot. She couldn’t believe she was in central New York. It was bad enough that she had no idea what happened to Summer, but she made a six hour drive in just over five to check up on a hunch.

What if I’m wrong?

The thought whispered through her mind as it had countless times on the drive. She couldn’t think about that. About the potential that something else had happened to Summer. She had to believe the little girl was there.

Gianna raced up the steps to what looked like a massive house. The sign indicated it was an inn and something called The Drunken Grape was inside. That did not give her much confidence in what she would find.

The front door slapped the wall behind it when she burst inside. Frantically, her eyes scanned for another person, someone who could help her.

A beautiful woman was behind a desk to her right. Long, auburn hair flowed over her shoulders as blue eyes tracked Gianna’s movements.

“Can I help you?” the woman asked, narrowing perfectly plucked eyebrows at her.

She had to look like a crazy person. She definitely felt like it. But she’d lost a child, and she’d driven across two states to find her. She was close, she knew it, and she needed answers.

“Do you know someone named Zach?”

“Zach Bennett?” the woman asked, a wry smile on her pink lips. “What did he do to you?”

Gianna blanched, surprised by the question. She never expected to find Summer’s dad, but the thought of this woman assuming he’d wronged her made it even more urgent that she get to them as soon as possible.

“I need to see him. Where can I find him?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “I’m sorry, but he’s gone home for the night. If you don’t know where that is, then I’m not going to give out that sort of information.”

“I need to see him. If you don’t tell me where he is, I’ll find out another way.”

She smirked. “You can try.”

“I’ll scream. I’ll yell and tell this whole building that the food is making them sick.”

The woman’s perfectly constructed mask slipped, telling Gianna she was worried about the impression their guests had. They glared at each other, Gianna praying the other woman would blink first. She needed the information. She had to find Summer.

“Why do you need to see him?” the woman asked, her voice softer. She cared about Zach. Why?

“It’s personal.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Listen, you’re not the first scorned woman to come looking for revenge. I’m sorry it happened to you, but my cousin is not known for his ability to commit.”

“Your cousin?”

She nodded. “I’m Andie. I’m not surprised he didn’t mention me. He’s home. Our other chef is working tonight.”

“Chef?”

Her eyes narrowed again. “What’s really going on?”

Gianna wondered how much she needed to tell Zach’s cousin in order to get an address from her. It was obvious he had more than his fair share of women, and she thought Gianna was one of them. If there was a way to use that to her advantage…

“He left something at my place. A belt. I just wanted to return it.”

“You can leave it with me. I’ll make sure he gets it.”

“No! I mean, I’d like the chance to see him again. I thought we had something special.”

Andie covered her snort with a cough, which Gianna thought was considerate, or would have been if she was telling the truth. Gianna put on her best wounded lover look, and Andie sighed.

“Fine. Take the road past the parking lot to where it clears. Go left and the house will be on your right.”

“He lives here? On the vineyard?”

Andie nodded, her eyes narrowing again.

Gianna shook her head, chasing away all the questions that popped into her mind with each new tidbit of information about Zach Bennett. “I’m sure he mentioned it, I just forgot. Thanks!”

“What did you say your name was?” Andie asked, but Gianna was already halfway out the door. She waved but didn’t answer, rushing down the steps and back to her car. She had to find Summer.

The directions Andie gave her were spot on. She found the house easily, a small cottage that overlooked the vines. It was cute with the wooden siding and dark stained door. Lights were on inside and there was a black SUV parked close to the front door.

Gianna took a deep breath and realized how insane she looked. If Summer wasn’t there, not only did she drive to New York for nothing, but she would be standing on the doorstep of a man she didn’t know who had no idea he might be a father.

Maybe she should have called first.

Gianna told herself to toughen up and climbed out of her car, the door creaking with the effort to move. She slammed it, hoping she didn’t alert him to her presence. A quick walk and she was at the door, knocking and waiting for someone to let her in.

The door swept open and a man who couldn’t be described as anything but gorgeous looked down at her. He towered over her, like most men, but he had an inherent strength to him that was obvious in the muscles that bulked up his henley. A narrow waist led straight to a bulge in the crotch of his low slung jeans.

She might have been drooling.

“Can I help you?” he finally asked in a voice that was as smooth and rich as an expensive glass of wine. Not that she had many of those, but still.

Gianna finally looked up and met his rich, brown eyes. A tinge of fear was there, mixed with a smattering of desire. Interesting. She didn’t get that look from men often. He almost looked like he wanted to kiss her if the quick scan he gave of her body was anything to go on.

