Page 77 of One Sweet Day is Never Enough

Nineteen

Gia parked in the usual spot outside her apartment building and turned off the lights. She climbed out of the car and trudged up the stairs to her front door in the dark. She checked her watch. Almost midnight.

Inside the apartment, she dropped her things on the counter and poured a glass of ice water, then sucked it down and refilled the glass.

What a night. She shook her head. Chaos. A cat fight, as it was probably being called by some of the party guests by now. What if someone had filmed it on a phone?Oh no.Please, no.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.Let it go.

What would Stacey be doing by now? Probably sleeping off the alcohol—with any luck. Hopefully, Seth would be asleep by now, too.

Gia jumped as her phone rang and Seth’s name lit up the screen. She reached to pick it up and then slowly pulled her hand back. Was she really ready to talk about this debacle with him right now? She listened to it ring again, watched it light up once more. No, she wasn’t.

What could she possibly say to him right now? The whole thing had been just a bit too over-the-top. She was humiliated, frustrated, angry, and worried about her job, to boot. It would be better to wait until tomorrow before they talked. It wouldn’t help to say something she’d regret.

He’d probably be exhausted, anyway, and assume she was asleep. She walked into the living area and plopped down on her couch, setting the phone on the coffee table.

Would she still even have a job on Monday? To handle an incident like the one tonight was not unheard of at weddings and parties. But to be at the center of the controversy—that was something else entirely.

Abigail would surely call Noreen tomorrow, or Monday, perhaps, and tell her what had happened. So Gia would have to get out in front of it and catch Noreenbeforethat happened. She’d call her first thing in the morning and explain. Noreen frequently worked on Sundays, after all.

Still, the whole thing made her uneasy. Queasy, even. She stared at the coffee table in front of her.

She’d tried so hard to make tonight a success. She’d given it everything she had, all month. Noreen was dangling it over her head like a carrot to a horse. All Gia’d had to do was pull the cart and get the job done. The step up at the agency had been right there in front of her, all month, but now, it was, once again, out of reach.

It was so unfair that this stubborn, irrational, vengeful excuse for a woman could unravel it with a temper tantrum. Stacey was unbelievable. How could Seth have dated her for so long?

Still, she felt sorry for Seth. He’d done his best tonight to keep Stacey under control—for hours. It was his feelings for Gia that had been their undoing. He’d come over to reassure her—sweet man that he was—and then he’d let his emotions get the best of him. That kiss—Ryan Trewet never would’ve suspected a thing if Seth hadn’t kissed her. Still, Gia had appreciated it. It had almost neutralized the torture of watching him slow dance with his ex-girlfriend. He’d only been trying to make her feel better.

Gia’s eyes felt moist. She sighed heavily and let out a short sob. What a mess.

She sat back and began to skim through her messages, and Tom’s name popped up.That’s right. He’d called earlier. He’d probably love this story. It would just prove his assumptions—that Seth was trouble.

Oh well, he had a point—on some level.

It was Saturday night, around midnight, and Tom was probably out with their friends. Now was as good a time as any to try him back. Even if he did feel the need to preach at her first, he’d be willing to lend an ear.

She ran a finger over Tom’s name on her phone.

Tom picked up on the second ring. “Gia! This is a surprise. Whatcha doin’?”

She sniffled. “Just got home from the anniversary party.” She wiped her nose. “I saw you called earlier.”

“Oh, right. Hey, one sec. I’m at the bar and it’s loud. Let me go outside.” About fifteen seconds passed while Gia heard music and voices on the other end of the line. “Okay, I can hear you now,” he said. “So you said you just got home from the party—how’d it go?”

Gia leaned her head to one side. “It was all right.” She went quiet.

“All right? What’s wrong, honey?”

Gia sighed heavily. “It was good. It just all fell apart at the end.”

“What did?”

Gia thought she might burst into tears.Don’t be so dramatic.Hold it together, Stewart.“Just—everything.” She swallowed, shook off the feeling, and drank more of her ice water. That was better.

“Everything? Well, gosh, that sounds like a horrible party.”

Gia laughed.

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