Free Granted Wishes (The Granted Series Book 1) by Tanya Vought Page B

“And who might you be?”
    She blushes and tells him her name. “It’s nice to meet you, Gracelynn,” the young man says. “Please follow me.”
    The waiter takes them to a booth, gives them their menus and asks if they would like something to drink and if they know what they would like to eat. Mara and Kat decide on a soda except Gracelynn who asks for lemon water. They ask to wait a few minutes so they can decide on dinner. The young man leaves the table but not without winking at Gracelynn first.
    Gracelynn is too distracted to look at the menu. Children laugh from the kids section, couples sit there smiling at each other, and the whole place has Gracelynn depressed. All the things she’ll never get to experience has her gripping her necklace for comfort.
    * * *
    Leaving work wasn’t a hard choice. After getting off the phone Gio tells Mallory, his assistant, that he’s leaving for the day.
    He drives the few minutes to Sal’s place and since he’s early, decides to have a drink. Not typical for him, but he decides one won’t be that bad. As he picks up his drink, he notices movement in the corner of his eyes. Gracelynn, Mara and Kat walk past the bar following their waiter to their seats. Seeing Gracelynn again makes his insides twitch. He’s also noticed the waiter has his eyes on Gracelynn too. That makes his blood boil. He doesn’t like the young man checking her out.
    Clutching his hands together, he wills himself to calm down. He doesn’t need to be jealous. He doesn’t even know this woman and he’s already being possessive, which isn’t like him at all. After finishing his drink, he thanks the bartender and decides to use the restroom, which is right near the corner booth where the ladies are seated.
    As he walks toward the back of the restaurant, he notices Gracelynn staring right at him. He smiles when her cheeks flush. He can’t believe how beautiful she looks tonight. The ladies did a wonderful job, but that’s not all. Happiness shines in her eyes. Whether she’s happy to see him or just because of the girls, it doesn’t matter. It’s just good to see her looking so full of life.
    * * *
    “Hi, Gio,” Gracelynn speaks up as he is about to walk past their table. She still has butterflies swarming around in her stomach from when he looked at her. What is it about this man that gets her heart racing?
    Gio glances at the ladies and smiles. “Hello again, Gracelynn.” He then turns toward Mara and Kat. “Ladies, I had no idea you knew Gracelynn.”
    “We didn’t. I ran into her today at the café and then we got talking. We ended up at Mara’s salon and decided to get dinner,” Kat replies without taking her eyes off the menu.
    Mara puts her menu down. “Would you like to join us, Gio? We’ve just arrived and have yet to order, as you can see.” She points to their empty table.
    Gio’s face lights up. Gracelynn wonders what it would be like to make him smile like that every day.
    “If that’s okay with everyone else, I’d love to have dinner with you all. Let me use the men’s room first though. I’ll be right back.”
    * * *
    Just as Gio is about to return to their table, his phone rings. He stops, noticing it’s Mallory calling and answers. “Hi, Mallory. Yes. I forgot. I was in such a hurry to leave that it totally slipped my mind. Sure, you can bring it to Sal’s. I’ll see you then.” He puts his phone back in his pocket, returns to the table and notices Gracelynn looking somber.
    “Everything okay, doll? These two didn’t do anything to upset you, did they?” He can smell her wonderful, intoxicating scent and his body reacts. Thank goodness the table hides just how much. He hopes she won’t look down at him because if so, he won’t be able to hide his excitement. He looks at her, filled with embarrassment, but she smiles at him.
    ”I’m fine.” She leans back, relaxing in her seat.
    “By the way, you look ravishing tonight. I love the new do.” Gio brushes