Loving Gigi (3 page)

“Do you need anything? A drink perhaps?” the woman asked smoothly, assessing her state as she spoke.

Gigi felt exposed before her, as if this woman saw straight through her. She shot the woman a vague smile and turned away, “Thank you for asking, but I’m fine.”

“You’re not alone, Gigi. If you need anything this weekend, call this number.”

Gigi’s head snapped around, but she didn’t reach for the card the redhead held out. She took a deep breath and said, “You must have me confused with someone else.”

One beautifully sculpted ginger eyebrow arched. “I don’t make those kind of mistakes. Take the card.”

Gigi took the card and held it out to read. It was black with a phone number written in white print. She turned it over. No other information. She placed it in the front pocket of her cotton slacks. “If you’re hoping I’ll pay for your silence, I can barely afford my plane ticket home.”

The redhead held her eyes steadily. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Really? Why?”

The woman turned back to watch the wedding ceremony as she answered. “Because I know what it’s like to be on the outside looking in. It’s not easy.”

“Who are you?” Gigi demanded. She didn’t like feeling this woman knew all about her while she knew nothing about the woman.

“A friend if you need one,” the woman answered softly.

Gigi turned to the ceremony in frustration, then back to where the woman had been standing, but she was gone. She glanced around but didn’t see the redhead anywhere. “Well, that was creepy,” she muttered to herself.

When she turned back to the wedding ceremony her breath caught in her throat. Kane was standing at the top of the aisle reading a poem about love and family. He caught her watching him and smiled before continuing. Gigi fought against the pleasure that seared through her from that simple connection.

A deep sadness followed.
What do I know about either love or family? No one has ever loved me that way. I doubt they ever will. Sappy wedding poems don’t reflect the reality most people live.

Her emotions were already all over the place; did her libido need to add to the chaos?

Oh, God, weddings are dangerous. They make you want to believe love can be beautiful, that it can last
. Four couples were swearing before God and family to remain faithful. How many would keep that vow? Their father hadn’t, and Gigi was evidence of how little respect her mother had for the institution.

Kane’s deep voice listed the attributes of true love and the importance of tending to it, and a sudden jaded thought came to Gigi.
He’s probably married.

His wife is probably sitting in one of those rows thinking he’s talking about their marriage, while he’s looking at me.
He paused as if he’d become as wrapped up in her as she was in him. Gigi felt better and worse all at the same time. Her brain was listing all the reasons why she should look away, but beneath his hungry gaze her body screamed, “Hell, yes!”

Of course I want him. Look at him. He’s perfect.
Ruggedly sexy, but hotter than hell in a tux.
All this proves is that I’m human. I’m sure half the women here are looking at him and imagining a romp with him.
He winked at her and her lips parted with a wistful sigh. Gigi fought a crazy desire to walk straight up to him and test if his lips would feel as good on hers as they had grazing her hand.

“There you are,” Nini said from beside her in a brusque American manner. “I told you to come back and see me in an hour. I don’t like looking for people.”

Great.
Gigi was tempted to admit she didn’t work for her, but trying to explain her way out after what would follow would be worse than playing along one more time. The less attention she brought to herself the better. “Sorry, I got distracted.” She referenced the wedding ceremony. “It’s different than I expected.”

A flash of something akin to understanding passed over Nini’s expression, then her eyes were hard and determined again, and she spoke in a fast, impatient tone. “It’s like watching a fairy tale, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Gigi said softly as she looked around at all the children who were woven in and out of the ceremony. Today, the Andrades were the family her father had described. Old memories swept through her, making her yearn to speak to her father one last time. She had so many questions.

Papa, did you love us as much as you loved them?

Was I ever more than your secret shame?

Nini cut into her thoughts with a dose of reality. “It’s okay to look, but don’t want it. It’s not real. Not for people like us. You and I are nothing beyond what we do for them. We’re only as valuable as how seamlessly we deliver our services. Make a mistake and we’re discarded like a chair with a broken leg.”

