Chapter 5
Five
GIA
The last person Gia ever wanted to see in this lifetime was sitting directly across from her.
She must have really pissed off the universe to end up in this miserable situation.
It was already bad enough she was bruised and sore, but seeing the source of so much of her heartache seated at the same table was like a slap to the face.
She wasn’t sure she had it in her to take so many emotional hits all at once.
And why the hell does he have to look so good?
Time had been unfairly kind to Jake. Aside from a few fine lines on his forehead and around his eyes, he looked almost exactly the same. Clearly, Botox wasn’t part of his routine—not that it ever needed to be. Jake had never been vain. Not like her.
Her fingers itched to tug at his artfully tousled blond curls, a style that looked effortless. She’d bet her last film salary he woke up and rolled out of bed looking like that.
The slight stubble of his five o’clock shadow accentuated the sharp angle of his jaw.
Time had honed the soft edges to perfection.
She once knew it like the back of her hand.
Her fingertips tingled with the memory of how it had felt when she’d traced every angle the last night they’d spent together.
And his lips—soft, familiar, dangerous—curved into a charming grin when he looked at Marley, flashing a row of perfect teeth.
Jake was dangerous.
He always had been. Jake was like a drug. Ecstasy wrapped in barbed wire. An addiction she never could get enough of. One she never fully got clean from. Every time she reached for him, she ended up hurt. Every time she touched him, she bled.
He was temptation and sin incarnate.
And she’d let him in once.
She’d never been the same since.
“This was a mistake.”
The memory came back sharp and cold, reminding her of what she left behind. What she ran from. Any lingering doubt about whether she should have left Willowbrook dissolved when she revisited the moment. Leaving had been necessary.
She was better off without this town. Without Jake.
Right?
It had been the story she’d told herself for over a decade. But lately, she wasn’t so sure.
“Auntie, how do you really know Uncle Jake?” The question came again.
Apparently, Jake’s answer did not satisfy Th?y Mai.
She didn’t blame the girl’s distrust—after all, Gia was practically a stranger here.
Not for the first time, her absence in her family’s life sent a rush of shame to her center and heated her cheeks.
A small hand tugged insistently at the sleeve of her oversized sweater. Gia glanced down at Th?y Mai’s wide brown eyes, which were way too perceptive for an eight-year-old. She had a curious expression on her face that dared Gia to lie to her.
“Oh, um… Uncle Jake is an old… friend.” She winced at the word. Her expression must have betrayed her because Th?y Mai gave her a skeptical look.
“I heard Uncle Thao and Uncle Jake were best friends when they were my age,” the little girl added, like she was revealing some secret.
“Yes, we were,” Jake replied, and the sound of his deep baritone voice made goosebumps erupt across Gia’s arms, despite her sweater.
His voice still had the same effect on her hormones. Absolutely nothing had changed in her involuntary response to his presence. No man, not even the most beautiful actor in Hollywood, could elicit the same visceral reaction from her that Jake could.
It was like her body remembered him. Wanted him. Craved his touch. Needed him.
Old habits. Dangerous ones. All it would take was one touch. One kiss. One taste, and she’d fall down the rabbit hole again, where she would wind up heartbroken.
No thanks. Did that once. Barely survived it.
Never again. A silent vow she had no intention of breaking.
Her phone buzzed with a new message, breaking her away from her spiraling thoughts. Glancing down, she saw a text.
Alex Grayson.
Of course.
She should have blocked his number months ago, but Alex had somehow weaseled himself back into her good graces. He was manageable now. Only allowed in her life in small, controlled doses. No more unannounced visits. No more staying the night.
She unlocked the phone to view the message.
Alex
Where are you, hot stuff? Haven’t seen you around town in a minute. Got a party coming up next weekend. Swing by.
Typical.
Alex was the son of an influential movie producer.
A nepo baby. He threw the hottest parties, which were invite-only.
One of the socialites Gia had befriended had brought her to Alex’s party one night as her plus-one.
It was the first time she’d rubbed elbows with so many people in the industry.
Overwhelmed by the noise of the crowd, Gia found a quiet corner on the deck.
Alex found her alone by the pool, sipping champagne. He’d charmed her with witty conversation, made her laugh, and helped her forget about her worries at the moment. She left the party hours later but woke up to a message from Alex asking her out on a date. How he got her number was a mystery.
