Granted Wishes (The Granted Series Book 1) (5 page)

She steps back and spots Holly rushing to her luggage near the door. It seems Holly doesn’t want her to go, either. Gracelynn tries to move Holly, but the dog won’t budge.

“Holly, come here, girl. Come here.” Giovanni tries to prompt Holly away. “Come here, Holly!”

The dog glances at him, but still won’t move. So he tries again. “Holly, come here now, girl. Gracie is just leaving but she’ll be back.” Still no movement from the dog. “Right, Gracie? You’ll be back to see us, right?” He winks at Gracelynn.

She catches on to what Gio is doing, and nods. “Holly, I’m coming back! Don’t worry.”

Without a warning, Holly jumps up and licks Gracelynn before finally retreating to her master. Like she believes Gracelynn and knows she’ll come back.

“Does she normally do that to the
gals
when they leave, Gio?” Gracelynn tries to keep her tone light.

“No! I told you before that no woman, other than you and Holly have been here. Now stop joking about it,” Gio snaps.

“I was just kidding around and wanted to lighten up the moment of craziness we just experienced.” Gracelynn is taken back by his rude behavior and wonders if hugging and holding him was a bad idea. Maybe he’s excited to get rid of her, despite his kindness.

“I appreciate your hospitality so much and thank you for…. well… just thanks.” She blushes and rushes to open the door. She grabs her items, including her angel necklace on top of her bag. When she looks back, her own sadness is reflected in Gio and Holly’s eyes. She needs to leave now, before she breaks down. Without another word, she shuts the door.

She rushes to her car.
“Don’t go! Don’t leave. Stay with him. He needs you.”
A disembodied voice comes out of nowhere, startling her.

“Who are you? Who’s there?”
Gracelynn looks around, fear overwhelming her. No response. She gets into her car and drives away. A piece of her heart breaks at the thought of leaving the one man she could fall for, the man who she now should consider family. But she’s scared, terrified. She can’t fall for someone else. She can’t love anyone but Angelo; but why can’t she stop thinking about the arrogant but also funny and sexy man she’s running away from at this very moment?

* * *

Just as Gracelynn shuts the door, Gio hears a voice coming out of nowhere. “
Don’t let her go. She’s your other half. Something dangerous will happen to her!”

“Shut up! I don’t know who you are, but stop interfering with my life. She’s not mine.” He runs his hands through his dark brown hair, making it a mess. The voice has a point though: right now he feels like his heart was ripped out of his chest.

GRACELYNN HOPES
TIME AWAY
from Gio will help her process everything; but when she arrives at the motel she knows she made the wrong decision. A rundown shack of a motel stands in front of her. Red shutters fall off metal windows, the siding is ripped and missing in many places and the sign is about to fall off the pole. Everything screams sleazy, just as Gio described. But she has no choice, not now as she’s come this far. She gathers her items and steps out of her car, slowly entering the motel. She walks toward a dilapidated front desk, where a man with the tag, “Ron, Manager” checks her out from behind the desk.

“Excuse me, if you’re done gaping at me, I’d like a room for a few days.”
Oh God, what did she get herself into?
Just looking around makes her squirm. The dirty-colored carpet is outdated by twenty years and smells horribly of smoke and other probable things.

“Oh yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you, that’s all. It’ll be forty-five dollars a night or you can get a better price if you pay by the week, whichever you prefer, little lady,” he tells her with rancid breath.

“Ron, is it?”

He nods his head and she continues, “Well, Ron, I’m not your little lady and I’ll pay by the night, thank you.”

She grabs the money from her purse and hands it to him.

“Room 245 is yours,” he tells her as he hands her the key. “It’s at the side of the building. One of our nicer rooms.”

She thanks him and goes in search of her room. After wandering through a few hallways and almost getting lost, she finds her room. The moment she enters it, she starts coughing.
What the hell?
This is the best room he has, her ass! The room stinks of cigarettes. The once white-painted walls are chipped and yellowed. Dark stains cover the yellow-colored carpet. A bed with golden bedding and two severely outdated nightstands are showcased with eighties-themed lamps to accent the room. She wishes she had a black light because she’s certain nasty things lurk below the sheets.

