Chapter 7
Seven
GIA
“Who does he think he is?” Gia fumed. She plucked at the weeds strangling the rosebushes lining her family home. She’d stormed home from the restaurant, angry at how her brief time at home had turned into an epic disaster already, like almost every other aspect of her life.
The short walk did nothing to calm her. If anything, her ire ratcheted higher the longer she dwelled on it. Wearing Jake’s shirt home, smelling his masculine scent on her, a blend of sandalwood and sin, messed with her head.
It reminded her of that night nearly a decade ago. The night that changed everything.
She shouldn’t have kept it on, but it was his shirt or her bra. And she’d be lying if a part of her had been reluctant to take it off, which only irritated her more. There was no way she was still in love with Jake.
No way in hell!
As soon as she walked in the front door, which was always unlocked, she’d run upstairs and ripped Jake’s shirt off before hopping into the shower. It was hardly a relaxing experience as she scrubbed at her skin roughly to erase Jake’s scent. His touch still left a mark on her skin.
The way he’d rushed to wrap his brawny arms around her and lifted her up out of danger effortlessly.
She could still feel the ghost of his hands where he’d held her tightly against his chest and raced to safety in the bathroom, taking her far away from the shattered dishes and the soup that didn’t feel as warm as his touch.
Gia let out a frustrated scream as she lathered up the shampoo gel.
She’d borrowed Minh’s products to wash her hair.
The only body wash available was in a pink bottle with Barbie smiling up at her.
In her rush, she’d forgotten her best toiletries in her suitcase.
She needed to wash away the past hour. To forget the way Jake made her feel—like the lovesick teenager who couldn’t contain herself near him.
A ghost of a girl she’d barely remembered until being confronted with Jake.
It didn’t help her ego that she couldn’t even serve food without screwing it up, too. Not to mention she left wearing another man’s shirt as if she were some damsel in distress needing to be rescued. She was furious something could so easily shatter her hard-earned independence like porcelain.
Deep down, Gia knew she was being irrational.
Her anger wasn’t only about the spilled soup.
It had more to do with how her traitorous body still responded to Jake.
After all the years and the miles she’d put between them, all it took was the sound of his voice and his penetrating blue eyes to peel back all of her layers.
It was like he could stare deep into her soft and gooey center and find her lacking.
“Who did this to you?”
Gia groaned at how she’d reacted when his whispered growl had made the small bathroom stall vibrate with tension.
God, why does he have to say things like that?
If her knees got weak, it wasn’t her fault. Neither was the way her core tightened as the deep timbre of his voice rolled over her body like a sensuous wave. The veiled threat in his question of who had hurt her made all of her feminine bits light up like a beacon or a feral cat in heat.
The last thing she needed was for her libido to enter the picture. She needed to lie low and stay out of trouble. And Jake had trouble written all over him—on every single hard inch of him. It wasn’t her imagination; Jake had grown into himself.
How did he get all those muscles?
He must work out every day to get these bulging biceps. She probably would have found him intriguing if he had been someone else. Fortunately for her, she’d already had a taste of Jake.
Been there, done that. Barely survived the first time. Definitely wouldn’t walk away unscathed again.
Despite her hot shower, Gia remained fired up and stomped downstairs in leggings and an oversized shirt to search for the garden gloves and hat her mother kept in the mudroom. She rooted around for a few minutes before finding it stashed behind laundry detergent above the washing machine.
“Aha! There you are!” With her prize in one hand, Gia looked around for the bucket of garden tools. Finding them by the door, she carried her loot out the back door and stomped onto the weathered porch.
If she couldn’t commit murder, the least she could do was take out her anger on the weeds infesting the yard.
She spent the rest of her day kneeling in the dirt, pulling and plucking at the weeds in her backyard for nearly an hour.
From the state of the yard, it looked like nobody had been maintaining it.
Good thing she was here. She’d always had a green thumb—a trait she got from her mother.
Gia wondered briefly why her mom wasn’t tending the garden like she used to.
It seemed unlike her to leave it growing so wildly.
