He could be sweet, but he was too clever to trust. He’d hurt her too many times in the past. Plus, he was a player.
Giovanni always had a one-track mind and never failed to drop a dirty joke into a situation when a punchline presented itself. She assumed he was a womanizer, but he hadn’t closed the deal with a single girl he mentioned from back in the day. Except for Josephine Cook, of course, and she wasn’t sure how far they’d gone.
“How long’s it been since you’ve slept with someone?” she blurted, thinking back to his standup skit last night.
“Honestly?”
She gave him a hard look. “Are we lying?”
He sighed. “Two.”
“Months?”
He glared at her.
“Two years?” Her eyes bulged. “Why? Are you trying to be celibate on purpose?”
He climbed out of the bed, pacing across the floor and scooping up the various bags of snacks that fell onto the carpet. “No. New York’s expensive. I’m always in cities—Philly or Atlantic City or wherever. I’m on the road too long to make any real connections, and it’s not like I can afford to wine and dine someone I meet after a show.”
“I thought comedians made pretty good money.”
“Yeah,” he laughed, “The big ones. I’m still starting out.” He threw several bags on the bed and stepped into his shoes. He shook his head. “Forget I said anything. This was stupid. I’ll go see if they have a minibar at the front desk.”
Before she could stop him, the door was open and a gust of snowy wind blew into the room, causing her to hunch deeper under the covers.
Two years?
Was there something wrong with him? And who were all those women he mentioned in his act last night? Had he just made them up? Why?
Several minutes later, the door opened again, and Giovanni rushed inside, holding various bottles and tracking snow and slush over the carpet. “It’s colder than a room full of ex-wives out there.”
He dumped several bottles onto the bed.
Holy crap, how much did he expect them to drink? They were only two people.
“I have to run back to the vending machine and get mixers. Coke okay?”
“Uh, sure.”
The door opened again, sucking the last of the heat out of the room. As she stared after him, she realized she wore a half-smile, just a casual curve of her lips for no reason at all.
What exactly was happening?
Before she could figure it out, he was back with several bottles of cola. “I got a lot because in crazy weather the hoarders come out.”
She chuckled. “I think you’re the hoarder.”
He glanced down at his bounty and shrugged. “Maybe I am.” He uncapped a soda and handed it to her. “Drink some of that and we’ll top it off with the rum. I don’t have cups.”
Her stomach was going to rot by the end of this storm if she didn’t eat something other than sugar soon. She took a few sips and he did the same. Then they topped off the bottles with rum.
“Cheers.” He held up his plastic bottle and kicked off his shoes.
They each took a long sip and she welcomed the warming sensation of alcohol. Giovanni shoved down his pants and climbed into bed.
“Um, what the hell are you doing?”
“My pants are wet from the snow. Besides, you’re not wearing any underwear. What difference does it make?”
Her shoulders tensed. “Ew, did you look at me when I was sleeping?” How did he know she wasn’t wearing underwear?
“God, no.” He took another sip and scooted lower under the covers where it was warm. “I looked when you were in the bathroom changing.”
“Giovanni!” She shoved his shoulder.
“What? You put a pretty naked woman in front of me, I’m gonna look!”
Her mind snagged on the word pretty. Did he think she was pretty? As she started to smile, her face protested and she was reminded of the bruise on her cheek. “I’m a mess.”
“Well, your face is pretty banged up from the accident, but that’s not you. You know you’re pretty, Erin.”
The accident… Part of her wanted to tell him the bruise on her face was there before the accident, but she kept her mouth shut. Stories like that ruined a vibe, and she was actually enjoying herself.
Her foot brushed his and she quickly pulled it back. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He purposefully gave her toes a little flick with his.
Were they playing footsy, now?
She needed a distraction. “I wish we had a deck of cards or something.”
“I saw a few board games and puzzles by the front desk, but I’m not going back out there. It’s too freaking cold. Besides, it’s getting late. We won’t be able to see soon.”
“Do you have any candles?”
“No, just the light from my phone, but I’m trying to conserve the battery.”
She drank several sips of her cocktail. What were they going to do when they were trapped in the dark?