GIA
The chime indicating the call was connecting should have made her stomach turn. Her spine straightened, fueled by cold fury and determination. When Jerry’s round face filled the screen, she was ready.
With a scowl etched on his face, Jerry opened his mouth, getting ready to berate her for ignoring him and his calls for the last month. She raised a finger before he could speak, and the unexpected gesture left him speechless.
“You’re fired.”
His mouth fell open, astonished at her audacity. She savored the moment of surprising the smug jerk before ending the call. Sure enough, her phone rang with an incoming call.
Jerry.
She blocked his number after sending his call to voicemail.
Following the fundraiser yesterday, she spoke with Kim, who connected her to contract lawyers. All current contracts were already being terminated.
She was done.
Done with Jerry. Done with acting. Justdoneliving a life that no longer served her.
For now, she was happy working with her family at the restaurant.She broke the lease on her apartment. Her life in LA was being packed up and put into storage. There was hardly anything she needed, and Kim offered to take care of her plants.
It wasn’t clear where she would live long-term, but for the time being, she would plan to stay with family. Or at Jake’s. They still hadn’t talked about her moving in, but it was inevitable.
The fundraiser had been a major success. When photos of her holding a kitten, with Jake looking down at her in affection, appeared on the internet, people worldwide started sending donations to the clinic. Even better, so many of the pets found a new home right here in town, while many of those in the surrounding cities have inquired about the adoption process.
It really was a win-win situation, exactly like Marley had predicted.
If Marley hadn’t convinced her to help capture Tuna, which forced Gia to give Jake another chance, none of this would have been possible. She needed to repay Marley somehow.
But first, she needed to confront Jake about one more thing that still bothered her—which brought her to her current predicament.
The mud sucked at her hiking boots, making each step an act of resistance as she marched to the top. When she’d stopped by this morning to see Jake, she’d only found Marley, who told her where to find him.
It was serendipity, really, that he would be in the exact place she needed to confront him. It reminded her of the last time she’d found him at the top of the walking trail, only this time she was better prepared with a raincoat and a small backpack.
As she crested the trail, she stopped at its edge, standing in cool shade mere inches from where warm sunlight kissed the ground. Her heart clenched as she saw the familiar blond head on the bench.
The wind carried his words to her as he sat and talked. “You should have seen her, man. She looked fearless in front of thosedicks.” He chuckled like it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. She knew he was directing his words to an unseen presence.
Someone he’d never forgotten.
In the years since Thao died, she hadn’t thought about anyone else but herself. She lost her twin brother, but Jake lost his best friend. His brother—not by blood, but by destiny.
Grief was a curious phenomenon. When she should have been happy, sadness came over her, leaving her feeling empty without her twin. The feeling washed over her, nearly dragging her down.
It had always been this way for her, but maybe she had been looking at it all wrong. Maybe grief was love knocking on the door and not having a place to go. She hadn’t made space for it, and so it kept pulling her under.
Jake made room for it each time, no matter how big or small. Pulled by an invisible string, she stepped forward. As she got closer, she saw his shoulders tense, a sure sign he heard her.
“You know, you should have told me it was you.” She rounded the bench, facing Jake head-on.
His eyes sparkled with curiosity as he gazed up at her. “What was me?” Jake didn’t seem surprised to see her.
Gia pointed a manicured nail at the bench accusingly. “You donated the bench.”
Jake nodded, considering her words. Instead of answering, he took a bite of the apple he held in his hand. Next to him were two sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap. She would bet there was a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich for Thao, and another with strawberry jelly and without the crust for her.
“How did you find out?” he asked after swallowing.