Ouch. Gigi looked at the glittering blue eyes of the woman beside her and wondered what had happened that had made her so bitter. She spontaneously asked what she was wondering. “If you don’t like your job, why do you do it?”

Nini frowned at her and said harshly, “I love what I do, but you remind me of myself when I was your age. All starry-eyed. People like that get used and discarded. You’re here to do a job and then leave. Don’t think just because you’re standing on the same grass as they are that you could ever be one of them.” Nini cleared her throat. “You did well with the pre-ceremony cocktails. Do you think you could get our international crew to serve dinner just as smoothly?”

Why not?
Gigi asked herself in resignation. She was a hot mess on the inside. Helping out might help her clear her head. She nodded and followed Nini back to the house where the food was being prepped. On autopilot, she translated Nini’s instructions to the staff and then slipped back to the wedding just in time to watch the guests begin to fill the large tent that had been set up over a dance floor and a sea of tables.

Afterward, she stood near the back entrance of the dinner tent and sighed sadly.
I could be at one of those tables if I’d answered the invitation. I could say something now, and maybe they would welcome me in.

Maybe.

Nini’s right, though. Just because I’m standing here beside them, doesn’t make me one of them. Why are they contacting me now? What do they want from me?

Could they possibly want to know me as much as I’ve always wanted to know them?

And what if they don’t? I’m happy with my life. I don’t need to rip open old wounds.

One of her uncles walked by and their eyes met briefly. She sent him a tentative smile, and he nodded in her direction. Cordial, but not warm. He showed no sign of recognizing her as he continued to walk past her.

Her heart tightened painfully in her chest.

He doesn’t know me. Why should he?

I’m not one of them.

Not when I was little. Not now.

Gigi turned and fled the area. She tried to leave the party, but there was no easy way out, and she didn’t want to see Nini again. She headed toward the stairs of a steep bluff that led to the beach. She only made it halfway down the steps before she stopped, leaned on the railing of the landing, and cried softly into the ocean breeze.

I shouldn’t have come.

This was a bad, bad idea.

Feelings she’d bottled up came spilling out. She cried out in anger then broke down into tears. Memories she’d pushed aside for so long came back with agonizing vividness. She was back at the palazzo in Venice, running into her father’s office to see him after school. As if watching a movie, she saw herself calling to him softly, thinking he was asleep in his leather chair. Then shaking him with growing fear as he didn’t respond.

Her young mind had fought against the truth even when it was obvious. In shock, she’d sunk to her knees at his feet and wept into his still-warm hands. He had left her. Just like that. No goodbyes. No warning.

When her mother had pulled her from him, Gigi had fought her, transferring some of her anger to her mother.
I hated him for leaving, and I hated my mother for not being angry with me.

As her tears dried, Gigi continued to look out over the water. She had never felt more alone or more confused. Now that she’d graduated from college she was free to go anywhere, but even that freedom was suddenly terrifying.
I have nothing and no one.

Real loneliness swept up and through her. There was an emptiness within her she desperately wanted to fill with something. Anything. Had she been a drinker, she would have snuck back into the wedding and numbed herself with alcohol. Instead, she watched the sunset and made a frivolous wish.

For just one night, could I actually be the woman Kane thinks I am?

Someone who isn’t afraid to take what she wants.

*     *     *

The ceremony was
beautiful but long. Kane kept a smile plastered to his face during the photo session that followed. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the importance of the event or wish each couple well. His sister, Rena, had found a man she said she couldn’t live without. Just because it wasn’t who he would have chosen for her, didn’t mean it couldn’t work. And, he had to admit, Nick had grown into a solid businessman. He was glad he hadn’t done as he’d threatened and strangled him when he’d first heard they were dating.