Her fondest memories with her mother involved pulling weeds and growing the vegetable garden in the corner, where she planted the onions herself when she was ten years old.
The sun was setting over the horizon, so she’d have to give it up soon or risk being attacked by the mosquitoes, which seemed to love her.
Those bloodsuckers were probably a metaphor for all the men in her life.
Always latching onto her and sucking her dry, leaving her sore, swollen, and… itchy? No, that didn’t make sense.
Sitting back on her haunches, Gia wiped the sweat off her forehead with her dirt-covered arm. She couldn’t help but chuckle at her ridiculous thoughts.
Therapy and yoga taught her she’d misplaced her anger for years. She wasn’t angry at Jake, per se. She was angry with herself. At her involuntary reaction to Jake.
How was it possible to still want someone she had not seen in over a decade?
It seemed like a cruel joke.
The last thing on her mind was being in any type of situation where a man could put his hands on her again. Though she knew Jake would never hurt her, it didn’t matter.
She was swearing off all men.
That’s it.
She’d be a single, washed-up actress with no job prospects or future, and end up dying in the same town she’d tried so desperately to escape.
“Ugh!” Gia screamed when a difficult weed resisted as she tried to tug it out with her gloved hands. Dropping back onto her haunches, she looked around for the three-claw rake to loosen up the dirt around the stubborn weed. “Ha! There you are!”
With her right hand on the rake and her left hand gripping the weed, she hacked at the dirt with more force than necessary. After a few swipes at it, she pulled the weed loose and grinned triumphantly at the tangle of roots coming with it.
“Gotcha, asshole.”
“God, I forgot how scary you are when you weed.” Minh’s amused voice came from above her, where she stood on the porch with Tuy?t Mai hanging on her hip.
Gia dropped the weed onto the pile she’d made. A blush stained her cheeks from being surprised.
“Yeah, well, he deserved it,” she retorted.
“He?” Minh’s brow raised in question as she assessed Gia.
“I meant it. Obviously. Since it’s a plant, and not a guy.”
“Right.”
“Yeah… Is everyone home already?” she asked, hoping to move the conversation back to neutral territory. Minh knew her too well and would probably start asking questions Gia didn’t want to answer.
“Just me and the kids. M? and Ba are closing up at the restaurant. Jake and Marley stayed behind to help.”
“Oh.”
“I’m making dinner. Come inside before you murder the rest of the plants.” Minh rolled her eyes and headed back inside. A curious Tuy?t Mai waved at Gia happily.
Gia scoffed. She would never do that. Still, she stood up and grimaced at how sore her muscles were.
Dusting the dirt off her pants, she made her way up the steps to the back porch.
Swiping her dirty shoes on the mat and leaving the borrowed Crocs outside, she yanked off the gardening gloves and hat and tossed them in the mudroom where she found them.
Instead of heading to the kitchen, she ran up the stairs and hopped in the shower to rinse off the grime and check for ticks. An old habit she hadn’t needed while living in Los Angeles, but one that came to her naturally. Some habits were hard to kill.
This time, instead of a punishing shower, Gia let the hot water relax her tense muscles.
The sight of the dirt washing away from her skin mixed in with the strawberry-scented children’s body wash was a metaphor for the stress melting away.
If only she could wash away all of her troubles so easily.
The dirty water mixed with the bubbles as it circled the drain.
Once the water ran clear, Gia reluctantly turned it off, reached for a towel, and wrapped herself in it. The steam lingered comfortably around her. Grabbing her soiled clothing, she tiptoed down the hallway to her bedroom.
A few minutes later, she emerged from the bedroom dressed in a similar outfit but feeling more like her normal self.
She’d forgotten how relaxing weeding was.
It was too bad she didn’t have access to a garden of her own to tend.
Maybe she could find one of those mini gardens to plant on her patio, or an indoor vegetable garden.
Gia followed her nose to the kitchen, where the source of the delicious aromas originated. Her stomach grumbled at the prospect of another home-cooked meal. Her culinary skills ended at reheatable meals and takeout, which didn’t carry the same appeal to her anymore.
