Book 24 Temptation After Dark #12
“We’re going to need some time to talk about this,” Jordan says.
“That’s the thing. We don’t have a lot of time.
If the show is over, we have one episode left to shoot to wrap things up.
If it’s not over, we need to figure out how we’re going to leave them hungry for more.
The plane is coming next Tuesday to pick us up to go home, which means we’ve got this week to shoot the final episode of the season.
I’m going to need you two to tell me later today what you decide so we can end the season on the proper note. ”
After she walks away, neither Gigi nor Jordan says anything for a full five minutes as they ponder what she’d said.
“So,” Gigi finally says, “how’s your day going?”
“It started out great, but now? I don’t know.”
“While Matilda was talking, I had an idea I wanted to run by you. Hear me out before you say no.”
“Okay…”
“What if Mason is able to somehow take a three-month leave of absence in the off-season so we can film the show in LA or some other location, and he can be with you and the baby?”
“I doubt he’d go for that. His career is important to him, too.”
“I know, but he’d tell you himself it’s dead around here in the winter, and it probably wouldn’t be a big deal for him to turn the department over to a deputy during those months.”
“You want to keep going, then?”
“Only if we can find a way to make it work for both of us. I’m fine with stopping now or keeping it going.”
“I want you to have the financial safety net this deal would provide,” Jordan says. “I’m sure the crew would be thrilled to have guaranteed employment for a few more years, too. I liked filming on location.”
“I did, too. So, if we continue, we pick some other place to explore and get to know for a few months, like Santa Fe or Phoenix or somewhere warm in the winter.”
“I’d be down for that if I could come back here for the summers,” Jordan says. “You think Matilda and the crew would go for shooting on location again?”
“They want three more seasons of job security, and they need us to make that happen, so I suppose they’d go along with whatever we decide. You need to talk to Mason before we do anything else.”
“I guess so,” Jordan says with a sigh.
Jordan goes directly to the Public Safety building to talk to Mason.
She shares Gigi’s idea of a leave of absence so they can film on location somewhere and then return to Gansett for the summers.
He isn’t sure if he can do that, but he will ask the mayor and let her know.
Jordan says, “Thank you for even considering this. I know how much your work means to you.”
“Nothing in this world means more to me than you and our little peanut.”
Gigi goes to her favorite hidden beach to review the script for the final show.
She’s upset about leaving Gansett and Cooper, although if she gives him a chance, she won’t have to leave him.
He’s already told her he’ll go wherever she wants.
Lost in thought, she doesn’t hear Chloe come up behind her and ask, “Hey, is this seat taken?”
Appalled to have nearly been caught weeping over a man, Gigi rallies with a smile for the exotically beautiful Chloe Dennis. “It is now.”
“Sorry to barge in on your peace and quiet. I had an hour free and came right here.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“How’s it going with Cooper?”
“Does the whole island know we’ve been seeing each other, or does it just seem that way?”
“When you nearly roll a Porsche off the bluffs on your first date, word tends to get around.”
Gigi groans.
Laughing, Chloe says, “The poor guy is crazy about you. Anyone can see that.”
“He’s a nice guy.”
“Yes, he is, and they can be hard to find. Just ask me. I spent years looking for one before I gave up, convinced they were all a bunch of dogs. Then Finn McCarthy stepped into my salon and showed me there are still a few good ones in this world.” Chloe glances at her, seeming tentative all of a sudden.
“I hope you don’t mind that I know a little of your story. ”
Gigi shrugs, accustomed now to people knowing things about her that she would’ve preferred to keep private. But celebrity doesn’t work that way. “I’m an open book.”
“I was a product of the foster system, too. My father killed my mother and then himself.”
“Oh, my God, Chloe. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks, but it was a lifetime ago. It doesn’t define me. Not anymore. I’m only telling you this because I understand the spot you’re in with Cooper.”
Gigi is almost afraid to ask. “What spot is that?”
“You like him—a lot—but you’re not sure you have it in you to take a chance on what he has the potential to be to you.”
Staring at Chloe, she says, “How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve been right where you are. Not that long ago, in fact. I tried really hard to resist what was happening with Finn. I’d taken care of myself for so long that I’d forgotten how to let someone else in.”
Gigi understands that all too well.
“Plus, I’m dealing with this damned RA situation that could seriously impact my future—and his—and I tried to talk him out of loving me.”
“What did he do?”
