“Is part of that because you’ve never forgiven me for giving up my career . . . for believing I gave you up as well, in order to marry Stephen and move to San Diego?”
Gia held her breath. Her skin started to prickle. She and her mother hadn’t had this discussion since Gia was sixteen. Even then, it hadn’t been as much of an argument as it had been Gia saying a lot of things she later regretted and her mother reciprocating.
“It’s not like that,” Gia said. “It was never my place to judge you anyway. That was wrong of me.”
“You’re my daughter. You were affected most by my decision. I can’t imagine who deserves an opinion on the matter more,” her mom responded evenly. Gia opened her mouth to backpedal, but her mother squeezed her forearm gently, silencing her. “My choices were my own, Gia. I think I’ve made the right decision. I’m happy with my life.”
“I’m so glad,” Gia said sincerely, swiping at a wet cheek.
“I know you are. The thing of it is, I want your choices to be your own, as well.”
“They are,” Gia assured, a little taken aback. “Who else’s would they be?”
“A knee-jerk reaction isn’t a choice, honey,” Susan said. “Making a decision about your romantic relationship and career based on the fact that it’s the opposite of what I did isn’t the same as a well-thought-out choice. That’s being a slave to your past hurts.”
Gia just stared for a moment, her mouth hanging open. “You think I should sacrifice my career to be with Seth?”
“No,” her mom scoffed. “Not everything is black and white. Maybe you think it was in my case, but it wasn’t in my book. You were too young to realize it, but my job was grueling. It took its toll on me. And as far as sacrifices go, we all make them in order to get the things we want.”
Dread settled on her as she sat there cross-legged on the bed, her thoughts swirling until she felt a little dizzy with them.
“I was wrong to run away from him like that, wasn’t I?” Gia asked dully. “He wanted to talk, but I just thought it was postponing the inevitable. I wanted to avoid the pain, but it didn’t work. Not really.”
“If Seth wanted to talk before, he still will.”
She looked at her mom’s compassionate face. “Even after what happened today with that story breaking?” she asked dubiously.
Her mom leaned forward and gave her a hug. “I can’t say for sure. But from what I’ve heard about Seth so far, I’d guess especially after today.”
Her mother squeezed her extra hard and then leaned back. She became all brisk and businesslike, but Gia hadn’t missed the way she had furtively wiped a tear off her cheek.
“Now, you eat this salad, drink your tea and try to get some rest,” Susan insisted, fussing with the tray of food. “You said Charles and some of the team are going to be here bright and early tomorrow to go over your testimony again. You need the rest this weekend, given how stressful next week will be.”
She followed her mother’s instructions, knowing she was right. Next week would be difficult. But after she’d eaten, cleaned up and gone to bed, sleep still wouldn’t come.
As she lay in bed, Gia thought about the conversation with her mother, experiencing a mixture of hope, anguish and doubt. She couldn’t help but consider how much Seth despised everything that news story typified, including the blatant dishonesty and the crass, aggressive invasion of his private life. She’d been the one to make him a target of that, however unintentionally.
There was also the glaring fact that he wasn’t returning her phone calls. And that even if the opportunity came up, Madeline and Charles had both insisted that she and Seth not see each other until this media storm and the trial ended. To Gia, that seemed like forever. That gaping period of time would give Seth more time to distance himself and validate his doubts about being involved with her.
Meanwhile, she was stuck here in this condo, trapped in the web of her own life. She had a wild urge to walk away from it all: this tower, where she felt like a prisoner, the trial . . . Hollywood.
You should be careful what you wish for, she recalled Seth telling her with that sober, weighty manner he possessed.
He’d been right.
And she missed him so much.
* * *
The next morning, she felt hollow inside, but her anguish had been contained. All she wanted to do was get this damn trial over with. She had never resented Sterling McClarin more. Instead of being ready when the prosecution team started to arrive at the condominium, she stalled; the motivation she used to feel to get through the gargantuan trial was dwindling to mere fumes. She had asked her mother to tell her when Charles arrived. The meeting wouldn’t really get started until he was there anyway.
Gia brushed a little more blush onto her cheeks, but finally gave up. She looked pale from lack of sleep and stress, and nothing in her makeup bag was going to help that. Her mom rapped on the bathroom door. “Charles just arrived, Gia.”
Gia opened the door. “Thanks, Mom,” she said, giving her mother a brief hug. She felt especially close to her since last night.
Before she left the bathroom, however, she received a phone call from her part-time housekeeper that sent mental alarms going off in her head.
* * *