Now That I've Found You - Kristina Forest Page 0,48

me for ruining a beloved classic?

“You okay?” Milo whispers about halfway through the movie.

I nod, facing forward.

“You sure?”

I nod again. This time I glance at him.

His eyes drift to my plate. “You haven’t eaten anything.”

“I’m not hungry,” I whisper back.

He reaches with his fork and starts eating some of my eggs.

I gasp. “I didn’t say you could do that!”

“Sorry.” He laughs. “You might not be hungry, but I still am.”

“Shh,” Ruby hisses. But before she turns away, she smiles at us slyly.

I sigh and put my plate on Milo’s tray; he might as well eat the food if I’m not going to.

I focus on the movie again and find myself wrapped up in it, just like Ruby and Esther, who I’m sure have seen it as many times as me, if not more. It’s hard not to swoon when Henry first appears on-screen, smiling like a charming country boy. And when he and Diane kiss for the first time, you have no choice but to sigh aloud. They really do make you believe that they’re in love.

During the final scene, when Diane runs through Penn Station, we’re all sitting on the edges of our seats. Even Milo. With tear-filled eyes, Diane searches for the right words to say to Henry, and he delivers his iconic last line. If someone said that to me in real life, I’d swoon for days.

The movie ends, and Ruby claps slowly but enthusiastically.

“This one will always be my favorite,” Esther says, standing up and gathering our plates. “Peg gets so annoyed when I say that. She always says, ‘It was my first movie! I got so much better later on!’” Esther chuckles on her way into the kitchen. Once she returns, she adds, “We’ll be watching as Peg receives her award on Sunday night. It’s long overdue. To think James received the award almost a decade ago! To think he called her. As if she wanted to speak to him!”

“Wait, what?” Now she has my full attention. “James Jenkins called her? When?”

“Wednesday night,” Esther says. “Now that I think about it, that might have been why she was so upset when she called me. She’d just finished her phone call with James. I didn’t think much of it because you know how she feels about him. They haven’t spoken in years, and suddenly he calls her out of the blue.”

He wasn’t supposed to be in contact with Gigi. I was supposed to be the one to reunite them. Did he already tell Gigi about our deal? Did she know all along?

Oh no.

I gulp. “What did they talk about?”

Esther shakes her head again. “She wouldn’t say. She just kept going on about how he had so much nerve to even dial her number.”

“So that means James was the last person she talked to before you?” I ask.

“Well, yes, I guess so,” Esther says. “I don’t even know how he got her number.”

“He’s a rascal, that’s how!” Ruby says.

I quickly stand up. I need to find a way to get in touch with James, and I can’t do that here. “I really have to go now. Thank you so much for breakfast, Esther. It was nice to see you, Ruby.”

Milo stands too. I edge away toward the hallway, and Esther rushes over to me.

“It was so good to see you again,” she says, hugging me tightly. She pulls away and studies my face. “You look just like her. You always have, ever since you were a little girl.”

“I wish I had more in common with her than just my looks.” I meant to only say that in my head, not out loud.

“I know you’ve been hard on yourself after what happened with that director, but if you think your grandmother didn’t make mistakes too, you’re wrong. Her career wasn’t perfect. You should ask her about the pitfalls.”

Maybe Gigi would have told me the stories of her pitfalls after the video leak, if only I’d actually had the heart to talk to her. Now she’s gone, and I can’t ask her anything.

“I’ll do that,” I promise Esther.

I turn around to see where Milo’s gone, and he’s crouched down in front of Ruby.

She pinches his cheek. “You know, you’re charming, just like Henry.”

“You think so?” he asks, grinning at her. “That’s a lot to live up to.”

She gives him a warm smile. “Oh, I’m sure.” She glances at me, then turns back to Milo and winks. “And I know what’s what. Thanks for indulging a little old hopeless romantic