Now That I've Found You - Kristina Forest Page 0,16
just as Milo comes barreling down the steps. I forgot he was still in the house, and I suddenly feel even worse about shouting at Gigi.
“Milo,” she calls, “take Evie out with you.”
“What?” I say.
“What?” he says, pausing at the door.
“I need space.” Her voice is quiet as she massages her temples. “I need to be alone. Completely.” She means she needs space from me, and it’s the worst feeling in the world.
“Gigi, I’m sorry,” I say.
Ignoring me, she stands abruptly and walks out of the dining room.
I bite my lip, looking down at the spread of cold food on the table. I don’t want to leave, but maybe it’s best that I give her space and try again tomorrow. I walk into the sitting room and put my wig back on, adding the baseball cap and sunglasses.
I watch Gigi as she climbs the staircase with Mark Antony and Cleo right at her heels. But she doesn’t turn around to look at me.
Everything blew up in my face before I could tell her the most important reason I need her at the ceremony. As a last resort, Kerri and I finally took the call from James Jenkins’s team. It turns out that he’s producing a remake of Every Time We Meet, and he wants me to play the lead, Diane Tyler. Months ago, I would have laughed at this offer and said absolutely not. But now I am desperate and pretty sure my career might be over before it’s even begun, so I said yes. There’s only one catch, though. He wants Gigi’s blessing and for her to meet with him after the FCC ceremony. If I can’t get her blessing or convince her to take the meeting, I don’t have the role.
This is what I’ve been so nervous to tell her. And now we can’t even have a conversation about it because I ruined everything by yelling at her.
“It’s nighttime,” Milo says, pointing at my sunglasses as I meet him at the door. “You won’t need those.”
Does he actually think I plan on going wherever he’s going? Yeah, right.
But then again, I could use this time to figure out his agenda. His days of Gigi-freeloading are over.
“I can see just fine,” I say, sliding on my platform sandals.
Then I follow Milo outside into the summer night.
Chapter Five
“What do you want from my grandmother?” I ask Milo.
We’ve barely made it past Gigi’s front stoop. The air is less muggy now that it’s nighttime, but it’s still pretty hot. The street is quiet, though. The only sound I hear is the clicking of my sandals and the lack of sound coming from Milo’s mouth because he hasn’t answered my question. His long legs quickly cover a lot of ground, and I have to walk twice as fast to keep up with him.
“Um, hello,” I say. “Did you hear me?”
He stops abruptly and faces me, running a hand through his short dreads. He’s traded in his slippers for scuffed white Vans, and he’s wearing a plain navy-blue T-shirt.
“Look,” he says, “I’m sure you think I’m some kind of gold digger or whatever, but I’m not. I told you, I’m your grandma’s friend. There’s not really much else to say.”
“Somehow I don’t believe that,” I say, rolling my eyes.
He frowns. “I’m not a liar. That’s something you should know about me now.”
I’m so surprised by how serious he’s become that it takes me a second to realize he’s moving again. I hurry to catch up. Not a liar, my butt. “How old are you?”
“Nineteen.” His easy smile is back. “And you’re eighteen, right?”
“Yes,” I answer automatically. Then, “Wait, we’re not talking about me! What nineteen-year-old musician willingly spends time with a seventy-year-old woman, who just so happens to have been a movie star, if he isn’t after her money or some kind of business hookup?”
“You wouldn’t ask that question if you knew how lonely your grandmother is,” he mutters, but I hear him perfectly fine and flinch.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He doesn’t answer and keeps walking. I still try my best to match his pace. Eventually, we turn onto Broadway, where the streets and sidewalks are more crowded. I stop and tense up. In my rush to interrogate Milo, I’d forgotten that following him outside meant I’d be surrounded by a bunch of other people on the busy New York City streets.
Milo turns around when he realizes I’m not walking beside him. “What are you doing?”