The sounds of an Australian cartoon about a dog family drifted from the living room TV, but she walked right past on her way to the kitchen. Minh was at the sink washing dishes when she walked in.
“Yum, it smells delicious.” Gia walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a small bowl from the stack. She helped herself to the fresh rice from the rice cooker and moved on to scoop the seasoned chicken and boiled eggs from the saucepan. Another one of her favorites.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think Minh was trying to fatten her up. Or maybe it was a ploy to remind Gia of home so she never left Willowbrook again. The thought of sticking around didn’t terrify her like it once had.
Wouldn’t her life be so much easier here, far away from the toxic sludge LA had turned out to be, taking chunks of her sanity each day? But what would she even do here?
The thought of a meaningless existence in Willowbrook filled her with dread. She was terrified of wasting away in Willowbrook with nothing to do.
Who was she if she wasn’t Gia, the supermodel and actress?
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Shaken out of her reverie, Gia met Minh’s worried gaze as her sister wiped her hands on the towel.
At some point, Gia sat down at the table, but her food remained untouched in front of her.
She was glancing around for utensils, realizing she hadn’t even grabbed any, when Minh handed her a pair of chopsticks. “Here.”
“Thanks.” After taking the proffered utensils, Gia stirred the contents of her bowl. “I was just thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve had this.” She gestured at her bowl with the chopsticks.
“Hmm.” Minh’s disbelieving tone matched her facial expression, but she moved away from the counter and grabbed a bowl to serve herself.
Plopping down in the chair across from Gia, Minh let out a weary sigh.
Not for the first time, Gia noticed the lines of strain at the corners of her big sister’s eyes and wondered what had put them there.
Gia put her chopsticks next to her bowl gently and cleared her throat. “Are you—are you okay?”
Minh’s shoulders shook with a self-deprecating laugh.
“I’m just glad you’re finally home,” Minh said before picking up her chopsticks to eat. As the silence stretched between them, Gia couldn’t help but wonder how well she actually knew her older sister.
Sure, they grew up under the same roof, but she and Thao were naturally closer.
It always felt like them versus Minh growing up.
She had been the perfect role model for them, while Gia and Thao couldn’t take anything seriously.
Minh was studious and earned the highest grades with the goal of being a doctor or a lawyer, as every Asian parent dreams for their children.
But Gia could not recall a single time when Minh had actually talked about her hopes or dreams. Had she wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer?
Or did she always want to stay behind and help with the family restaurant…
or did she have other aspirations? No doubt, when Gia and Thao left, it had caused a ripple effect of repercussions she was ignorant of.
“So… Um… How are you doing?” Gia shoved a large piece of chicken into her mouth so she had something to focus on. Why was this so awkward for her? Shouldn’t she know how to talk to her own sister?
“I’m fine. Really.” Minh scooped out her own piece of chicken and chewed thoughtfully.
Sensing Minh had more to say, Gia let the silence hang between them.
“I miss Ken. I wish he were still here. The kids miss him, too.” Gia watched in horror as tears filled her big sister’s eyes. In all her life, she had never once seen Minh cry.
Tossing the bowl and chopsticks down, Gia leaped out of her chair without a second thought and rushed to Minh’s side, pulling her in for a big hug. It nearly broke her heart to hear Minh’s quiet sobbing as she burrowed into Gia’s oversized shirt.
Ken was Minh’s husband. They’d met through mutual family friends when they were teenagers. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight, but they grew into a flirtatious friendship that lasted a few months before Ken declared Minh was his girlfriend.
Gia had been a freshman when they started dating. The summer after Minh and Ken’s graduation, the two got married in a small ceremony at The Lotus. Gia was the maid of honor, and Thao was the best man. It had been one of Gia’s favorite memories at the restaurant.
Ken and Minh ended up going to BU together before returning to Willowbrook, where they moved in with Gia’s parents for the summer. Minh planned on working at The Lotus for the summer while applying to med school. Ken was applying to law school and also helped at the restaurant.
That summer changed all of their lives.