just to see if he could get a rise out of her. “What about, pua?”
She made a face, rolling her eyes, he guessed for emphasis. “No, not a flower either.”
“No one’s princess, no one’s flower, but beautiful.” Kai exhaled, pretending to give the matter a lot of thought. He knew what he wanted to call her, what had come to his mind over and over again during the past several months anytime he thought of her, but referring to Gia as any of those things—things that he’d only say to her when he knew she wanted to hear them—would unravel what he hoped he’d been slowly building with her. But he still had to make some small strides. “I’d call you ku'uipo, but I think you’d hate that too.”
“I…don’t think I’ve heard that one.”
“Wow, something the great GM doesn’t know.” Kai leaned closer, holding his weight on his elbows and those small wisps of Gia’s hair tickled the side of his face. “It means ‘sweetheart.’ That’s not really something I’ve ever said much to anyone. Just a personal preference.”
Gia glanced away from him, seeming as though she was disinterested in the direction of the conversation, bringing her attention back to the dancers, but she still moved her face toward him. “So, if you ever say it to me…”
“Then you know I mean it, Gia.”
Kai would have given anything to read her thoughts when she looked at him then. There was something behind the shifting gleam in her eyes, in how her gaze wandered over his face, moving across his cheeks, landing on his mouth, staying there like she forgot all the times she’d promised him there could never be anything between them.
“Hey, Miss Lady!” a small, cracking voice said, and Gia jerked her attention away from Kai, and to the kid standing beside them.
“Donovan,” she said, already reaching inside that small tan bag of hers for some cash. “How you doing today?”
“Working, you know how that goes.” He gave Kai a once over, his mouth turning down like he wasn’t impressed with what he saw before he returned his attention to Gia. “Who’s this guy?”
“My…friend. One…of my…he’s just a friend,” she finally told him, folding a bill between her fingers. She held it there, looking the kid over. “I’m not giving you a dime until I see you drink some water.”
The kid lowered his shoulders, pulling a full bottle from one of the pockets of his cargo shorts. “Knew you’d say that. I was ready for you.” He downed the water, releasing a loud “ah” once he was done and bowed to Gia, exaggerating a wave like he’d just completed three flips in a row solely for her benefit.
“Good,” she said, stepping away from her spot on the concrete stairs. She handed over the money, curling her arms around her waist. “You keep hydrated and get something to eat with that. Good job today.”
“Thank you, Miss Lady.” Donovan spared one final look at Kai, twisting his mouth down again before he muttered, “bye” to the man and was gone.
“You’re too nice,” he told her, scanning the crowd as she looked after the boy. He knew Gia was smart. She’d have to be to land the job she had, and he knew growing up in New York, with all the brothers Reese had told Kai Gia had, probably made her savvy, but New Orleans was different. This city required a different level of street smarts.
“I have enough to be generous when I can.” She shook her head, turning away from the crowd, moving her bags from one shoulder to the other.
They came to a larger throng of people and Kai stepped in front of her, using his size to clear some of the crowd from their path, stopping short when an old man to his right spotted Gia and took off the pageboy hat he wore, holding it to his chest as he gave her a bow and waved her in front of him.
This motherfucker…Kai thought, quickly catching on to the old man’s game.
“Oh, how sweet,” Gia muttered, moving in front of the man, ignoring Kai when he shook his head. She glanced at him, laughing.
“What?”
“You think I don’t know what he was doing?” Kai blinked at her, arching his eyebrows and Gia’s laughter doubled. “You think I’m new or something? I’m…ah…old enough to know when a man, even an old man wants a good look at my ass.”
Kai glanced over his shoulder, glaring at the old pervert who stood in