He chuckled. “I bet you could be good for Gia if you get your shit together and decide to start putting her first.”
“I left because I was putting her first. Not that I have to explain myself to you.”
“No, but you owed it to Gia to explain to her what the hell was going on with you, instead of stone-walling her.”
“I wasn’t—”
“I call bullshit.”
“I was trying to give her space to figure things out.”
“Who does that?” He threw his hands up in the air, looking up at the ceiling. “If my woman was having second-thoughts about us, I’d be camped out on her doorstep until I’d convinced her she couldn’t live without me.”
“If your fiancée can’t live without you, why don’t you get home to her?”
He smirked, pointing at me. “You’re not as big of an asshole as I thought you’d be, Joel.”
“The jury’s still out on you.” I stroked Gia’s hand with my thumb while wondering when she’d wake up so we could finally talk. “If you know it all, tell me, why did she have a suitcase when she fell down the stairs?”
“She was in a hurry to catch a flight… to see you. I suggested she go.” He spread his hands. “You’re welcome.”
“Seriously? She was on her way to see me?” Now I felt even worse. I’d made this mess, I should have been coming back to her, not the other way around.
“Well, you obviously weren’t planning to come home anytime soon and you couldn’t work all this shit out over the phone. She loves you, so what other choice did she have?”
At least she’d confessed to her new friend that she was in love with me, I supposed that was reason to be hopeful. “What about the show? How was she going to get away in the middle of filming?”
“She just asked Elaine for a few days to tend to some personal business. I don’t think anyone minded. Gave them all a chance for a quick trip home to see their own families.”
I nodded, wondering what I would have said or done had Gia showed up at my door. I love you? I’m sorry? Please take me back? Probably all of the above. “How’s the show going? Is Gia killing it?”
He shrugged. “She’s never come right out and said it, but I don’t think she loves doing it.”
“Really? What gave you that impression?” It was hard to believe I was having a civil conversation with a guy I’d wanted to tear apart an hour ago. I probably shouldn’t be surprised. Gia didn’t make mistakes when picking friends.
“I’ve worked in this business a long time, man. You can tell when it’s forced and when it’s natural.”
“Meaning?”
“Gia’s just going through the motions, doing what she thinks she has to, and the camera can tell. The audience will be able to too, if it gets that far.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I knew how much Gia wanted this. It could kill her to get the rug pulled out from under her at the last minute. “They have a contract. They can’t just decide to terminate it.”
“Actually, they can. Gia probably knows that. Apparently, there’s a clause in the contract that allows them to pull the plug if they don’t have a ‘reasonable expectation the show will be successful after filming’,” he said, making air quotes around the words. “I’ve seen it happen before.”
“Shit.” I sank back in my chair, watching my beautiful bride sleep, wondering how crushed she would be if they told her that her dream wasn’t going to come true after all. “That would suck.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Danny said. “Gia’s tough, resilient. If this doesn’t work, she’ll figure something else out.” He hesitated before adding, “She, uh, told me she’d tried talking you into using that amazing property of yours for weddings. Why don’t you do it?”
“Because I don’t need the money.”
“Maybe not, but if it would make your wife happy, isn’t that reason enough to do it?”
I’d do anything to make Gia happy, but I didn’t even know where we stood anymore, so it seemed like a moot point.
“By the way, she kicked Kaitlyn off your property.” He chuckled, pointing at my phone. “That’s probably why she sent you that photo of us, trying to get even. That girl’s always up to something. I’m telling you, she can’t be trusted.”
“No doubt.” I wish I’d known that before I ever got mixed up with her. “Did Gia really get rid of her?” I smiled when he nodded. “That couldn’t have gone well.”
