29. Henry
After what feels like hours,I finally stop pacing around my apartment and drop onto the couch. I throw an arm over my eyes and sigh for probably the hundredth time in the last twenty-four hours.
Much to Ian’s dismay.
“Bro, seriously, I want to go to bed. I”m getting on the road early tomorrow to head back to school,” Ian growls, grad school clearly more important than what’s going on here, and I hear him shift on the other end of the couch.
“We find out that our family’s business is in dire straits last night and you’re ready to head back to school?” I ask the question, namely to piss him off. I’d rather fight with him right now than deal with the demons in my own head.
“And what are you doing other than moping? How is this helpful?”
He doesn’t take the bait, which only annoys me more. I’ve been in my head for almost twenty-four hours. I made sure to text my mom and dad to let them know I was shutting my phone off late last night, and I haven’t touched it since. The only reason I’m even speaking to Ian is because he’s staying with me.
“I should go talk to her.” I speak my thoughts aloud, knowing he won’t like it.
“Who? Mom? Mack? I promise, you don’t want to talk to Mack right now. She was raging pretty hard earlier. I feel bad for that guy. He’s going to be up against the bull when they have to work together.” He lets out a tired laugh, and I finally pull my arm away from my face.
Looking at him, I wonder if this situation is bothering him more than he’s letting on. He’s not directly involved with the business like Mack or Art, but sometimes I wonder if he worries about missing out on stuff like this because of grad school.
“I meant Gianna. I should go find her. Talk.”
“Hammer, are you serious?”
“Deadly.” It’s not even a question, really. Of course I’m going to talk to Gia. I mean, I was full of steam last night, completely taken off guard.
Pissed. I was outright pissed at the blatant dishonesty.
But after probably half a night’s rest and some work today, I know we both deserve to have a conversation about everything. Not only this huge secret she kept about my parents and their business, but also about our relationship.
I need her to know how I feel about her.
“Why even bother?”
“What do you mean?” I roll my head to the side, resting it against the back of the couch.
“She’s just another fling, right? And she lied to you. And she’s going to be working at the lodge. I don’t get why you’d even worry about it. I don’t know why you’re so worked up about this.”
I’m so exhausted from the day and the amount of time I’ve been spending in my head that my body feels like it’s melting into the couch. “She’s not some girl I hooked up with. Okay, she is. But she’s…she’s also my friend. And I really like her, Ian. More than I’ve ever liked anyone in my life. So I’m going to go find her and have a conversation because, clearly, I don’t know all the facts. And I know she doesn’t know how much I love her. There’s a conversation to be had.”
I watch him process what I’m saying. His eyebrows raise even as his eyelids droop. He scratches his head.
“You said love.”
“Yeah, I did.” Fuck, if I’m honest with myself, I think I loved her from the start. “That’s why I’m so fucking worked up, Ian. When I found out that the woman I love had been dishonest with me, that pissed me off. And I’m not going to just ignore it, either. Can you think of any time that you’ve felt like that? Hmm?” The subtle dig doesn’t go unnoticed. He’s sworn up and down that his friendship with Elena is platonic, but the way he acts around her, the way he acts when her boyfriend is even mentioned, says differently.
And he knows it.
He flinches and looks away. His jaw clenches, and I watch as a dark cloud descends over him. Seeing him feel so deeply and not even talk about it hurts like a knife twisting sharply in my own ribs.
“Hey, I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. Don’t even listen to me.” I try to take back my words, but it doesn”t help. “I am going to go talk to Gia, though. I’m not letting this be the end of things between us.”
“Whatever man, if you get your feelings more hurt than they clearly already are, that’s on you.”
As much as it would suck if that happens, I’m willing to risk it. And one day, I hope my brother will be too.
As I walk down the block, I’m glad I threw on my hoodie. I probably should’ve grabbed a jacket. I didn’t realize just how late it is, but I’m still hoping Gia will be awake. It’s not quite midnight, but I’m probably pushing it.
I consider using the main entrance at the bed and breakfast for half a second before I decide to try Gia’s private entrance. Stepping through the little gate, I walk to the door and knock twice.
I can see through the blinds that there are no lights on. I know better, but I knock one more time, a little louder. “Gia, are you awake?”
I stand there and wait for a moment. When it becomes clear that she won’t answer, I drop my head to the door, ignoring the sting of the cold against my forehead.
“Henry?”
A man’s voice saying my name out in the dark isn’t the most comforting thing. Especially at midnight. Turning away from the door, I see a tall shadowy figure standing just outside the little fenced-in area that I’m currently inhabiting.
“Yeah?” I wanted to talk to Gia before, but now I’m just wishing she had flipped on her little porch light, so maybe I could see who’s blocking my only exit.
A deep sigh floats into the night, and the figure turns to the side. One of the streetlamps catches his profile. I immediately recognize the guy from the meeting last night. The handsome one that Mack hated. Cam, I think his name was.
