Chapter Twenty-Three #2
She closed up the restaurant, sending her mother upstairs to bed, and then called Flynn.
Her call went to voice mail. She glanced at the time on her phone.
It was just going on ten. She debated driving over to see him.
He’d probably be happy she did. He’d been concerned about her last night.
Besides that, it had been obvious his girls were still holding a grudge.
They’d barely said two words to her. She didn’t want to know what they thought about the arrival of her estranged husband.
They probably hoped Gia and Aaron got back together.
She wondered if the thought had crossed Flynn’s mind.
If nothing else, she needed to see him to put his mind at ease where her feelings for Aaron were concerned.
She didn’t bother changing out of her skirt and blouse and put several slices of lemon ricotta cake into a box for Flynn and his dad.
She could eat a piece too. She’d only had time to wolf down some salad on the fly.
She set the alarm, locked the restaurant door, and then headed for her car.
She’d ask Flynn if he wanted to have dessert outside.
It was a beautiful night, warm with a light breeze.
She rolled down her windows and turned up Lizzo’s “Pink” from the Barbie movie.
She still hadn’t seen it and thought it would be a great pick for a family movie night.
The girls in the family, at least. She was startled to realize that, up until the last couple of years, other than Bruno, there had only been girls in the family.
Me and the girls against the world had been a common refrain when they were growing up.
This was better, she thought, thinking about Willow and Noah, Sage and Jake.
Sage could deny it all she wanted, but she and Jake were in love.
Gia hadn’t missed the little looks the couple exchanged, shoulder brushes when they walked past each other, finger touches, and secret smiles.
If anyone had been watching her with Flynn last night, she suspected they would have seen the same.
With his girls there and her sister, Gia had been careful not to rub their noses in their relationship.
She was glad she’d decided to go see him instead of talking to him on the phone.
It was ridiculous, but she missed him, and they’d only been apart for twenty-four hours.
She pulled in beside Flynn’s beast of an SUV and noticed Cami’s car parked in front of it.
She frowned, wondering what her sister was doing here.
She’d moved in with Willow and Noah after she’d learned Gia and Flynn were together and before they’d found out Aaron was their stalker.
Gia paused with a hand on the car door handle, wondering exactly how long he’d been stalking them and why.
It’s something she planned to bring up with Sage and Jake.
After Jake’s reaction to Aaron last night, she wouldn’t put it past him to investigate the man.
She’d feel better if he did. She doubted Sage would feel the same, though.
Gia got out of the car and walked up to the side door.
She was about to knock when she heard her sister’s voice.
It sounded like Cami was upset. Gia left the boxed cake on the stairs and walked along the side of the house, past Amos’s garden.
She smiled at the lone daylily. She had fond memories of the night in Liz’s garden, she thought as she rounded the house.
Only to freeze at the sight of her sister and Flynn kissing on the dock.
The couple were illuminated in the moonlight.
They looked beautiful together, just like she’d known they would.
A sob worked its way up her throat, and she pressed her palm to her mouth, spinning on her heel.
She didn’t know why but she stopped and raised her phone, taking a picture of the couple on the dock.
Maybe as a reminder in case she ever had second thoughts.
She ran to her car, slid behind the wheel, and closed the door quietly behind her.
She wouldn’t let them know what she had witnessed.
They wouldn’t know they’d made a fool of her.
They wouldn’t know the sight of them together had broken her heart. No one would.
She pulled out of the driveway and headed home. She parked in her spot at La Dolce Vita, wiping her eyes as she got out of her car and closed the door. Then she breathed in the sea air, letting the rhythmic sound of the waves wash over her.
“Aaron, it’s me.” She repeated the sentence until she was positive that he wouldn’t pick up on the emotion in her voice and then punched his number into her phone. He picked up on the first ring.
“Let your lawyer know I’m all in. They can file a petition for an emergency injunction on my behalf too.”
Gia hung up from Aaron and got back into her car. She had no idea where she was going. She just knew she couldn’t be here when her mother and Eva found out what she had done.