Not that she noticed or anything.

“This is going to sound crazy, but did a little girl show up here tonight? Eleven years old, her name is Summer?”

“Oh, thank God,” he breathed. “I knew her mother had to be around here somewhere. She told me she was from Boston and that I’m her dad and it sounded like she was here alone. Yeah, she’s here. Come in. We were just making dinner. You can stay if you want, unless you have a reservation at The Drunken Grape with your husband?”

The word vomit threw Gianna off. Summer told him all that? And he thought she was making it up. She had to correct him, but he ushered her inside before she had a chance to get a word in.

“Summer, your mom’s here,” he announced, smiling into the kitchen as Gianna stepped into the house.

She spotted Summer, her eyes brightening and a wide smile breaking her cheeks for a second before she saw Gianna. Gianna shook her head slightly, telling Summer he was wrong, and the poor little girl lost it.

“Uh, what happened?” Zach asked, staring at Gianna like she had all the answers. It wasn’t fair to him that she wanted to laugh, but really, she did. The only reason she didn’t laugh was because of Summer. It would not have been nice to her.

“I’m not her mother,” Gianna hissed. “And she thinks you are her father. Her story was right.”

Gianna moved toward Summer, but Zach stepped into her path. “Then who exactly are you?”

Gianna looked up at him. He was protecting a child he didn’t know. One point in the good dad column. Assuming he actually was her dad.

“I’m the social worker assigned to her case,” Gianna whispered. “She and her mother were in a car accident a couple days ago. Her mom died, and Summer broke her arm. I’m responsible for getting her into a good home.”

“Then how did she end up on my doorstep, hours from Boston?”

Gianna sighed. She didn’t want to tell this stranger the truth, but if he really was Summer’s father, he had a right to know. “She outsmarted me. She asked me for a bottle of water and disappeared. I was going to take her to a foster home, but she kept insisting her father worked here. She has a picture-”

“I know,” he broke in, his jaw clenching tightly. “I saw it.”

“Is it you?”

Zach glanced back at Summer, still hiding on the other side of a large island. He nodded quickly. “Let’s talk about this later. How about we eat dinner first?”

Gianna accepted his gesture and followed him into the kitchen. She went straight to Summer and crouched down next to her. Summer’s lip trembled before she clenched it between her teeth.

“Are you okay?” Gianna asked.

Summer nodded.

“How did you get here?”

“A bus.”

“What about to this place. How did you get to the vineyard and find Zach?”

She shrugged.

Gianna sighed. “We’ll talk about this later, but you know we have to go back to Boston. First thing in the morning we need to drive home. We’ll find a place to stay for the night.”

Summer’s lip quivered again, but she nodded. Gianna hated that she was taking her away from the one relative she might have left, but she had a job to do.

Zach quietly finished dinner, setting plates of spaghetti covered in sauce with a salad on the side in front of Gianna and Summer. He looked around sheepishly before he said, “Uh, we don’t have a table. We usually sit in front of the TV for dinner. You can sit at the island if you want, or in the living room.”

“We?” Gianna asked, unable to stop herself.

Zach shook his head. “Sorry, just me now. My cousin lived with me until a few weeks ago.”

“Andie?” Gianna blurted.

Zach shook his head. “No, Henry. How do you know Andie?”

“I met her at the inn.”

Zach gave her an approving grin and shook his head. “You’re the ex of mine who said she had a belt to give me. I’ll have to warn my cousin not to be so trusting in the future.”

Gianna shrugged. “I had to find you.”

Zach nodded slowly as though he was considering her words. Gianna ate silently next to Summer, who was devouring her dinner like she hadn’t eaten in days.

Gianna’s heart broke all over again. She had to find Summer a place to belong. If it wasn’t with the sexy chef with the milk chocolate eyes, then it would be someone else as caring and protective of a little girl. Someone who would love her and make her feel like she was always meant to be theirs.

Zach watched the two strangers in his kitchen devouring his spaghetti. He always felt most like himself when he was in the kitchen, but he’d never been so proud of a dish in his life.

Spaghetti and sauce. Something anyone could make. It didn’t take talent, even though Zach knew he had talents in the kitchen, and other rooms of the house.

And damn if his mind didn’t go to what he could do in some of those other rooms when he thought about the stunning social worker standing protectively next to Summer.

Summer. s**t. What was he going to do about that? He knew the picture was of him, but was she his kid? It was possible. He remembered her mom, Val. She visited Amavita with her family one summer. They hit it off and spent the whole week together. But Zach hadn’t given her a second thought since the day she drove away.