“He kept showing up and proving to me over and over again that I could put my faith in him, and he’d never let me down.
He proved that in a big way during this latest flare-up.
He was a rock.” After a pause, Chloe continues, “You don’t want it.
I get that better than anyone else ever could.
I realized I was projecting the bullshit from my past onto Finn, expecting him to be like my dad was, which was totally fucked up and unfair to him.
He’s nothing like my dad, and he’s never going to be anything other than what he is—perfect for me. ”
Freaking tears spill down Gigi’s cheeks, despite her fierce desire to contain them and the emotions causing them.
Chloe puts her hand on top of Gigi’s. “I totally get it, Gigi. I really do. Finn is the best thing ever to happen to me. I’d never been happier until I allowed myself to let him make me happy.”
Chloe’s words resonate with Gigi. Until I allowed myself to let him make me happy. “I’m glad it worked out so well for you guys.”
“I am, too, and he says he’s never been happier, too, which is just as important to me as my own happiness.” She shrugs as if she hasn’t described life-changing developments. “When it’s right, it’s right.”
Jordan is right. Chloe is right. This, with Cooper… This is different.
Her phone chimes with a text from him. How was the meeting with Matilda? Mine went great—better than I could’ve expected. Can’t wait to tell you about it. You going with me tonight?
Meeting was interesting. Decisions to be made. Can’t wait to hear about yours. I’d love to go to Chloe’s party. Be home shortly.
I’ll be here.
Three simple words that say so much: I’ll be here.
Later that night, wrapped up in Cooper’s arms on the Wayfarer dance floor as he softly sings along to Owen Lawry’s rendition of “God Only Knows,” Gigi realizes she’s in much deeper with him than she’d previously acknowledged.
Him singing, “God only knows what I’d be without you,” to her has her mind racing with scenarios and implications and dread.
He takes her by the hand and leads her from the dance floor to the veranda that looks out over the beach.
“This is one hell of a spot the McCarthys have here,” she says as she takes in the magnificent view.
“It sure is. Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong, and once again, I have to say, don’t tell me it’s nothing, because you haven’t been yourself since you got home earlier.”
“And you know me well enough to say that?”
“I do, yes.”
Gigi folds her arms across her chest, as if that can fortify defenses that are nonexistent when he looks at her in that particular knowing way. “I’m leaving Tuesday.”
His eyes go wide. “As in this coming Tuesday?”
“We finish shooting on Monday, and the network is sending a plane to pick everyone up.”
“So, you don’t have to leave on Tuesday. You’re choosing to leave on Tuesday.”
“My job is done here. I have a ride home. I’m going.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. Can we go back to the party now?”
“Sure.”
As they walk back inside, Jordan and Mason are coming in through the main entrance. Jordan makes a beeline for Gigi, hugging her tightly while Cooper stops to talk to Finn. “The mayor said yes to Mason taking a three-month leave of absence in the winter! We can keep making the show!”
“That’s great, Jord. I’m happy for you.”
“I’m happy for us, Geeg. Three more seasons to be together and have fun while making enough money to be set for life. This is the best day ever!”
Nikki comes over to see what they’re freaking out about and joins in their celebration.
Gigi tells them she’s leaving on Tuesday and getting back to her normal life. The girls each take her by the arm and pull her into Nikki’s office for an intervention. They believe if she leaves without Cooper, she’ll regret it.
If she doesn’t get out of there right away, she’ll break down in front of them, and that can’t happen. “I hear you, and I love you both, but I’m leaving.” Blinking back tears, she turns to leave the room and crashes right into Cooper’s broad chest.
Hey,” he says, “what’s this?”
Gigi can’t speak, and anyone who knows her well would say that’s a rare thing. She gives herself five lovely minutes of being comforted by him while she breathes in the scent she’ll forever associate with him. “I have to go.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“No, I have to go, Cooper. This, with you… I can’t do it. I just can’t. I’m sorry.” She pulls herself free of him and gets the hell out of there while she still can. Half running, half walking, she makes it to the ferry landing in a matter of minutes and jumps into the first cab she sees.
“She broke up with me,” Cooper tells Nikki and Jordan when they join him in the hallway outside Nikki’s office.
“No way,” Jordan says. “She did not.”
“Ah, yes, she did.” The ache that started in his heart has overtaken every part of him as he watched her run away from him as if her life depended on getting as far from him as she could get.