Now That I've Found You - Kristina Forest Page 0,23
with a big, floppy hat and sunglasses. It was one of the rare times we left Manhattan or her house in general.
When we arrived, the old brownstone was abandoned and falling apart. She had lived on the top floor of a one-bedroom apartment with her parents and two brothers.
She looked so sad as she stood in front of her old home. “You are very blessed, Evie Marie,” she said. “You’ve never had to struggle for anything. Be grateful for that.”
At the time, that was true. I’d just found out that I’d been accepted at Mildred McKibben. My biggest struggle was dealing with the fact that Gigi lived across the country and that I had to get on a plane to see her.
Gigi was my age when she was discovered waitressing at a speakeasy on the Lower East Side. The owners let her sing every now and then, and my grandfather, who was an up-and-coming movie producer in LA, happened to be there on one of those nights. The way Gigi tells it, he approached her once she was done singing and told her that she was too talented to be singing in speakeasies on Saturday nights; she belonged in movies. He promised that if she came with him to Los Angeles, he’d turn her into a big star. For some reason, she believed him. Two years later, she filmed Every Time We Meet, and it changed her whole life.
I almost had a similar life-changing moment, and it blew up in my face. Starring in James Jenkins’s remake of Every Time We Meet will turn things around for me, though. I just need to get Gigi on board, for her to realize how important this is. Once I explain everything to her, the deal with James Jenkins and why I made it, I’m sure she’ll change her mind about going to the ceremony.
Ahead of me, Raf pops a squat on a bench and starts debating with Vinny on whether or not they should actually wear leather pants in honor of the song. Ben stuffs his hands into his pockets and yawns, sitting down on Vinny’s other side. When he sees me watching them, he smiles and waves. This catches Milo’s attention, and he glances back at me.
He walks over. “You okay?”
“I’m gonna head back.” I step over to the sidewalk and put my arm up to hail a taxi. It’s actually the first time I’ve ever done it myself, so I’m surprised when a yellow cab pulls over in front of me. It really does work, just like in movies.
I ask, “You want a ride back with me?”
Milo looks surprised that I offered. “Nah, I’m cool. I’m gonna stay here with them until we figure things out. Thank you, though.”
I nod in reply, and as I get into the car, I hear Raf shout, “Damn, Evie, you just gonna dip and not say bye?”
I turn around, and he, Ben, and Vinny are all watching me. Raf is kind of a handful, but Ben and Vinny are okay.
“Bye,” I call. “Good luck at your show tomorrow.”
“Thanks!” they shout.
Milo leans against the open car door and looks at me for a moment. “Are you sure you don’t want to stick around?”
Now it’s my turn to be surprised. As suspicious as I’ve been of him all night, he actually wants me to stay? “No, I should get going. It’s been a long day.”
He nods. “Okay. I’ll see you later.” He shuts my door for me.
“Mm-hmm,” I say, facing forward.
Milo seems okay … maybe. But Gigi didn’t go through all her life struggles just to be taken advantage of now.
When I have the chance to talk to her, I’m going to try my best to convince her that this whole Milo situation needs to be nipped in the bud. He might not be that bad a person, but I still don’t quite trust him.
By the time I get back to Gigi’s, it’s almost midnight. I assume that she’s in bed, until I walk by her office and see that her light is still on. At first, I wonder if maybe she forgot to turn the light off before she went to sleep, but then I hear her chair scrape against the floor as she moves around.
Part of me wants to open the door and talk to her now. But I think it would probably be best to wait until tomorrow, when we can start fresh.
If I’m lucky, by tomorrow, everything will be different.