Maybe carrying his child inside her.

His stomach rolled with the thought of Summer growing up thinking he didn’t care. If he’d known about her, he would have been there for them. At least sent money and had Summer spend time with him. But he didn’t know.

Did she hate him for that?

Zach finished his dinner and rinsed his plate before setting it in the dishwasher. He grabbed the pot from the stove and washed it. The rest of the sauce went back into the fridge. When he turned to see what the women were up to, they were both watching him.

He forced a smile, hoping he looked innocent enough. He had no idea what the hell he was doing. It was the longest time he’d spent with a woman who wasn’t related to him without getting her n***d.

He had no idea how to handle that.

“What else can I get you ladies?”

Gianna shook her head. “How about the name of a place to stay. Is that an inn where Andie was?”

Zach nodded, his gut clenching in an uncomfortable way at the thought of them leaving. “It is, but there aren’t any vacancies right now. The rooms that aren’t in use are being renovated. Andie wants the last of the inn finished by the end of the month.”

“Okay, what else is close? I don’t want to drive too far at night.”

Zach’s mind spun with the thought he had. There would be no taking it back once he offered, but it felt right. His place was quiet, too quiet. Turning on the tv only filled the noise outside his head, inside it was still too quiet.

But with Summer and Gianna, the silence was gone. He could think again, which was a little scary considering he didn’t want either of them staying put forever. But for the night, or a bit longer, would be good.

“Why don’t you stay here?”

“Here where?”

“With me. Not with me, with me. But here. At my house.”

Gianna glanced around like she was thinking about it. Or maybe she was trying to figure out where he was hiding the butcher knives. Zach did his best to appear innocent, since he was. His intentions were slightly selfish, but mostly generous.

“There’s an extra bedroom,” he rushed to explain. “You can both stay in there or one of you can have my room, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Why do you want us to stay here?”

Zach glanced at Summer. She didn’t look like him, not really, but if there was any chance she could be his, he’d do right by his kid.

Starting with making sure she had a roof over her head.

“If she’s mine, she’ll be living here anyway. Stay and we’ll go to court and find out. Don’t they have tests to determine that kind of thing.”

Gianna smiled reassuringly at Summer and lowered her voice. “Yes, but we have to file paperwork. It’s not like you can just walk in and say you want to be tested as her dad.”

“So file the paperwork,” Zach said like it was the most logical thing. “Stay here until we find out.”

Gianna immediately shook her head. “No. That could take weeks. She needs to go to a foster home. I need to get back to work.”

He lightly grabbed her arm and guided her a little further away from Summer. “That picture is me. I remember her mom. I haven’t heard from her since she left that week. Which would make Summer about to turn twelve. I’m guessing next month sometime. If I’m close, which I’m assuming I am from the look on your face, then there’s a damn good chance she really is my kid. Give me a chance to do right by her.”

Gianna nibbled her lip and sighed. “If you’re not her father, this could be really bad for Summer. She’ll get attached to you. Hell, she already traveled this far on her own because of a picture and a story her mom told her.”

“And it was true. Val came here with her parents and we spent a week together, but we never planned for it to go anywhere beyond that. She never told me about Summer. Give me a chance to do something for her.”

He could tell she was thinking about it. He didn’t want to push too hard, but he wanted them to stay. Both of them if he was honest. Not that he’d tell her that.

“Fine, but we need to go to court first thing tomorrow morning.”

Zach grinned and shook his head. “We can’t. It’s Good Friday tomorrow. Everything will be closed until Tuesday.”

Gianna back up. “No. We can’t wait that long. I could get in trouble for not having her at the foster home. She should have been there hours ago.”

“So call someone. Tell them you found her father and you’re doing your due diligence to make sure I’m a decent guy.”

Gianna sighed again. s**t. Maybe he shouldn’t have kicked Mandi/ Candi out. Just hearing Gianna sigh had him half-hard. Then again, the thought of Gianna warming his bed was a hell of a lot more appealing.

No, he chastised himself. She was there for Summer. She was off limits. She lived in Boston, and she was going to be living with him. If ever a woman had commitment written all over her, it was Gianna. He didn’t need to complicate things with her. She had the power to take Summer away from him. His c**k didn’t matter as much as his kid.

“Okay. We’ll stay. I’ll get it all smoothed over. But as soon as the courts open, we’re going in.”

“Deal,” Zach said, finally looking forward to the long weekend.