CHAPTER 7

Having fun cooking in my nice pretty new kitchen and decorating the place! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday!

Betty was taken completely off guard by Gio's kiss. She was genuinely surprised by his declaration of independence and telling her he was going off to Italy.. She never expected that! He pulled her closer, obviously caught up in the kiss, because he grabbed her face and sighed, "Come with me, Betty!"

Her disbelief multiplied exponentially at that, "To Italy? Gio, are you insane? I'm not coming to Italy with you so you can...find cheese!"

He laughed, "No, silly. There ARE lots of other things to do there, you know. Like...Rome! We could explore…" they both looked up at the same time, suddenly seeing Daniel approaching them. Gio looked somewhat guilty, as did Betty. "DANIEL!"

Daniel smiled, trying to keep his cool and ignore the kiss, but he was not even going to pretend he hadn't just heard Gio suggest that Betty run away to Italy with him, "You should go, Betty! If money's an issue, I'll pay. It's a perfect time to go right now.

Fashion Week is over and Wilhelmina is out of the picture...at least for the moment. You really should take a few weeks off, after all you've been through and…"

He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly taking in her appearance, "whoa! BETTY? Is that really you? What the…?" he turned to Gio, who backed away, suddenly unsure of himself, seeing Betty and Daniel's reaction to each other.

He didn't know what came over him, asking her to come with him like that! His motives had been pure enough. He had been thinking of going to Italy for a long time and had decided he was going...by himself, just as he told Betty, to find his calling, to explore Europe and see what was "out there" for him, although quite frankly, he was doing it to put some distance between himself and Betty. And now he had invited her?

She was like a siren to him, every bit as much as Henry had been to her. But touching her, holding her like this, and kissing her, even if only to say goodbye had tested his resolve, and made him forget all about his decision to back off and encourage Betty to tell Daniel she had feelings for him.

Daniel stared at her in complete shock. He had seen Betty's form when his car pulled up at night, from a distance and wondered at her tight fitting jeans and sweater that looked more like something her sister would be wearing than her, but shrugged it off. But seeing her and Gio kissing, he tried to be the bigger man, to pretend like he wanted to encourage her choosing Gio. He did, right?

That was supposed to be the plan, anyway. Until his flirtations got him thinking otherwise. Besides, GIo was much better than the alternative; her wasting her time on stupid Egg Salad.

This way, at least she wasn't going to get her heart stomped on because Daniel knew how much Gio adored Betty. He would take good care of her. So...this was a good thing! Then why did he feel liked he just got succer punched in the gut? What if she liked being with Gio in Italy, though? What if she never came back to him? She always wanted to travel to Europe. And Italy was very romantic.

Betty didn't seem to be as enthralled with her kissing partner as he was with her, though and in spite of himself, that made Daniel's heart do a little flip. Still, he noticed that she hadn't exactly slapped Gio or pushed him away, either.

She simply stood there, apparently in shock at seeing him there, catching her in the act with Gio. And looking like some kind of Renaissance goddess herself. She was beautiful! No, that wasn't enough, he realized…. she was breathtaking!

Gone were her frizzy hair and glasses, and the mismatched clothes, with socks adorning her usual clunky heels. Her hair was now smooth, making it appear longer than usual, and framed her lovely face.

She had the aforementioned well-fitting jeans, and a slightly low cut sweater that showed off her considerable assets on top and bottom quite nicely, he noted. The heels she wore dressed up the jeans and made her (yes, Betty!) look put together and casually elegant. She was a knockout!

But the piece de resistance was her smile! It put good old Mona Lisa's to shame, it was so dazzling in its brightness. Her teeth were gorgeous, and so was she. He had never seen a girl look more lovely, more sexy in a real woman kind of way.

No, she wasn't stick thin like so many of the models he had known. Betty had curves, the amazing, sensuous curves of a real woman. Curves of a woman that literally took his breath away. His little Betty was all grown up now and she was unbelievably hot!

Daniel drew in a deep, breath, his mouth going dry as he continued to gawk at her, finding himself unable to look away, "I...you...um….you look..you look ...incredible, Betty!"

She felt her heart start to do some kind of acrobatics at his reactions to her transformation. He was clearly stunned by her appearance, but he persisted, and deferred to the situation admirably, nodding to Gio, "I...um… stand by my offer.

If you and Betty would consider being my guests at the hotel of your choice in Rome, Milan, and Florence, just say the word. And...good luck to you both! I'm happy for you two kids.

Betty, I'm glad to see you were able to break away from Egg… um ...Henry. I'll understand if you don't make it into work tomorrow after all, seeing as you're going to be getting ready to travel now. You deserve this!

Oh and...don't worry, I'll...make up that breakfast to you some other time. Bye...or ciao!" He forced a smile, and turned to leave, telling himself to keep it together until he got back into his car.

Do NOT let her see you cry, you jerk! She's better off with him. He's a good man. You...have far too much baggage! If you really love Betty, you won't be selfish for once in your life.

Do what's best for her and just let this play out...SHIT! He could tell his cheek was wet. Hopefully, neither of them saw it before he had his back to them, walking quickly.

