Love Stories, Vol. 2: The Maglias, #4

By Cat Coal

Giovanni Maglia and Giana Vivent had a love story in the making and they knew it. Their chance meeting was almost as special as all of the moments they shared since. But with busy careers, him a race car driver turned actor and her a journalist, they missed out on some big milestones. And, as they say, first comes marriage and then comes baby, and these two deserve to have it all.

 

This novella can be read as a stand-along story, but you'll likely enjoy reading the other books in The Maglia series.

 

Love Charms

 

Love & Chaos

 

Love the Cook - novelette

 

Love Stories, Vol. 1

 

Love Stories, Vol. 2

 

Love International

• Language: English
• Publisher: Perfect Escape
• Release date: Jan 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393547365

Book preview

Love Stories

Volume Two

Cat Coal

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Copyright © 2018 by Cat Coal. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.

Do not upload or distribute anywhere.

Cover design by Cat Coal.

Cover art from Pixabay.

This ebook is for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with others please either purchase it for them or direct them to the retailer of their choice for purchase. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

Contents

Love Stories

Copyright

Contents

PART I

One

Two

PART II

Three

Four

PART III

Five

Six

Dear Reader

Extras

Books by Cat Coal

PART I

Goodbye, Hollywood

About Three Months After Gio & Gia Reunited

One

Giovanni

Packing was one of my least favorite things to do. It was a mundane task that never seemed to end, especially when you were packing up two lives and moving them across the country.

As happy as I was to be going back to South Florida, I almost regretted the decision for Giana and I to move back home if it meant packing like this.

Sure, I spent the past eight months in L.A. for work, and I always knew it was temporary, but I couldn't believe the amount of crap I collected in that time.

Some of it I brought from home when I moved out in the first place, but then some of it seemed to come from my brief visits home or when my family came to see me and left stuff behind. Then there was the collection of things that I accumulated from my relationship with Giana.

They were small things, like mouse ears from our visit to Disneyland the day we first met. Or like the novelty shot glasses she bought me from when we went to Santa Monica Pier. Or even the fly ball I caught for her when we went to Dodger Stadium to watch her favorite team, which she insisted I keep for her.

We'd done a lot of things together, especially once we reunited.

Giana and I had an interesting start to say the least. As my co-star's sister, I first met Giana at Ivy's house by accident. They hid their kinship from, well, everyone, but when I popped up one day at Ivy's door, Giana answered. I'd say the rest was history, but it was really a bit more epic than that and doesn't do our story justice.

See, while I first met Giana that day, I'd actually seen her before and had been infatuated with her then. We were at the memorial services for Shira Wilson, the producer of the film I was staring in slash Giana and Ivy's aunt, which I didn't know at the time. To me, Giana was a beauty from a distance and I so badly wanted to approach her, but didn't get the chance. Little did I know that chance was going to come to me sooner than I hoped when I showed up at Ivy's door the next day and Giana answered. My idealistic sister and cousins call it kismet. I call it luck.

Luck, which was not on my side anymore, I bitterly thought to myself as I loaded another box with stuff. I carried it to my living room that looked more like a fort occupied by a bunch of pre-teen boys. It didn't rival the stack of boxes that Giana had going on at her place, that much I knew, but still, it was bad.

Speaking of… I heard footsteps and smelled her peach shampoo, cluing me in to her presence.

Hey, I called out, still bent over a box trying to jam as much into it as possible.

Gio, let me help you, Giana took over, but not before giving me a kiss on the cheek. I just finished packing up the guest house, and I thought I was done, but I can get back into the groove.

I cannot believe you are done already. The whole guest house?

Yes, that was where all my stuff was.

Hmph.

Well, I started before you. You've been busy. It was true, I was a little busier.

Ever since the movie wrapped up, I was parading around the world with the cast doing promos. I completed my last out of town obligation the weekend before. My last official local obligation was that night.

Giana and I were going to the movie premier at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Instead of glamming it up though, my girl wanted nothing more than a day of packing so we could get on with our lives. She did her part. Now, I had to do mine.

I don't like packing.

No one does, sweetie. But she was a whiz, walking around with scissors in her back pocket and a roll of tape around her wrist. I would have to bow down to her and her ways.

But first, I had to bow down to kiss those lips. I caught her in a whirl as she was going to grab a new box and pulled her into me.

I've missed you.

She met my lips and purred a little. I loved that sound. It was almost as amazing as listening to her talk with her nasal voice.

We could skip the premier. . .

Putting her hand on my chest, she pushed me back. "Unh, no way. I'm going. With or without you."

It was funny, with part of her family in the industry, you'd think she tired of all the glitz and glam, but she didn't. Partially because she was excluded from it for so long, hiding her familial ties to both Ivy and Shira. It wasn't too late for her and Ivy to remedy things and they were no longer hiding the fact that they were sisters. In many ways, it was because of their Aunt Shira that they hid it in the first place, but it was also because of her that they went public with their sisterhood. After Shira's death, they realized what was important.

Especially when Giana nearly lost her life bringing Shira's murderous ex-husband to justice, they didn't want to live that way any longer. Ivy immediately called People Magazine and scheduled an exclusive interview for them.

It rocked the industry, but it survived.

And so did Ivy and Gia.

For me, I was just glad to not have to live in fear of some big secret being exposed. It made for a less pressured relationship.

Getting back to my agenda, I tried to entice her. We could skip it, stay in, wear sweats, and order Chinese.

We're going.

And I failed miserably.

Time to change the subject to something I had a chance of wining. Are you sure you don't want to pack up some of Shira's place?

No, all her stuff is there.

Indeed it was. It was her place. I said nothing though.

She looked defeated, but sounded otherwise. I want everything to stay the way it is there. It was her home. I know she left it to me, but it doesn't feel right.

But you want to keep it. As it is. Are you sure that won't depress you?

Yes, I want to keep it. I might as well. It'll give us a place to stay when we visit Ives. Cameron can use it too. And, no, it won't depress me. It makes me feel happy. At least for now. Maybe not forever, but for now.

Okay. I carried the last box she filled