The two were incredibly sweet. Individually, no one would believe they worked as a couple. Still, the adoration on Leo’s face when he gazed at King and the very gentle and obvious way King cherished Leo removed even the tiniest shred of doubt that they were meant for each other.
“Hey, Gio,” Jack greeted cheerfully as he walked by, his hand in Fitz’s. They laughed as Duchess pranced past them, her fluffy tail wagging happily.
A familiar bark had Gio turning around, and he dropped to one knee, arms wide for Chip, who bounded over excitedly, tail going at full speed, tongue lolling out as he howled and barked, telling Gio of his adventures.
“Is that so? Oh my goodness! Well, you’ve certainly had a busy day.”
Sacha snorted, and Gio stood.
“Hungry?” Gio asked.
“Starving. If he had it his way, we’d be playing day and night,” Sacha replied, playfully smacking Chip’s doggy butt. Chip spun in a circle with a series of happy barks before darting off, making them laugh.
“He must have been quite a handful when he was a puppy.”
“Training is brutal when the dog you’re training is as smart as you are, not to mention just as stubborn, but with any shepherd breed, it’s essential. They’re going to push you, try to take charge. Chip had to learn I was the boss, not him. He accepted it, but he reserves the right to bitch about it, and he does. Often.”
Gio laughed. “He’s very vocal, isn’t he?”
“Oh yeah. He’s also a master of the side-eye. No one gives attitude like my boy.”
They reached the pool area and joined the guys as they served themselves from the buffet. He’d never seen so much food, but then at the rate Ace and his brothers-in-arms put away food, Gio understood the need for quantity, and thanks to Ace, Lucky, and especially Red’s culinary skills, they were also gifted by quality. The guys liked their good food.
“Here.”
Gio lifted his gaze, surprised to find Sacha standing beside his lounge chair, holding out a cold bottle of water.
“What did I say about staying hydrated?”
With a smile, Gio took the bottle from him. “Thank you.”
“Not what I said.”
Gio held up an empty bottle and waved it at him. “I’ve been a good boy.”
Sacha’s pupils blew, and his nostrils flared, but he didn’t reply. Trying a different tactic, Gio held back a smile when Sacha sat in the lounge chair next to Gio’s. Chip hurried over and sniffed the air near Sacha’s plate.
“Hey. Manners.”
Chip whined and sat, his tail wagging and his gaze locked on the steak on Sacha’s plate.
“How do you resist that face?” Gio asked.
“Very skillfully.”
“How do the rest of the guys resist that face?”
“They all know not to feed him, but Ace is the biggest sucker.” Sacha shook his head. “He thinks he’s all sneaky when he slips Chip a piece of steak or b-a-c-o-n.”
“I’m guessing there’s an excellent reason you spell that word.”
“My boy will shank you for some b-a-c-o-n, so yes.”
As if knowing Sacha was talking about him, Chip whined and lifted onto his haunches, his front paws up.
“Don’t beg,” Sacha said, shaking his head in mock shame, his eyes filled with amusement. “That’s beneath you. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
Chip barked, making Gio laugh. He was adorable. Sacha reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic baggie and removed a treat that he tossed to Chip, who caught it in midair.
“Now settle.”
Chip did as he was told, lying down on the cool floor between their lounge chairs. The two of them ate, making small talk about how good the food was, the weather, how spoiled Duchess was, as evidenced by the way Fitz cooed at her and had her in his lap on the lounge chair like she didn’t weigh over fifty pounds.
After a few heartbeats of silence, it was obvious Sacha wanted to say something. He’d open his mouth, then close it. Gio was going to ask, but Sacha finally spoke.
“So, did you and Nia have a good time last night?”
Gio managed to keep his expression neutral despite the urge to beam at Sacha. “We did. It was nice to catch up.”
“I bet,” Sacha grumbled.
“She’s a beautiful woman.”
Sacha grunted.
“And so talented.”
Another grunt, then silence. Sacha shifted in his seat. “So, uh, what’s the deal with you and her? She seems comfortable around you.”
“That’s because she is. We’re good friends. Stay in touch.”
Sacha nodded, his gaze off in the distance.
“But then I stay in touch with all the people I’ve helped.”
“You do?” Sacha whipped his head around to stare at Gio. “Why?”
“Despite what many people believe, I don’t simply show up somewhere and make it rain money. My charity invests in people who are unable to find help from the usual places. We spend time with them, work out business proposals, plans, schedules, and walk with them through every step of their new journey. We teach them to start and run their own business. Some of them are artists, some inventors, entrepreneurs, athletes, you name it.”
“How’d you meet Nia?”
“Every few years, I travel to Crete, where my mother was born. When I was little, she’d tell me about her home, how beautiful it was, her big family, and how much love surrounded her. It’s my way of remembering her. Anyway, I was at a cafe when I overheard a loud conversation regarding Greek singers, who were the best, that sort of thing, and one of the men said the best Greek singer he’d ever heard wasn’t famous. She was a young woman who lived in an impoverished, tiny village he’d visited the previous month. He talked about how tragic it was that the world would never hear her voice.”
“So you rode in like a white knight and rescued her?”
Gio laughed softly. “No. I gave her the tools so she could rescue herself. Nia was in a difficult position. Her family was very poor, her father ill and unable to get out of bed, much less work. She worked tirelessly to earn enough money for his medication and to put food on the table, and some days she went without so her father wouldn’t starve. When we met, she was understandably very wary of me.”
“Of you?” Sacha cocked his head to one side as if he were studying Gio from behind his sunglasses. “Yeah, I can see how you might come across as shifty.” His tone was light and teasing.
“Yes, well, I was used to it. Believe it or not, people distrust strange men showing up out of nowhere, offering money and help without wanting something in return. It took me a month to convince her I was telling her the truth, and that was only after I was finally able to bring in a full medical team to tend to her father. When she finally spoke to me, I’d just received the news that his transfer had been accepted. He was being moved to the best hospital in Athens. We spent days talking about her dreams, what she would do if money weren’t an issue. If her father was receiving the best care.”
“Wait, had you heard her sing yet?”
“Not yet.”
“What if she’d been a horrible singer?”
Gio shrugged. “We would have remained committed to helping her father. Depending on her skills, we might have hired her a voice coach. Lucky for me, she was even better than we imagined. I set up meetings with an agent and several people from the music industry who were thrilled and eager to work with Nia.”