Page 25 of Life

“I have faith she’ll make it through this an even stronger woman. After what we’ve experienced in our pasts, what Danny did…” Her voice trembles as she speaks. “If not, there is no hope for any of us now, is there?”

I lay my head back against the leather seat. “I don’t know, Gigi. How can we be certain of God’s plan? Why is it we’ve endured so much and yet so many others live easy with not a care in the world?”

She smiles and intertwines her fingers with mine. “We can’t be certain. The only thing we can do is live every day to the fullest. Give our best self to those we love and never forget that what we’ve survived has made us who we are today, but it doesn’t define us. That’s a lesson Chase has spent countless hours trying to instill in me. And you know what?”

“What,cara bonita?”

“He’s right. You, me, Bree, Kat, Phillip, Chase…we’re all survivors. It’s something that bonds us, and I for one wouldn’t take it back.”

“Any of it?”

She smiles and looks off into the distance. “I guess I could have lived without seeing all the deaths. Chase’s mom, Tommy, those people in the gym explosion, Charity the yoga mentee.” Gigi covers her abdomen where her twins rest, growing bigger every day. “Then we realize there is always a yin and yang, a high and low, good versus evil. If all of this hadn’t happened, I might not have found Chase, married him, and I wouldn’t be carrying his children. Perhaps even the most vile things happen for a reason, and this past year was all to see these two human beings come out of it.”

“I hope so. But now there’s this thing brewing with Eli.”

“Eli?”

“Did I say, Eli? I, uh, meant Antonio.”

Gillian smiles so huge her entire face glows. “You definitely said Eli. So, there’s more to this situation with Tommy’s brother than I would have guessed. Care to share?”

“No. Not particularly.”

“Ria, don’t you dare leave me hanging. I’m pregnant, I’ve survived a crazy hard year, you have to share because we’re soul sisters, and we don’t keep anything from one another. Not the good stuff anyway.”

I cringe. “There’s nothing to tell. I mean it’s weird. He’s into me.” Her nose crinkles up, which—after knowing her for five years—means she’s not following. “He keeps making these comments as though he’s attracted to me and not at all worried about it.”

She gasps. “You’re kidding. Tommy’s brother is putting the moves on you?”

“Not exactly, but kind of…yeah. What’s worse—and the reason I know for a fact I’m going to hell in a handbasket—is I’m attracted to him too. Isn’t that sick?”

“Sick? My goodness no. Ria, you can’t help who you’re attracted to. It’s not like you woke up one day and said, ‘I’m going to be attracted to my Tommy’s brother.’ I mean, I almost would be surprised if you weren’t. He’s like the super sexy, bad boy version of Tommy. No offense to Tommy, you know I cared deeply for him, and I know you did as well. But, honey, it was always strange to me how you and Tommy fit. I mean, you’re so different and you’ve always gone for the bad boys. Tommy was the exact opposite of a bad boy, down to the style of jeans he wore. Still, he was hot, and as far as looks go, your type. As is his identical twin brother.”

“So you don’t think it’s weird?”

She shakes her head. “Not at all. I’d find it weird if you didn’t. I mean, the man is his identical twin, only he’s the super duper, smokin’ hot, motorcycle-riding-type version.”

“He did say he was into motorcycles.”

Gigi dances in her seat. “See!”

I laugh and lean my head on her shoulder. “I’m not ready to let Tommy go. I don’t know when I will be, but that doesn’t mean my libido isn’t working overtime. Tommy and I had a dry spell right before he passed.”

“How long of a dry spell?” Her voice lowers into a gentle murmur.

“A full month.”

Gigi’s head whips back so fast I worry she’s given herself whiplash.

“What? I’m sorry. You went a month without getting laid? Were you fighting? Not getting along?”

Why does everyone think that?

“No, just busy, and all the stuff with Danny took its toll.”

“Huh. How do I put this without coming off as a mean bizatch? Honey, I’ve never known you to go a full month without a tumble in the sack. Ever. I mean, I had a dry spell, and you hounded me relentlessly to go out and pick up guys with you so my vagina wouldn’t be covered in cobwebs. Hell, you gave me the same spiel when I met Chase in that bar in Chicago. Remember?”

“Oh,diablos. You’re right.” I push my fingers through my hair, trying to figure out why we hadn’t been intimate that last month before he was killed. Sure, there was the work for him, rehearsals for me, but that had never stopped me before. I have an outrageously active libido on a good day. So much so, in the nine months we dated, Tommy and I would go weeks where we had sex every single day. We couldn’t get enough of one another.

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