“She’s not here. Come on over.” He doesn’t wait for a response before he starts walking and, for some reason, I follow him.
He leads me into another little gated-off front yard and through the door of what must be his room. It’s a mirror image of Gia’s.
Only his is immaculate. It almost looks like he just checked in, although I don’t even see his bags anywhere. A cursory look confirms that he’s clearly the complete opposite of Gia when it comes to how he keeps his space.
Meaning we have something in common.
I wish it annoyed me more, but just being in a space that’s neat and tidy settles my nerves. She’s not here. And we really need to talk.
“Have a seat. Want a drink?” Cam heads to the small mini fridge and glances back at me. He’s still wearing a suit despite how late it is.
“I’m fine, thanks.” Sitting in one of the low-backed chairs off to the side of the room, I briefly close my eyes. “Where’s Gia?”
“Back east.” He pulls a Sam Adams out of the fridge and cracks it open.
My chest hollows out, and I flinch as my brain goes into overdrive. Did last night send her running? It sounded like this was going to be a pretty long-term project for her and Cam, so why isn’t she here? And why does it seem like he doesn’t care?
Why haven’t you looked at your goddamn phone all day?
“Her Nonna’s birthday. I don’t have details.” Cam pins me with a long look over the rim of his beer before taking a hearty pull.
“Oh. Okay. Right, yeah, I remember her telling me about that.” The relief of realizing that this was a pre-planned trip hits me, and my body eases.
“So.” He looks at me, and his eyes bore straight through me. His mouth is pinched.
For a second, I can’t tell what his deal is. But then it becomes clear as day that he’s sizing me up.
But for what?
“So?”
“That was a shitshow last night.”
His gruff bluntness throws me off so much I laugh. “Yeah, it was.”
“Your family is something else.” He cocks his head to the side, assessing me. “I really am here to help, but I’m not about to defend my presence, or Gianna’s to you.”
“I’m not asking you to, man. I get it, and I trust my parents” judgment when it comes to their business.”
He raises his eyebrows and lets out a sharp breath. “That’s a relief. Your sister clearly doesn’t share the same sentiment.”
“She’ll probably take a little longer to warm up to your presence, but she actually works with my parents, so that’s probably why. You’re not encroaching on my territory.”
“I’m not—” He stops, exasperated. “This isn’t what I wanted to talk about.”
“What did you want to talk about?” I’m still not entirely sure why I’m in this guy”s room.
“I just wanted to let you know that Gia takes her job seriously, probably too seriously sometimes, although I’m not going to tell her that. When we first arrived, your parents asked us to keep the work we were doing private, especially from you and your siblings. She took that ask to heart, despite her feelings for you. She was going to tell you today. I shouldn’t even be getting involved, but she deserves a second chance.”
“She should have just told me to begin with. I don’t even work with my parents.” I let my frustration come out with my words.
“Yeah, well, she didn’t. Just…don’t hold it against her too much. She really likes you.” Despite his gruffness, he seems to really care about Gia.
“Well, I love her, so I really hope that’s true. We need to talk, that’s for sure.”
“Did you say you love Gia?” He clears his throat, his body relaxes back into his chair, and a thoughtful look crosses his face.
“Ahhh.” I shift in my chair, suddenly aware that I may have said more than I planned. “I don’t know if it would be right to tell someone who isn’t her that information first…”
“I love her too,” he tells me and quickly throws up a hand when he sees me ready to respond. “Not like that. And not that I would ever confirm that I said it, either. I’m her boss, technically. But she’s a special person. She deserves all the good in the world for what she does, how she helps me help people. Honestly, she’s one of the best people I know.”
I pause for a second, eyeing his upheld hand before speaking. Once he drops the hand, I take a breath. “Okay. I don’t disagree with any of that. Well, except maybe that she deserves to know that you love her, in whatever capacity you do.” I mean it, too. Would I say it if I thought that he was in love with her, the way I am? Yeah, probably not, but I believe him when he says that it’s not like that.
“I know I have to talk this out with her. You don’t have to explain anything. I’ll sort it out with Gia when she comes back,” I reassure him even as a stab of unease settles into my stomach. “You don’t think things are too screwed up, do you?”
I don’t know why I’m asking him. I don’t even know if he has the answer. But he’s as good as it gets right now. It’s not like my own brother was any help.
He looks at me for a long minute, then downs the rest of his beer. “I think that if two people want to make things work, they will.” He nods once, stands, and walks over to drop the empty can into the small recycling bin next to the mini fridge. “And for the record, I know she has an army of cousins who would beat your ass if you ever hurt her, so just keep that in mind.”
With that, he quickly says goodbye and ushers me outside. I start my short but cold walk home. Cam’s not-so-subtle threat lingers at the back of my mind, but stronger than that is the resolve to fix things with Gia.
I don’t know how, or what, we’re really going to do about what happened, but there’s no one else I’d rather figure things out with.
I just really hope that she feels the same.