Her slow fall into addiction followed.
They’d dated for a while until he’d told her she was “cramping his style.” Translation: He wanted to sleep around.
It stung. Still did. But in the end, it was for the best. Alex had been her drug dealer and her lover. The highest moments of her life were with him. Literally. But the lows that followed were some of the lowest points. Experience taught her she was better off without him in her life.
Before Alex, Gia had occasionally experimented with drugs to get through the chaos of set life.
A bump of coke here and there to keep her awake and alert.
It had been manageable and easily justified.
She needed money, and in order to have money, she needed to work.
Sometimes that meant long hours on the set for prep or filming.
But Alex was a walking pharmacy. Illicit, prescription, it didn’t matter. He had it all. Having near-constant access to the drugs that made her lose herself was addicting. Quickly, she justified needing them every day, and sometimes multiple times throughout the day.
It only took Alex a couple of weeks to convince her to try Molly, then Percocet. She drew the line at heroin, though. It was her only boundary. She wasn’t interested in anything leaving physical marks behind for the paparazzi to pick apart. Too many questions.
It was a vain reason, but Alex hadn’t pushed her to try it, for which she’d be forever thankful. Who knew where she would be now if she’d gone down that path?
It’s in those quiet moments that her past has a way of creeping back in.
No matter how many miles she put between herself and the people she left behind in Willowbrook, or the number of men she dated, she could never seem to escape the ice-blue eyes and curly blond hair. He followed her everywhere she went.
Sex with Alex only worked when they were high. Sober sex had been awkward. Uncomfortable and mechanical. A reminder of what was missing.
Because the last time she’d enjoyed sex while sober… was sitting directly across from her.
“Boyfriend calling you home?” Jake’s harsh voice cut through her thoughts.
She paused mid-text, caught off guard. She met his unrelenting stare, noticing the way his jaw was clenched tightly. Gone was the polite pretense.
Defiantly, she lifted her chin, fighting the familiar but long-forgotten urge to rise to his challenge.
“Actually, yes. Not that it’s any of your business.” Her tone was haughty and condescending.
It wasn’t a lie. Alex was a boyfriend. Technically. Just a former one.
A muscle in his jaw ticked. She wondered why he even cared, even as anger churned in her chest. He had no right to question her.
Jake was nothing but a stranger to her. Gia was aware of Marley and Th?y Mai’s attention, their eyes moving back and forth between them with the intensity of a tennis match.
A crayon suddenly hit Gia in the forehead, followed by peals of laughter. Tuy?t Mai clapped two chubby arms together and stood proudly from her high chair. “Up, please! Up, please!”
A huff escaped his lips, dissolving the tension in his shoulders and ending their silent battle of wills.
Gia moved to stand as Jake rose, but he backed off and sat down again.
His cheeks were an adorable shade of pink.
If she hadn’t been there, Jake probably would’ve been the one to answer to the whims of the adorable toddler.
She stood up and ignored the feeling of gratitude threatening to strangle her heart.
Knowing that, despite her absence, someone she used to love and respect cared for her family warmed her in a way she was not ready to examine.
It would only highlight how awful she had been as a sister and daughter.
How selfish she had been in the single-minded pursuit of her dreams.
It twisted something inside her.
Jake had always been family before she left.
He’d clearly never stopped playing the role.
Gia scooped up Tuy?t Mai and cradled her on her hip as she walked around the restaurant.
It looked much the same as it had in her childhood.
The scent of fried food and warm spices remained the same, as did the slightly scuffed walls, but they had replaced the old cash box with a modern computer system.
It still felt like home.
Her stomach grumbled at the scent of egg rolls wafting in from the kitchen, where her parents were. Until now, Gia had done nearly anything to avoid seeing them. Truthfully, she was nervous about the inevitable encounter.
Minh worked as a waitress and cashier. In the past, Gia used to run food back and forth from the kitchen, pretending she was a model strutting a runway, balancing bowls like a pro.
She wasn’t that girl anymore.
Tuy?t Mai tugged at her hair before reaching for Minh. Her happy squeals did weird things to Gia’s heart. She handed the toddler off and watched the way her sister smiled at her daughter.