No one worked harder than Gia. She was at it 24/7, and no one deserved success more than she did, but she gave all the credit to her audience for making her business the success it was.
“Of course, that’s when the TV network took notice and came calling. Needless to say, it raised my profile.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “But here’s the thing, Joel. I feel like such a fraud.”
“Hey.” I reached across the table, grabbing her hand. “Don’t say shit like that. I’ve known you a long time and no one is more sincere or genuine than you are, G. For real. Don’t get down on yourself. You do what everyone on social media does, you present the best of your life, not the rest of your life.”
She reached for a paper napkin and dabbed her eyes with her free hand. “But I feel like I’ve built a brand, hell, a whole career on a lie.” She sniffled. “It’s not like I ever said I had a significant other, or dream home, or entertained all the time, but that’s what people assume. How the hell can I sell this ‘perfect’ life, if people don’t believe I’m living it?”
I sank back in my chair after polishing off my breakfast. I hated to see her beating herself up for doing what everyone did… trying to present the best of herself to the world so shecouldbuild her dream life. And she’d done it all on her own. No one had handed this girl a damn thing or given her any breaks and I admired her even more for that.
“I’m sorry,” she waved her hand in front of her face before popping a berry into her mouth. “I didn’t mean to get so emotional. This isn’t your problem and the last thing I want to do is guilt you into helping me. That’s not fair—”
“Gia, just tell me what you need.” I waited until her eyes connected with mine before I added, “Anything. You gotta know that.”
Another tear slipped down her cheek before she squeezed her eyes shut. “I never imagined when you came back to town we’d be able to pick up right where we left off with our friendship. In fact, I feel closer to you than ever. Do you feel that too?”
You have no idea, girl.“Of course. You were there for me when my old man died. Not many people were. I owe you, so whatever you need, just ask.”
“Joel, this is a seriously big ask. And I don’t want you to say yes out of some misguided sense of obligation. You don’t owe me anything. When your dad died I did what any friend would have done.”
She’d done so much more than she realized. She helped me plan his funeral and clear out his personal effects after I claimed seeing his stuff every day damn near broke me. She took it upon herself to interview and hire farm hands, not that she knew anything about running a farm. She even riffled through old boxes in the attic one day when I wasn’t home so she could put together a family album of our photos. Who the hell does that? The girl of my dreams, that’s who. That’s when I realized I was falling in love with my childhood friend and every day since I’ve fallen a little deeper.
“What do you need me to do?”
She opened her hands. “Like I said earlier… marry me.” A deep blush moved up her chest to her neck before staining her cheeks. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here, proposing to one of my best friends. That should give you some indication how desperate I am.”
The dreaded F word. Desperate? Just shoot me now. “Marry you?” I echoed, knowing I was going to have to drag every little detail out of her because she wasn’t giving up the goods willingly. “You mean in sickness and in health, ‘til death due us part?” Count. Me. In.
“No, of course not!” She huffed. “I would never try to lock you down that long.”
I extended my hands, offering my wrists. “Feel free. I happen to have a pair of handcuffs upstairs if you think we’ll need them.”
She laughed and I could see she was finally starting to relax.
“I just have to project this image, you know, for the sake of the TV show.”
“Okay.” Having Gia live with me, cook for me, share her life with me… it wasn’t a hard sell. “I get it. So, what does that look like?”
“Well, there’s no way I expect this to be a one-way street. I won’t let you do all the giving while I do all the taking.”
There was so much I wanted to give her, she had no idea. But I knew I had to take it slow. She spooked easily and the last thing I needed was to scare her away by coming on too strong. “You still haven’t told me your plan.” I downed the rest of my coffee while I waited for her pitch.
“I know you’ve been talking about renovating the house and fixing up the barns. You know that stuff is right up my alley. I’d love to help you with it. In fact, I could co-ordinate the whole thing, you know, when I’m not busy with the show and stuff.”
If she turned this old house into her dream home maybe she’d never want to leave. “You know I’d love the help.”
“We’d have to fix it up a little before the TV crews started filming—” She winced. “You’d hate that, wouldn’t you? How many times have you told me you don’t want strangers traipsing all over your property, right?”
I didn’t relish the idea for the sake of turning a profit, but if it would help Gia, I could deal with it. “It’s not a problem. I’ll just stay out of the way when the crew is here. How many weeks would they be filming?”
“We haven’t worked out all the details yet. I go to L.A. next month for meetings.”
I nodded, “Okay, well whatever it is we’ll work it out.”
“Don’t speak too soon, you haven’t heard it all.”
I polished off my juice before wiping my mouth with a napkin. “So fill me in on the rest.”
“In terms of fixing up the place, I was just thinking paint, new furniture, maybe painting the kitchen and bathroom cabinets until we could have them replaced. Swapping out some light fixtures and replacing the countertops, if we have time before filming starts.”