Watching Gio walk off with Julia had left Kane feeling conflicted. On one hand, Gio had found happiness with a woman who had helped him reunite with his family. Two years ago, Gio wouldn’t have been able to stand being in the same room with his brothers for longer than five minutes, never mind sharing an altar with them. Now they were the family they’d always been meant to be. Although Kane was happy for them, he couldn’t help but feel that an era was ending. His sister wouldn’t need him to protect her anymore. Gio would no longer spend holidays with the Sanders. They each had their own families now and this island to gather on.

Kane imagined himself with a wife and kids and shuddered.

Not yet.

There isn’t a woman on the planet I’d give up my freedom for. Although, I may have found one I’d break my rule of five for. A woman like Luisella would be worth the mess that dating longer inevitably brings.

He searched the dining area for her and was disappointed when he didn’t see her. Alessandro Andrade was welcoming everyone, but Kane was already plotting his escape. He had planned his speech, but shortened it as he became more and more impatient. He scanned the room again and met the eyes of several beautiful women. Some looked away and blushed. Some met his gaze boldly. All of them left him cold.

At Gio’s urging, Kane accepted a microphone and delivered the speech Rena had helped him write. She hadn’t trusted him to sound sentimental enough, and her instincts were spot on as usual. He briefly described Gio before he’d met Julia as a gruff workaholic. He smiled at Julia when he described how she’d come into his friend’s life and turned it upside down. Sometimes even a successful man can benefit from a smack in the head. He toasted the couple and their future together.

When he finished, Gio stood and gave Kane a brotherly hug. His new wife, Julia, hugged him tearfully. As soon as the microphone was handed off to a man Nick knew, Kane made his way to the side of the tent and slipped outside.

The sun was setting on the horizon and the area that had been full of chairs was already cleared. When Kane saw what looked like a small carnival being set up, he shook his head in amusement. The Andrades were an eccentric family. They had more dignitaries, royals, and CEOs of companies attending than many political summits, but they filled the lawn with entertainment for their children. He could see what his sister loved about them and had no trouble imagining her chasing her own children around these island mega mansions.

Still. Bounce houses, cupcakes, balloons?
He shuddered at the scene he knew would unfold there as soon as the mass of children, who were sitting beside their parents beneath the tent, were released into the wild. Kane walked closer to the bluffs, looked out over the ocean and savored what was likely the last quiet to be found. It was then he caught a slight movement on the steps leading down to the water and instantly straightened.

It had to be. He called out softly, “Luisella.”

The woman didn’t turn at first. She stayed where she was, midway down, staring out over the crashing waves. Her hair that had been tied back in a sophisticated knot flew wildly in the air behind her. As if she suddenly became aware of someone watching her, she turned and looked up at him.

Oh, yes.

The night air sizzled with what could only be described as their animalistic attraction to each other. He wanted her, and he would have her.

Hopefully that night, repeatedly, and then again in the morning. He started down the steps, forcing himself to take them one at a time. He didn’t want to rush through one moment of what he knew would be an unforgettable night.

As he neared her, he noticed the emotional shine to her eyes and his gut twisted as his protective nature kicked in. He stood beside her on the landing. “So this is where you’ve been hiding.”

She looked at him angrily. “Please go away.”

Kane’s head snapped back. Women didn’t speak to him that way. Well, only his sister and only when she was upset. “Did something happen? Are you all right?”

“Shouldn’t you be with your wife?”

Was that it? Did she think he was married and prowling? “I’m not married.”

She turned her attention back to the waves before them and shrugged. “It really doesn’t matter either way.”

Regardless of how many times he’d imagined a better ending to the night, he would have walked away as she asked, had he not noticed she was gripping the wooden railing so hard her knuckles were white. He put his hands on the railing beside hers and ignored how his blood rushed dizzily through him when their arms brushed slightly. “Are you here with someone?”

She kept her face averted. “Didn’t you already say you didn’t care if I was?”

Unable to stop himself, he put a hand beneath her chin and turned her face toward his. Even in the waning light he could tell she had been crying. “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”