Trifecta

Dreary grey clouds hang over the dreary city. People move to and fro down in the streets, heading for work or heading home. Umbrellas and scarves, flashes of colour amongst the lead that spreads overhead. The pedestrians hurry through the cold, and none of them notice the woman watching them.

Gianna stands at the window and stares out at the world below. Shivering in the chill seeping through, she pulls her jumper more tightly around her. Her lips tug down into a frown at the sight of snow-free roads.

Christmas is only two weeks away, and all she wants is to be able to build snowmen with her nieces and nephews. At this rate, they will have to settle for mud-men instead. Still, Gianna looks forward to the holiday despite the lack of snow.

Her mum always cooks the best Christmas roast, and Gianna makes herself sick with eating so much. She doesn’t mind the woollen socks Nana knits her every year or even the renewed subscription to a magazine she couldn’t care less about. Socks are amazing things; Gianna’s feet are always cold, even in the summer. And at least Uncle Horace tries.

Christmas is the best holiday, and Gianna will argue with anyone who says otherwise.

She turns her gaze toward the sky through the window, scowling when it doesn’t suddenly let loose fat snowflakes. If Mother Nature continues giving only grey skies and no snow, it won’t really be a white Christmas. Someone laughs from behind her, and warm arms wrap around her waist. Niall rests his chin on her shoulder.

“Love, you’ve been doing this all morning,” he murmurs, kissing her cheek. “It isn’t going to start snowing just because you’re too stubborn to move away from the window.”

“You take that back, Mister Horan.”

“No. You need to hear the truth. Sleepy? You don’t control the weather.”

Gianna laughs and pushes back against him. “I know. I just. . . I really want snow. Christmas is so close, and Perry and I want to build a gigantic snowman together.”

“I’d give you all the snow in the world if I could,” he says, blue eyes twinkling, then leans down to kiss her.

This is perfect, almost enough to make up for the miserable weather without snow. Niall has always known just how to move his lips against hers, dominating but also giving just as easily. She runs her hands across his broad shoulders until her fingers curl around the back of his neck.

By the time they part, Gianna has nearly forgotten why she even got out of bed this morning. Her boyfriend grins as if he knows how she’s affected, and she calls him her favourite Irish ass before moving off to grab her bag, coat, and scarf. Another kiss at the door—this one far more chaste—then she’s gone.

Some would call Gianna a ‘bleeding heart’, but she doesn’t care. She continues buying coffees for the less fortunate, meals for those who ask, and handing over any extra money she doesn’t need. It isn’t a lot, but she’s only a library page. She makes just enough to get by.

Lori Caruso is already hard at work behind the counter when Gianna finally steps through the doors of Cuppa twenty minutes later. She joins the line of people in desperate need of that morning jolt of caffeine to get their brains going. By the time Gianna reaches the till, she has less than twenty minutes to get to work.

“Usual?”

“Yep.”

Lori rings in the order, swipes the card. “Lunch?”

“Sure.”

“Go away. Next, please.”

It’s a song and dance the two best friends have had for years.

Gianna has fifteen minutes when she walks out onto the bustling street. Frozen air nips at her nose and cheeks as she lets herself blend in with the foot traffic, shuffling footsteps carrying people to and fro. Her mind travels as surely as she does—one direction: Forward.

She plans the conversation for lunch and the argument with Niall over what show to watch. She categorises her agenda during work. It’s a mindless routine, this walk and thinking, and autopilot takes over. Gianna finds herself walking through the doors of the library right at eight.

Miss Stanton raises a thin brow, and Gianna ducks her head under the intense scrutiny. “You wouldn’t be rushing, Miss Norris, if perhaps you hadn’t stopped for coffee.”

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“Not going to say it won’t happen again?”

“We both know that’s a lie,” replies Gianna, unable to stop her grin.

Miss Stanton’s lips twitch, but she turns away before her smile can break loose.

Gianna throws her bag onto a table in the break-room—barely larger than a supply closet, not meant for more than one person at a time—and hangs her coat on the rack. Once finished, she tucks her mobile into the back pocket of her slacks and heads toward the cart already overflowing with book returns.

She may have a boyfriend at home. One she’s incredibly, undeniably happy with. Niall makes her laugh. He makes her feel loved. She has no complaints about his skills in bed, and she certainly loves him more than she loves herself. She always thought that impossible, yet it’s the truth.

But there is no possible way of denying the man sat at the table is gorgeous. Thick dark hair curls slightly to his shoulders. His vibrant green eyes skim over the page he’s reading, long fingers wrapped around a pen as he scribbles in a notepad beside him. The white T-shirt he wears hugs his torso, and his denim trousers are hardly any better.

He is stunning in his simplicity.

Gianna turns away before he can catch her staring. Her subconscious reminds her she’s already got a boyfriend, self-judgement dripping through the words. Yeah, yeah, I can look still. As long as I don’t touch. She can’t stop herself from wondering, however, what those fingers would feel like on her skin.

Mister Gorgeous glances up when she makes another round to shelve the books. It’s fairly evident that she’s taking her time, darting looks toward him, and she squeaks when his eyes meet hers. Tugging an earphone from his ear, he frowns.

“My music isn’t too loud, is it?”