She enters the bathroom, and immediately grows even more disgusted. The entire bathroom is lime green, even the toilet, which is chipped and stained. The shower stall next to the toilet has mold all along the edges with a filthy shower curtain. The one small light and mirror hang haphazardly on the wall.

How the hell will I get some sleep here? I should’ve listened to Giovanni!

She remembers her lavender oil. She never goes anywhere without it. She leaves the bathroom, not touching anything. She finds her oil in her purse and dabs it on her wrists. Not only does it help her nerves, but it helps with the rancid smell of the room as well. She places the oil back in her purse and notices Gio’s card and picks it up to read it: Giovanni Antonetti, Manager of Antonetti Suites. His work number, email and personal cell number. She flips the card over and notices a handwritten note on the back.

Gracelynn,

I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. I would prefer if we could figure this out together; but I’ll let you have your space, for now. I’ve added a few places you may enjoy to visit while you’re here on vacation.

Giovanni

This man is seriously messing with her head. And speaking of her head, oh fudge! She’s forgot to call or even text Ben and Cassie. She searches for her phone. When she finds it, she calls Cassie right away, but it goes to voicemail. She leaves a message asking her to call her back and does the same for Ben since he doesn’t answer either. She flops her iPhone on the nasty bed.

She tries to rid her mind of Gio being kind and polite with her even when he didn’t know she was family. Before he knew she was married to his brother. A brother he never knew he had.

With all the pain that she’s experienced the last few days, the emotional stress of it has her drained.

* * *

Gio stands by the window, anticipating Gracelynn’s return. He can’t fathom why he let her leave. He thought she was a fighter rather than the fleeing type.

He leans down and pets his dog’s belly. “Well, Holly, what will we do now that she’s gone, girl?” As he talks to the dog, she runs out of the room.

He chases after Holly only to find her in Gracelynn’s room where they were fifteen minutes ago. Holly lays her head on the presents that he and Gracelynn left on the bed.

“You want me to look at the stuff that belonged to Angelo?”

Holly barks.

“Okay, I got it, girl. I’ll take a look.” Giovanni starts looking through the other papers from the box. There’s a photo of Angelo and Gracelynn while a white cat sits at their feet while they kiss underneath mistletoe hanging from a doorway. Angelo’s hand lightly touches Gracelynn’s cheek as he kisses her with the most sincere, loving look that Giovanni’s ever seen.

Enough. I can’t look at any more of this. I loved Lizzie, but I don’t remember looking at her the way Angelo looked at this woman.

Holly barks again and nods her head at a piece of paper lying on the floor.

“What are you girl, part human?”

He realizes it’s the piece of paper he placed in his back pocket. He opens it slowly and discovers the paper holds his birth records. His identity was stolen by the family nanny who was to take care of him and his brother. He always wondered why he never looked like his mom, but she just said that these things happen and to not worry about it.

He starts crying.
Oh my God! I had a family! I could’ve had a family who loved me. Breanna stole that from me and from my birth parents
. He sobs, unable to control the tears.
And now I can’t do anything about it since she is dead, long dead.

He pulls his hair, trying to gather his composure. No wonder he never looked like any of his other family members. Does Grandma know? Do his other family members?

He leaves the room to call his Grandmother. He needs to tell her.

“I know, Grandma,” he sobs into the phone. “I can’t tell anyone about this. Please tell me you won’t tell Kat. This will destroy her,” he pleads with her on the phone.

“Gio, I won’t tell her, that’s your news to share…. But I’m completely shocked. Breanna never wanted to tell me who your father was, which I thought was odd. But when your mother was younger, she did do some outrageous things. I’m so sorry for you, Gio. I’m sorry for the brother you lost and the family you didn’t know existed. I hope you still will call me Grandma.” She sobs into the phone, which guts him.

“You’ll always be my grandma! I love you,” he whispers into the phone. He hangs up, emotionally drained.

He lets Holly out for the night and looks around the house, feeling completely alone. He wants Gracelynn to come back. He misses her.

GRACELYNN GLANCES
AT THE CLOCK
and notices it’s seven forty five a.m. She stretches her arms and decides to get ready for the day.

She chooses to wear a dark blue sweater, dark skinny jeans and a brown pair of boots. She forgoes her typical hair style and puts on a cute hat. She adds a little mascara and eyeliner, completing her ensemble as she grabs her keys and purse.