Not quickly enough, though, before Betty was there, putting her hand on his arm, before he beat his hasty retreat, "Daniel, wait. Are you...sure about this? That kiss you just witnessed started out being a goodbye kiss to ME.

I don't know where the idea of me going WITH Gio popped into his head! That's not what he said earlier. I...um...I never said I would, though. I was totally shocked by him even saying he was leaving in the first place, to go to Italy by himself and leave us to…"

Daniel wasn't really listening at this point; he shook his head, wanting, no NEEDING to get away, away from her, away from his damn feelings for her. She made him into a blubbering idiot anymore it seemed and he didn't want to have her or Gio see him be the big cry baby that he felt like inside.

He felt just as stupid and out of control as when she had teased him, sitting on his lap like that, and whispering to him, then laughing at the very notion that she might have feelings for him, before she ran away, kissing and giggling with Egg Salad.

Now, it felt like she was doing the same thing. Just when he started to get his hopes up, after their flirting on the phone, she goes and has some big makeover, to completely throw him off guard. Then, when he hears from Justin that she had gone to face Henry and Charley, Daniel finds that she brought Gio here, here to THEIR place!

Did she not remember what this bridge meant to them? Why would she bring the guy here to...to...kiss him? It was cruel! It wasn't like the sweet Betty he knew. Maybe prettier Betty wasn't as nice.

All he knew was, he felt dizzy and sick. His head was spinning. He had to get out of there, before he lost it and ended up yelling at her, saying something really stupid that he would regret and punched Gio.

Gio for his part watched the two, eyeing each other. He wasn't sure how to react. He had every intention coming here of being all noble and riding away into the sunset, to let these two figure out what they had and how special it was.

But kissing Betty had brought out the devil in him. He couldn't just walk away now. Not if she was willing to go with him, that is. Yes, he knew theirs wasn't the stuff of long lasting love, perhaps, but he would take whatever he could get from Betty.

And if good old Danny boy wanted to foot the bill to ease his conscious for the feelings he had for Betty, he was rich enough, let him! Besides, Gio had the money saved for his trip but not enough for two and he wasn't positive this was a tax right off and he hadn't particularly wanted to consult with the one accountant he knew to check. Not that he was cheap. You had to really have a lot of money in the first place to be considered cheap, right?

But still, Daniel WAS his friend...sort of. Could he really stab the guy in the back like that? Knowing full well that Daniel was in love with Betty, too. Gio had loved her first, it was true, or at least had the balls to own up to it, when Daniel didn't, but did that really matter or count if the lady herself seemed so unsure of who she wanted?

"Betty...I think you're going to have to decide. Do you want to come with me to Italy or stay here with Daniel? It's up to you."

Betty looked at Daniel, who seemed panic-stricken at this sudden ultimatum Gio was throwing out to Betty to choose between the two men.

He hadn't even admitted to having feelings for her yet! At least, not to her face. But for whatever reason, Gio seemed hell-bent on giving Betty a dilemma.

Daniel came to her defense, seeing the confusion and fear on her face as well. He reached out to take her cold hands in his and rubbed them to warm them, smiling at her, "She's already had to deal with a lot of major drama tonight, Gio. Why don't we let the lady sleep on it?"

Gio wasn't about to be outmanoeuvred by Mr. Park Avenue. He quickly agreed, "Of course! Betty...listen, no rush! I haven't even made the reservations yet.

And...thank you, Daniel. That's extremely generous of you to offer, but that's okay. I may not have your….resources, but I've been saving for a long time and I've got this….IF Betty decides she wants a little break from reality, that is. No pressure, though."

He came and stood beside her, trying not to stare at Daniel's hands on hers, "Like Daniel said, you've been through a lot recently. First, the fire, and now...having to step aside from Eg...um...Henry. I know that couldn't have been easy for you. But I'm...we're both very proud of you for having the guts to do it."

Gio wasn't sure what to do right now. He was a competitive guy. And he did love Betty. What, his feelings didn't matter? Besides, what if Betty did think she cared about Daniel, but he ended up breaking her heart? How was Daniel breaking her heart any better than Egg Salad doing it? The guy was a total dog. He had been a player most of his adult life.

Daniel didn't have a clue what the right thing was for him to do. He didn't want Betty thinking she wasn't worth fighting for, or that he just gave her to Gio because he didn't care about her. Maybe he needed to let her know the truth; that he hadn't stopped thinking about her since she left his hotel room.

That her kiss had reached him somewhere deep down in his soul and awakened the love he knew he had felt for her for a very long time. Maybe for some reason she needed to hear him say the words, those three little words that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt were true.

He let out a shaky breath, wishing he could just be alone with her, so he could say it to her without an audience. He wondered if Gio had already beat him to the punch? Would she think he was only saying them now because of her changed appearance?

He felt sure that was more for her own confidence in facing Henry and Charley. He didn't care if she had braces or glasses or what she wore. In fact, the less she wore, the better!

He decided the best thing for Betty right now was to take both himself and Gio out of the equation. He knew she was having a difficult time, not wanting to hurt either of them. And she really HAD been through it, with Renee and now having to give up Henry to his ex.