Of course he’d mistake her examining him for disapproval. A rush of heat races down Gianna’s spine at the rasp of his deep voice. The way his lips form the words, slow and smooth. “Er, no. It’s fine. Can’t hear a thing.”

“Good, I’d hate to break a library rule,” he murmurs with a quick wink, and if she didn’t have an amazing boyfriend at home, she would jump at the chance to take this man to bed. God, would she.

She forces a smile, assures him once more that his music is fine, then hurries away. Dickens still needs to be put back, but Dickens can wait.

Thankfully, the man is gone by the time she comes through again.

Blowing out a breath, Gianna chides herself for being so attracted. Niall is beautiful, too. With his crystal eyes and dark hair, his smile that lights up his whole face, he’s certainly in a league of his own. Or so Gianna thought. Mister Gorgeous has rocketed into that league.

She makes a mental note to prove her fidelity to Niall tonight. Anything to get the mystery man out of her mind.

Lunch goes the same as it always does. Lori shares the gossip of the customers. Evidently, Tall-and-Tattooed has a new boyfriend in Tiny-and-Innocent. Gianna has everything to say, but she keeps it to herself. Lori would only latch onto the conversation and never let it go. She’s utterly rabid when it comes to situations just like this.

Thankfully, the rest of the day passes easily—and without another sighting of Mister Gorgeous. Gianna thanks her lucky stars as she waves goodbye to her coworkers; seeing him would only dredge up the thoughts she had earlier. Cheating on Niall is something she will never do. Having naughty thoughts about another man toes the line too closely.

She’s just queued up the next episode of Great British Bake-Off when the love of her life slumps through the door with takeaway. For four years, he has been her entire world. Meeting him at a football match had been Fate—two souls finding each other in a crowd of thousands. He’d made her laugh the entire time, and she’d fallen quickly for the way he groaned and cheered and even hugged her tightly when his favourite team won.

She was rooting for the opposing team, but he hadn’t cared.

As they walked out onto the street, he’d asked for her number. She gave it to him despite common sense telling her she was being reckless. The first date was perfect in its easygoing way—a night at the pub watching football and getting to know each other. She followed him willingly to his flat.

They moved in together only five months later, and she hasn’t regretted it.

He is her whole world. His parents love her, and her family would disown her if she ever broke up with Niall. She’d taken him home with her for Christmas, and that was that. He charmed everyone as surely as he had her.

Now he’s becoming a doctor, and she is still stuck as a library page.

“Again?” he grumbles as he glances at the screen.

“You leave Mel and Sue alone, mister.”

“We’ve watched these seasons dozens of times.”

Gianna grins and thanks him for the curry he hands her. “And we’ll watch them again and again until Netflix takes them off.”

She knows Niall doesn’t really mind. He’s like her in that way. They both gravitate toward shows they’ve seen before, relish the familiarity. There’s something calming about knowing what’s going to happen—being aware of the happy ending that’s coming. Gianna wishes real life could be like that. Waking up every day with knowledge of the future, whether one will end up miserable or content.

After dinner is finished and leftovers put away, she drags him toward the couch. He goes willingly enough, laughing the entire way, and lets her sprawl across the cushions with her head in his lap. This is her favourite place. His fingers run through her hair.

“When will you go a day without straightening it?”

Another familiarity. The same argument they’ve had since she even began ironing her hair to a silky smooth. She sighs and glances up at him. His deep blue eyes, meeting her gaze, sends a shiver down her spine. He always sees right through her. Gianna runs a finger along his jaw before moving up to his lips. He presses a kiss to her fingertip, and she giggles as she settles in again.

“When it’s considered ‘professional’ to go natural,” she finally replies. The exact same response she’s always given.

His eyes flutter closed when she turns her head toward him. She has to get Mister Gorgeous out of her mind, and what better way than ravishing her boyfriend’s body?

Niall doesn’t question it. He doesn’t complain. Why would he? It would be utterly stupid of him. Their relationship has always been about exploration and discovery—likes, dislikes, needs. Finding out what makes the other tick and exploiting it to give them the pleasure they seek.

It was four days into moving into this flat that Gianna stumbled onto his first ‘thing’: a collection of blindfolds hidden in the bottom of a box. She’d only been meaning to unpack the rest of their belongings. She hadn’t planned on finding the blindfolds. She’d surprised him that night by covering his eyes with a hand as she moved over him. He’d come in less than three more thrusts.

They’d talked late in the night and the next, spending hours figuring out where she liked to be touched, what sent her back arching and her crying out his name. She learnt what drove him wild with just her mouth. Their sex life has never left her dissatisfied.

Everything about their relationship has filled her with contentment, a peace in the stability. Even during their worst arguments—the ones in which she slept at Lori’s and he spent hours in the pubs—were manageable. They were nothing more than hurdles to get them to this point. Gianna knows she will marry this man someday.

And now, she’s on her knees between his thighs, staring up at blue eyes but unable to stop imagining them green. A slender body where Niall is built. Sharp shoulders where Niall is broad. As she swallows, Gianna hates herself for thinking of Mister Gorgeous.

She doesn’t tell Niall her thoughts, but she does wake him after midnight when she can’t sleep. He lets her force him to celebrate when snow finally begins falling over London.