As she leaves the room, she’s even more disgusted than last night. The daylight shows severely paint-chipped walls with holes, deep stained carpeting and paintings that have seen better days decorate a few walls.

Just as she’s about to exit the motel, a man stops her.

“Hello. I couldn’t help but notice you. I’m Xavier, the manager’s son.” She feels like she is being groped with this nasty young man’s eyes. His overalls, dirty hands, work boots, dark hair, brown creepy looking eyes and even the smile on his face send chills down her spine. This man is even worse than his father, who she met last night.

“Xavier, it’s nice to meet you, but I’m sorry; I have to run.” She exits the motel and runs to her car.

She locks the doors and rubs her temples, trying to calm down. She digs up Gio’s note from her purse.

She stares out the windshield, clutching her necklace.
Angelo, I’m sure you’d love him. I wish you were here.
She enters the café into her GPS.

A few minutes later she arrives at the café, ‘A Little Spot of Heaven’ and gasps. The café is on the lower half of a two-story building, which showcases other businesses down the street. A large, rustic brown overhang hangs from the white-textured building, giving it a warm feel. A unique purple and teal sign is intricately placed in the middle. The three front windows are decorated for the upcoming holiday, showcasing the café with a few metal tables and chairs in front of the place, giving it a homey atmosphere. She grabs her purse, gets out of the car and enters the café.

She closes her eyes, enjoying the smell upon entering the café. When she opens her eyes again, she notices rustic furniture, maybe ten tables and exquisite artwork around the entire space. She orders coffee and a muffin from the polite worker named Kat. She takes her items and sits at a table that allows her to look out of one of the windows. The town is beautiful. Each business is amazing with their awnings, rustic look and own charm. This town makes her feel alive. Layton Hills never made her feel this way.

She glances across the shop as she takes a sip of her favorite coffee and notices couples talking, some people on phones or laptops, all looking quite happy. What she wouldn’t give to have a bit of serenity. Maybe she should go to a salon and get pampered; maybe that’ll cure her mood. She smiles as she grabs the card from her purse and notices Gio wrote down a salon called ‘Serenity Day Spa and Salon.’

Just as she is about to leave, the nice worker, Kat yells to her. “Would you happen to be Gracelynn?” Gracelynn peers up at her and responds, “Yes, why?”

Kat tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and blushes. “My brother, Giovanni, said you may stop by. I figured from his description you might be the woman he was talking about.”
Oh boy! What has Giovanni told Kat?

Gracelynn moves from side to side and scuffs her boots on the floor. She studies the young woman for a second before responding. “Kat, considering I don’t know him that well, I’m worried what he told you about me.”

Kat’s cheeks flush. “He was very taken with you. I’ve never heard him talk of anyone the way he did you.” This is news to Gracelynn. He’s affected by her just as she is with him. What a relief…and a fear, since they are complete strangers.

“Is there something I can help you with, Kat? I’m heading over to Serenity Day Salon and Spa in hopes of getting a haircut. What do you think I should do with my hair?” She asks Kat because she is rocking a new angled, styled bob. Kat looks at Gracelynn’s hair and asks if she can touch it and feel the texture. Gracelynn agrees.

“If you ask me I would say a few inches off, since your hair is quite long,” Kat says after a few minutes. “Maybe cut it to the middle of your back with long layers and angled bangs to accentuate your face. I wouldn’t do anything with the color of your hair though. I love it. I wish my hair could be your color. It’s so pretty.”

“Are you a hairdresser?”

Kat laughs. “Me, a hairdresser? No. Maybe I should think about it, especially since it does have more potential than… working here,” she whispers.

“You make a wonderful barista and I’ve no doubt you could be a fabulous hair stylist too. Wait, why don’t you come with me? I mean if you’d like,” Gracelynn blurts before thinking. She likes this young lady and feels like they could be fast friends.

Kat looks at her fashionable watch for a second before she responds. “I get off at one and don’t have any plans for the day,” she utters, showing off her bright white straight teeth. “How about you meet me back here at one? I’m glad you came to town, Gracelynn. My brother hasn’t been this happy in a long time.” She blushes and then goes back to work, leaving Gracelynn.