He stepped aside and gestured to his car, "I'll catch a cab, Betty. You look frozen. I'll talk to you...whenever is good for you. Take care of yourself. Does that sound good to you, Gio?" He turned to his friend/rival/friend/now rival again, narrowing his eyes.

Gio merely nodded, "Mmhmm...yeah, sure. Good idea. You do look cold, honey. Get some rest. WE'LL talk soon. Goodnight, B!" Gio leaned forward, crossing in front of Daniel to kiss her on the cheek, willing to risk Daniel's wrath (he was half expecting the man to lay him out). But he just stood, as both of them watched her ride away, into the night.

After a moment of silence, Daniel glared at Gio, "ITALY? Really? Jesus, Gio! What the hell was that, huh?"

"What? Oh, like I'm just supposed to step aside and LET you have her? Admit it, you expected me to give up without a fight, didn't you? Well, I was actually going to, to tell you the truth."

Daniel raised his eyebrows in disbelief, "Oh really? Since when? I thought you weren't the kind of guy to ever give up?"

"I'm not, usually. But...hey, I figured if you and Betty were honestly meant to be, who was I to stand in the way? I told her at first that I was going to Italy by myself. I just kissed her goodbye. And I had every intention of letting you win."

"Letting me win? Right! So? What made you change your mind, Mr. Magnanimous?"

He took a deep breath, "When I kissed her. I...smelled her, you know that smell she has in her hair...like vanilla ice cream or something?"

Daniel clearly understood Gio, but he shook his head, "Yeah, I know what you mean, but it's not vanilla, it's cookies!"

"Potatoe, pahtah-toe! Anyway, I breathed her in and when I kissed her, it was like everything we've done together, all the cute little things she's said to me, all the times she tripped or spilled something or ran into walls or whatever just ran through my head and I just blurted out for her to come with me. I didn't realize how much I care about her."

Daniel nodded, completely understanding, "I know what you mean, but…"

"You do feel the same way about her, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do."

"You couldn't have admitted that like...I don't know, before I MET her? Staked your claim to begin with so stupid Egg Salad would have never even had a chance to hurt her to begin with? A little slow on the uptake, aren't we, Mister Playboy? What, you just needed to sow a few more wild oats with crazy girl before you figured out that you're really in love with Betty?"

"I don't know, Gio! Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't fall in love with her to spite you. I like you. I don't want you to get hurt. We're bros, right? I mean...you know, the whole enemy of my enemy thing with Egg Salad. I had every intention of stepping aside for you, too. But then...well…"

Gio looked worried, "Don't tell me you went and kissed her again! Did you see her in the past few days? Because she hasn't been returning my calls. Don't tell me, you told her you were out of condoms and she needed to make a midnight run?"

Daniel shoved Gio lightly, just goofing around, "Don't be an idiot! Of course not! I just talked to her on the phone Thursday, that's all."

"Okay. You "talked" how? Like...sexting or phone sex? What are we NOT saying?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "NO! I didn't do that! I mean...we just...flirted a little is all. Look, I don't owe you a play by play. You're the one who I catch kissing her and inviting her to go halfway across the world with you!"

"Yeah, thanks by the way, for making me look like a broke ass homeless guy, by offering to pay my way. Wouldn't that be nice? Going to some fru fru hotel there and having them calling us Mr. and Mrs. Meade the whole time! Thanks but no thanks! I pay my own way."

"I wasn't trying to make you look...anything. I was just trying to be nice, that's all. I swear. I figured you had saved for just you to go and having Betty join you would stretch your budget a bit with your five year business plan."

Gio smiled at Daniel reluctantly, patting him on the back, "Oh. That actually WAS nice, thanks!"

"So...what are we going to do?"

Gio smiled shaking his head, "I have no idea. I think...it's up to Betty."

Daniel grinned mischievously, "I could offer to take her to London with me for THEIR Fashion Week. Or Paris. Give you a little competition."

"And here I was about to say some sappy shit like this is the start of a beautiful friendship! You're toast, Meade! You think I won't bring my A game to win Betty?"

After they had walked awhile, he turned to Daniel, "Can you dance?"

"With you? No thanks! I like girls."

"Whatever, moron! I meant with Betty, you dillhole!"

Daniel shook his head, "Not really. Betty tried to teach me to Salsa over the phone once, but...I sucked. What, are you taking her dancing? In Rome?"

Gio smiled, "I've already danced with her in Queens. She's pretty good. We make beautiful music together and move quite nicely on the dance floor, if I do say so myself."

"That's not fair!"

"Fair? Look who's talking, Mr. Moneybags! There's a lot of stuff you can afford that I can't!"

Daniel shrugged, sighing, as they tried to hail a cab unsuccessfully while they walked past Grimaldi's. Gio looked at the line that was usually quite long, filled with tourists, but had dwindled significantly because of the cold, and gestured,"You hungry? I'm buying."

Daniel nodded, looking up, "Sure, I could eat. As long as you don't sing."

"You should be so lucky! Not if I'm buying. She and I sang together once."

Daniel smiled, "Yeah, she and I did, too. It was fun."

Gio made a face, "You have HEARD Betty sing, right? And you liked it? Were you drunk?"