I winked at her. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
She blushed, dipping her head. “You’re terrible.”
“No baby, I’m amazing. And when you give me a chance to show you, you’ll never want to leave.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispered under her breath.
She probably hadn’t intended for me to hear, so I didn’t call her out. Would it be so terrible if she learned to love ourarrangementas much as I knew I would, and wanted to stay? Gia had a lot of pride, and I knew she had her guard up. She’d been burned in relationships before, but she had to know I’d sever my own arm before I’d ever hurt her.
The waitress delivered our burgers and we spent a few minutes eating before I said, “Dog, big or small?” I knew which way she’d vote, but we were living on a farm and I didn’t want to have to worry about stepping on a yappy little dog while I worked.
She smirked. “Knowing you, you probably want a Lab or something, right?”
This girl knew me too well. It would have been unnerving if I wasn’t on board with her getting to know me even better… better than anyone ever had. It was times like this when I missed my old man. Even though my mom died when I was still in high school, they’d had an amazing marriage, and were best friends right up until the end. I wanted what they had and I knew if anyone could tell me how to get it, it would have been my dad.
“Hey, I don’t mind a mixed breed dog. You know I don’t give a shit about pedigree.” I’d made my millions in Tinsel Town and met enough fake people who only cared about appearances to last me a lifetime.
“Remember Rusty?” she asked, her eyes softening. “How he used to meet us at the school bus every day? He’d roll over for a belly rub as soon as we hopped off the bus.”
Rusty was a rescue dog my parents adopted for my fifth birthday. He died the year I graduated high school and was buried by an old oak tree on the south side of my property, by a meandering creek with wildflowers. It had been a favourite spot for Gia and I to hang out when we were growing up and she’d suggested laying him to rest there.
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat, thinking about how many hard times that old dog had seen me through. The teen years are tough no matter how popular you are or how many friends you have and sometimes it felt like Rusty was the only living being who would listen to me without judgement. It hurt like hell when he died, especially since I’d just lost my mom the year before and was still learning how to cope with that.
“You didn’t have a dog when you were living in L.A.?”
I shook my head. “I was living in a penthouse, working and going out all the time. It didn’t seem fair, or practical, to have a dog. Besides, you know me. I’m into big dogs and my place was big for a condo, but not that big.”
She nodded. “You haven’t said much about what your life was like while you were gone. I mean, I know what you did for a living, where you lived, and that there weren’t many serious relationships, but there must have been more to your life for all those years than you’ve told me.”
My life then seemed shallow and empty compared to my life now. The friends I had in my hometown were real, genuine. They cared about me, not how much money I had in the bank or which stocks they should invest in to secure their next million.
“You followed me on social media,” I said, digging into my fries. “You know I did some clubbing, went to too many fancy restaurants and parties, and travelled a lot with friends. That’s about it.”
She laughed. “Sounds like a full life to me. Makes me think I should have left our hometown to find a bigger playing field. I might’ve had more fun.”
“You weren’t missing much, trust me.” She had her family and friends, people who really loved her. I’d been all about making money when I was young, so I missed out on the last years of my old man’s life. That mistake would haunt me the rest of my life.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, covering my hand with hers. “It feels like I struck a nerve.”
She could read me so well. She’d once told me she was an empath, someone who could read other people’s moods and emotions and internalized them. At the time she’d said it was a blessing and a curse. For me it would feel like the latter. I had enough trouble dealing with my own demons without taking on someone else’s.
“Just thinking about my dad,” I said, staring at my half empty plate. “The years we missed out on while I was living in the city. I could have stayed here, helped him out on the farm. I knew how lonely he was after my mom died, but I still left. I thought I had to make my own mark on the world, to make millions to make me feel like a man. Turns out I was just a dumbass kid who didn’t know a good thing when he had it. And now it’s too late to tell my dad how much I appreciate the foundation they gave me.”
It wasn’t like me to open up to anyone, but Gia made it too easy.
“Hon, your dad wanted you to go out and explore the world. And he told me half a dozen times how proud he was of you for forging your own path.”
Every week when I’d call to check in my dad would tell me he’d run into Gia at the grocery store, post office, or convenience store that week and she’d always stop to chat with him. Ask for updates on how I was doing. My old man would tell me if I ever returned home, I’d better hope someone hadn’t already snapped that girl up because she was one of the good ones.
I liked to think my dad was smiling down on us, glad to see that I’d finally come to my senses and was back where I belonged, with the girl I never should have left.
“Thanks.” I brought her hand to my lips. “You don’t know how much I needed to hear that.”
She cupped my cheek. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. You were just living your life and that’s exactly what your folks would have wanted you to do. You thought you’d have a lot more time with your dad. No one could have known…”
I nodded, clearing my throat as I released her hand. “I know, you’re right.” I coated my dry throat with a sip of my water. “Hey, speaking of folks, shouldn’t we pay yours a visit before we start announcing on social media that we’re engaged?” I grimaced. “And if your old man finds out I proposed to his baby without asking his permission he’ll never forgive me.”
Gia’s dad was a big, burly guy who’d done manual labour all of his life. He scared the shit out of me when I was a teenager, especially when he warned me any punk-ass kid who didn’t show his princess the proper respect would have to answer to him. I suspected that was the reason me and Gia hadn’t crossed that line in high school. Her daddy owned guns and knew how to use them.
