If nothing else, he was determined to earn her forgiveness for ever hurting her.
“Okay, so what’s our game plan?”
“I’m glad you asked. Here’s what we’re gonna do…”
Jake listened closely as Marley reviewed the plan. Or “The Game Plan,” as Marley referred to it. He was skeptical that prolonged eye contact would do anything other than make Gia want to scratch his eyes out. And slow blinking seemed a little insane to him.
Do people really do that?
According to Marley, cats slow blink as a sign of love and affection, and since the goal was for Jake to show Gia his feelings for her, he had to find moments to… slow blink at Gia.
God, this is not going to work.Why am I treating Gia like an animal? Am I only wasting my time with this?
He should be smart about this and try to woo her the traditional way: flowers, chocolates, and maybe a boom box outside her bedroom window.
No, that was preposterous. Besides, the Liens would probably come outside with their lawn chairs and watch as Gia ripped him a new asshole for trying to pull such a stunt. They’d probably break out the popcorn and enjoy the spectacle, too. Nothing less than what he deserved.
If only there were a time machine. He could travel back in time and stop the words from ever leaving his mouth.
“This was a mistake.”
Why the hell did I say that?
Of all the asinine things to say to the girl he’d been in love with for as long as he could remember, this one took the cake.
It was not a mistake. Of course it wasn’t. That night had been the best moment of his entire pathetic life. He’d waited years to hold Gia the way he’d wanted to. Far from the brotherly, affectionate hugs he’d allowed until then.
In a moment of passion and mutual grief, they’d turned to each other. Gia climbed into his bed as if she had always been there, and maybe in his dreams she had been. She’d settled in under his covers, her head on his chest, one hand on his heart, while he held her as she silently wept. His shirt had been soakedthrough, but he hadn’t complained. It hurt him more to see her hurting than to know Thao was no longer with them.
It had always been three of them. A trio of friends who balanced each other out perfectly. Gia with her wild ideas, Thao supporting her in her adventures, and Jake, who was the more practical one of the bunch. He kept the twins safe as they schemed and got up to no good. Unfortunately, he’d failed Thao.
Ultimately, he’d failed Gia too.
Thirteen
GIA
“Order’s up!” The bell chimed, and Gia groaned as she rushed to retrieve the next order.
It had been an exhausting day. She had forgotten what it was like to work at the restaurant. Even with Minh there and splitting the workload, it had been a crazy day. It was great for the restaurant but terrible for her poor feet. And her back. She’d need to book an appointment with a massage therapist to get the kinks out of her legs. It would definitely be necessary if she had to do this all week.
Despite the discomfort, Gia had to admit it felt nice to feel useful. Needed. It had been so easy to slip back into her role at The Lotus. Natural. Almost as if she had never left at all. If she had been doing this job for a while, she speculated her muscles wouldn’t be aching so much now.
If I had never fled town all those years ago, is this what my life would be like?
When her mother had knocked on the door that morning, waking her up from a sound sleep, Gia had groaned and covered her face with a pillow, which was promptly ripped off her.
“Lazy girl, get dressed. You’re going to the restaurant today.”Her mother’s tone meant business. Gia knew better than to argue with her.
After rolling out of the creaky old bed, the smell of freshly brewed Vietnamese coffee lured her out of the bedroom. Moving slightly faster than the pace of a sloth, she yanked a cup out of the cupboard and filled it to the brim. The smell had been heavenly and made her sigh with contentment. Taking a sip, she winced when the hot liquid burned her tongue.
Worth it, she thought as the delicious taste infiltrated her sleepy brain.
“Gia, we’re leaving in five minutes. You want to walk or you want a ride?” Mom’s voice pulled her out of her coffee-induced stupor.
“Ugh. Fine. Be ready in four.” They both knew she was lying.
In a record-breaking thirteen minutes, Gia was flying down the stairs. Her father was waiting for her by the door. He glanced up from his phone with a slight smile before opening the door for her. Slipping into her shoes, she headed to the minivan. Her mother was already waiting with her sunglasses on, an irritated expression on her face. Mom hated being late.
