Now That I've Found You - Kristina Forest Page 0,89
my gown.
“You look nice,” he says.
“Thank you.”
I lower my eyes and stare down at his Vans. “How did your meeting go with the record company?”
“I missed it,” he says.
“What?” My head snaps up. “Why?”
“I went with you to find your grandmother.” He says it matter-of-factly, not like he wants me to feel as though I owe him.
My voice is quiet. “Milo, you didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s okay,” he says, shrugging. “Helping you was more important. I told Adam I had a family emergency. Apparently he likes us so much he was willing to reschedule.”
“That’s good,” I say, so relieved I descend a stoop stair, moving closer to him.
“I watched the ceremony,” he says. “You gave a dope speech. Everyone is talking about it online.”
“Are they?” I ask wryly. I still don’t think I’ll bother to check. At least not for a little while.
He nods. “Yeah, all good things.”
“Oh.”
We fall quiet again. I can’t stand the awkwardness between us.
“I’m sorry, Evie,” he says, breaking the silence. “I should have been honest with you from the beginning.”
The sincerity in his voice shakes me. I look at him, standing here on Gigi’s front stoop, apologizing and putting himself out there for me again.
“I shouldn’t have said that you were like Simone,” I say. “That’s not true.”
He’s quiet for a moment. Then he asks, “Do you ever think we’ll be able to move past this?”
“Um.” I hate the way that my voice wobbles. Move past this to what? A future where the two of us are together? I can forgive Milo. I’m strong enough to do that. And I understand why he did what he did; he was being loyal to Gigi. But I’ll never be able to forget the way he lied to me so easily. How could we ever have a future if I can’t trust him?
Maybe Gigi has found a way to put her trust in James again. But theirs is an epic romance. They’re practically soul mates. The thought of comparing Milo and me to them is ridiculous. What we had barely lasted a week, and this is what happened.
“It’s okay, Milo. I forgive you,” I say, and I find that I truly mean it. “I wish you luck with the band. I really do think you guys will take off.”
He frowns, picking up on the finality in my tone.
“I guess we were never meant to be friends, huh?” His voice sounds so sad I can’t even take it.
“Thank you for your help,” I say, unable to look at him. “Really. Regardless of why you helped me, I liked having you there.”
“You’re welcome,” he says quietly.
“I have to go. We’re flying back to LA tomorrow.” I turn, but he quickly climbs the steps until he’s right in front of me. He reaches out and wraps me tightly in his arms. I breathe deeply, inhaling his cinnamon scent, committing it to memory.
I hold back a sob as I pull away. “Bye, Milo.”
His hands gently linger on my waist, then he lets go. “Bye, Evie.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
MONDAY, AUGUST 17
Gigi goes with us to the airport on Monday morning. There aren’t any paparazzi around, and no one else is trying to take photos of us. I guess we’re old news now. I can’t say that I’m upset about it.
My parents have decided to stay in LA for the unforeseeable future. They’ll edit what they’ve already filmed for their documentary and head back to Botswana sometime next year. I’m going to stay in LA and try to figure things out. Whatever that means.
Kerri is busy making sure everyone has their boarding passes, working even when she doesn’t have to.
“You are quite the worker bee,” Gigi says to her.
Kerri freezes. She still has moments when she’s completely in awe to be speaking with Evelyn Conaway. “Oh, um. Yes, I guess so.”
“That’s a good quality,” Gigi says. “You remind me of my friend Esther.”
At this, Kerri beams. Then she hustles my parents toward security.
It feels weird to leave New York now. I’m still sad over the way things ended with Milo and me. Maybe in the future, he and I will eventually become friends. Maybe we need years between now and then, like Gigi and James Jenkins.
And I don’t want to leave Gigi just yet. I barely got to spend any time with her this week. But I have the portrait from my eleventh birthday that she bought from Candice, and I’m taking it back to LA with me. I’ll return to see Gigi soon. I