The Pierces assembled in the dining room, absorbing Gia and her family into their ranks. The dining table held all of them, including the late arrival of willowy Joey, who seemed to be the focus of the youngest Pierce’s attention.

Gia devoured her helping of lasagna, admiring her father’s vegetarian spin on one of her favorite family recipes. She had few childhood memories that weren’t steeped in fresh basil and simmering tomato sauce.

While she and her sisters were growing up, Franklin Merrill was running two families: his daughters and his restaurants. Gia and her sisters had spent their formative years in restaurant kitchens. Gia had been waitressing herself through a bachelor’s degree in plant sciences when she met Paul Decker, the sexy, charming, free-spirited musician.

It had been her twenty-first birthday. Paul was playing in the band at the bar where she and her girlfriends were ordering girlie drinks. She noticed him noticing her and when the band took five, he took her number.

Six years, one unplanned pregnancy, and an unfinished college degree later, Gia was older and wiser. Or at least wise enough to know that the handsome mayor seated across from her was off limits.

She had fallen for looks and lust before. She wouldn’t do it again. She just wished Beckett would stop looking at her so she could stop her face from flushing.

Franklin paused his noodle cutting for Aurora to lean over and whisper something in Phoebe’s ear. Phoebe giggled and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. Franklin grinned back at her and brushed a kiss across her cheek as he reached past her for the salad.

Gia smiled.

It was good to see her father happy again. As far as she was concerned, he deserved all the happiness in the world. Raising three girls on his own had to have been a long, lonely period in his life. Seeing him smitten with Phoebe, a sharp, smart woman who raised three good men? Well, that was enough to send her heart soaring.

She was just starting to wonder if she could sneak a picture of the happy couple to text to her sisters when she spotted Beckett’s frown. A frown directed at Franklin and Phoebe.

Disapproval pumped off of him in waves so strong that Gia was surprised that no one else seemed to notice.

“So, Gia,” Summer said from the other end of the table. “How’s the studio going so far?”

Beckett’s attention redirected to her.

“It’s going well,” Gia cleared her throat. “The student retention from Maris’s classes to mine has been great and I picked up a few new ones.”

“I heard Fitz takes class there,” Carter said, reaching for the salad.

An image of the skinny Bill Fitzsimmons in his yoga briefs popped into Gia’s head and she bobbled her water glass. “Fitz is a regular,” she said diplomatically.

“A regular naked weirdo,” Beckett offered.

Gia laughed. “Beckett knows first-hand. He took a class last week.”

“You took a yoga class?” Joey asked in disbelief, her brown eyes dancing.

“What’s so unbelievable about that?” Beckett asked indignantly.

“Wait, wait, wait. Let me get a mental picture of Beckett om-ing,” Jax snickered.

“I’d like to see you take that class,” Beckett said mildly. “You, too,” he said to Carter who was chuckling.

“I wouldn’t want to humiliate you in front of your constituents,” Carter teased.

“I think you’re both scared,” Beckett announced.

“Pfft, it’s yoga. You lay on the floor and stretch. No offense, Gia,” Jax said, shooting an apologetic glance her way.

“None taken,” she said sweetly. “Yoga’s definitely not for everyone. There are a lot of people who can’t handle it.”

Beckett kicked back, clearly enjoying not being the intended target of her manipulation this time. “Yeah, Jax, you and Carter don’t have the upper body strength that Fitz does. You’d just embarrass yourselves.”

“It can be pretty difficult,” Gia agreed in feigned earnestness. “I’d really hate to see one of you get hurt.”

Carter and Jax exchanged a look.

“You know, you guys have been trying to figure out how to decide who gets to brew the first beer in the brewery,” Summer began.

Joey caught on quickly. “Yeah. Why don’t you have a yoga-off and Gia here will decide the winner?”

“A yoga-off?” Carter sounded skeptical.

“Sure!” Joey said, grinning now. “Winner brews first.”

“When’s a good night for them to come in?” Summer asked.

Gia pretended to ponder. “How about Tuesday at seven?” The seven o’clock class was hot power flow.

Beckett winked at her. “I’m in.”

“Me, too, Mama!” Aurora piped up. “I wanna yoga with Bucket.”

Beckett reached over and ruffled her red hair.

“What do we do about Bucket’s unfair advantage?” Jax asked.

“Yeah, Bucket already took the class,” Carter argued.

“Gia can come up with a new routine for the class,” Franklin offered. “That way no one has an advantage.”

“That sounds fair to me,” Summer chimed in.

“How do we decide the winner?” Carter questioned.

“Gia can judge,” Joey decided. “She’s the unbiased expert.”

“I guess it’s settled then,” Gia said, pretending not to feel the weight of three Pierce brothers’ gazes on her.

* * *

After dinner Phoebe and Franklin volunteered to take the kids for a walk over to see the horses, and the Pierce brothers disappeared together to check out the construction progress on the second floor of the little barn.

The exodus left Gia, Joey, and Summer to handle the clean up.

“I still say they did it on purpose,” Joey grumbled, towel drying the pot that Gia handed her.

“All three of them have to go check out my new office as soon as the dish soap comes out? Suspicious.” Summer agreed, tucking the salad bowl away in a cabinet.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing your office,” Gia said, dunking one of the lasagna dishes in the sink.

Summer wrinkled her nose at the remaining dirty dishes cluttering the counter. “We did fifty percent of the dishes. I think we can leave the rest for the boys,” she decided. “We’ll just go over there and kick them out.”

“Let’s refill and head over,” Joey said, pulling the stopper out of the wine bottle.

Gia and Joey topped off their glasses while Summer debated on a second glass of wine or another chocolate chip cookie. The cookie won.

“These are sinful,” she told Joey as they trooped out the door. “Do not leave them in my house. I swear I’m the only person in the world who goes vegetarian and gains weight.”

“I’m not taking them home with me,” Joey argued. “You live with two grown men who still eat like they’re fifteen. I live alone.”

“Fine. But I’m only allowed to have one more ... tonight,” Summer clarified.

They found the men checking out the fresh drywall on the second floor of the bright red barn next to the house.

“Gentlemen, we left fifty percent of the dishes for you to do. We didn’t want you to miss out on your fair share of the cleanup,” Summer said sweetly.

Jax looked like he wanted to argue, but Carter walked over to Summer and wrapped his arms around her waist. He lifted her off the ground and spun her in a little circle.

Gia felt her heart give a little thump when she saw the happiness in Summer’s eyes.

What would it feel like to be loved like that? she wondered.

“Gentlemen, we’re being kicked out and sent back to the kitchen,” Carter announced, putting Summer back on her feet.

Grumbling, Beckett and Jax allowed themselves to be herded toward the door. Again, Gia felt the weight of Beckett’s gaze on her, but he passed her without a word.

“Has anyone told you that you look like an angel?” Jax asked Gia with a sexy grin.

Gia blinked.

“She’s not falling for that crap, Jackson,” Joey warned him sharply.

“Guess I’ll have to win the old-fashioned way,” Jax said, stepping in on Joey. “With my physical prowess.”

He smoldered and Gia was surprised that instead of singeing, Joey fixed him with an icy glare. A woman immune to the Pierce brother charm? Was that physically possible, she wondered.

“Good luck with that. You’re looking a little rusty,” Joey told Jax coolly.

“Maybe you could help warm me up?” Jax ventured another half step closer before Joey slapped a hand to his chest.

“You’re not getting out of the dishes. Go!”

Jax ambled out of the room, but not before sending Joey a look that telegraphed exactly what he was thinking.

“That’s better,” Summer said once the men left. She twirled around the empty space. “I’m so excited about everything! It feels like all my dreams are coming true.”

Gia couldn’t help but smile at Summer’s enthusiasm.

She gave them the quick tour pointing out the highlights of where her desk would be and the conference area as well as a small kitchen.

“Jax is Mr. Tech Geek and he’s hooking me up with video conferencing stuff so I’ll be able to video chat with contributors and advertisers and interviewees all over the country.” She hugged herself. “What do you guys think?”

Joey paced the length of the huge room. “I think it’s awesome. How far along are you with the launch?”

“I’m launching my own digital magazine,” Summer explained to Gia.

“I follow your blog,” Gia admitted with a grin. “It took me a minute to realize you were that Summer Lentz. This is really exciting to see everything happening from this side.”

“I’m over the moon,” Summer said with a laugh. “I’m planning to launch in January. You know, the whole new year, new you thing. I’ve got advertisers lined up, and a couple of the features already in the works. I’m trying to focus on topics like wellness, food for your body and your soul, travel, community, and gardening.”

“I think it’s wonderful. It’s just what the world needs, a magazine that helps you build a better life,” Gia nodded.

Summer grinned at her. “Exactly. I’m amazed at how it’s all coming together. Just a few months ago I was determined to slave away in my cubicle for another two or three years before making the leap. And now here I am.”

“Things sure have moved fast,” Joey commented.

“You’re not kidding,” Summer agreed. “That’s why I’m trying to slow things down and take my time. I fell for Carter so hard and so fast I sometimes worry that our foundation of hot sex and overwhelming events might be a little shaky. I want us to proceed down the right path at the right pace. We’re in it for the long haul. We’ve got time to do things right.”

Gia hid her grimace. It was the exact opposite approach she had taken and her foundation had indeed proved to be too shaky.

“That’s a wise life philosophy,” she told Summer.

“Or she’s just feeding her control freak tendencies,” Joey said, smiling into her wine glass.

“I could say something about the pot and the kettle,” Summer said, lifting her chin.

“You’re calling me a control freak?” Joey’s eyebrows rose.

“Everyone knows that you and Jax are meant to be together, but you’re determined to keep pushing him away until he meets your exacting standards.” Summer crossed her arms.

“My ‘exacting standards’ require an apology for leaving town without a word to me eight years ago,” Joey shot back.

“He never apologized?” Summer gasped.

Joey shook her head and took another sip of wine. “Nope.”

“Team Joey,” Gia announced.

Summer nodded. “Totally Team Joey.”

“Can we please talk about something else?” Joey grumbled.

“How about what’s up with Beckett and my father?” Gia offered.

Joey and Summer exchanged a long look.

“What’s that mean? Gia demanded. “I’m new here. I don’t know what long, meaningful looks mean.”

“It means that we’re not sure what’s going on there,” Summer explained. “Beckett seems to have a problem with Phoebe and Franklin dating —”

“And moving in together,” Joey added.

“And moving in together,” Summer agreed. “But he’s not talking about it to anyone. Carter and I ganged up on him about it this afternoon, but he wouldn’t crack. He also refused to stay for dinner … until he realized you were here.” She grinned innocently.

Gia couldn’t hide the blush that tinged her cheeks. Nor could she dull the quick rush of pleasure she felt.

“Any comment on that?” Joey prompted.

“None at this time,” Gia decided.

“Interesting,” Summer mused out loud.

“So back to Beckett’s potential issues with my father,” Gia said, trying to redirect the conversation.

“I’ll say this,” Joey said. “It’s out of character for Beckett to have an issue like this. He generally likes everyone and Franklin fell into that category before Beckett knew he was dating his mother.”

“I can’t imagine my father would have done something to upset him,” Gia said, tapping her fingers on her wineglass.

“Who knows what goes on in the minds of men,” Joey grumbled.