That made Jordan smile for the first time since Gigi mentioned the words knocked up.
“Sorry to ask you to do this, Gram.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m happy to do it, but I’m not so sure how I feel about being a great-grandmother. I’m way too young for that.”
Jordan sniffled and swiped at tears.
“Aw, honey, are you upset?”
“I don’t know what I am. It never occurred to me that I might be pregnant until Gigi said something.”
“It’s all my fault,” Gigi said. “As if she and the giant fire chief haven’t been—”
Jordan’s hand over her mouth cut her off.
Evelyn laughed hysterically. “I take it my granddaughter didn’t want you to finish that thought.”
“She didn’t, and it was going to be a good one.”
“I can only imagine where you were going with that,” Evelyn said.
“This is not funny!” Jordan said. “If I’m pregnant, we didn’t plan it. What will Mason say?”
“He’ll be delighted, sweetheart. That man loves you more than life itself. Try not to worry. I’ll grab a test, and we’ll get you some answers. Come by here after you’re done filming?”
“We’ll be there,” Gigi said, earning another glare from her bestie.
“Thanks, Gram,” Jordan said. “I hate to ask you to do this for me.”
“Oh stop. It’s no big deal. And I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t turn into a big Gansett Island scandal.”
“That’d be good. If it’s true, Mason and I need a minute to process it before the whole world finds out.”
“Try not to worry. It’ll all be fine, my sweet girl. We’ll make sure of it.”
“Thanks again, Gram. See you in an hour or two.”
“I’ll be here, and I’m on board to help with the setup for later, too.”
“God, I forgot all about that. If that test is positive, how will I get through a whole dinner party before I can talk to Mason about it?”
“We’ll get you through, sweetheart,” Evelyn said. “One step at a time. Finish your day at work, and then come find me.”
“I will. Thanks, Gram. As usual, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’re stuck with me. I’ll see you soon.”
Jordan ended the call and handed the phone back to Gigi. “Evelyn to the rescue—again.”
“She’s the best of the best.” Gigi had spent most of her adolescence wishing Evelyn could be her grandmother, too, until the day Evelyn had playfully suggested she “adopt” Gigi as her third granddaughter. Gigi had broken down into sobs that had alarmed the older woman. That had been one of the single best days of Gigi’s young life, and her relationship with Evelyn was one of the most important to her. She talked to Evelyn almost as often as she did Jordan and Nikki. None of them had any idea how much they truly meant to her.
“Let’s get this done so we can get out of here,” Gigi said when Jordan was presentable again.
They were wearing sunglasses for outdoor shooting, so the damage to Jordan’s makeup didn’t matter.
“I can’t think about anything else.”
“Put it aside for an hour so we can race the crabs and go find out if it’s true. You might be freaking out over something that isn’t even an issue.”
“Now I don’t know if I want it to be true or not.”
“You’re a red-hot mess.”
“I know!”
Since Jordan had rarely been a red-hot mess since she finally ended her disastrous marriage to the rapper known as Zane, Gigi had reason to suspect her hunch was true. They’d find out soon enough.
Chapter 9
“Thank you for joining us, ladies,” Matilda said, sounding annoyed.
“We had an issue,” Gigi replied. “It’s been addressed. Where do you want us?”
Matilda gave a look that indicated she had more to say, but wisely held her tongue. Gigi was in no mood to go ten rounds with her, but she’d do it to protect Jordan, who was not only her best friend but also her client. “Over there.” Matilda pointed to a spot on the main pier where the camera crew was set up.
Gigi and Jordan walked the short distance to join them next to a cutout in the main dock that ramped down into the water.
“This is your bucket of crabs,” one of the crew said to Gigi. “And that one is Jordan’s. The plan is to dump them on the ramp, and then each of you cheer for your team.”
It sounded like the dumbest thing Gigi had ever heard, but if it would get them out of there sooner, she’d do it.
“Needless to say, we’ve got to get this in one take unless you guys want to catch another bucket of crabs.” The director gave them pointers about where he wanted them positioned in the scene so they could capture the action. “Everyone ready?”
“Ready.” Gigi glanced at Jordan, who was a million miles away and going through the motions. “Get your head in the game, girl. We don’t want to have to redo this.”
Jordan nodded. “I’m good.”
When the director called for action, they slipped into character, squealing predictably at the buckets of crabs as they dumped them onto the ramp and then screamed at them to go faster.
Gigi was surprised to find herself more engaged in the race than she’d expected to be as the crabs scurried down the ramp and jumped in the water. “I win!”
“No way! Mine got there first!”
“You can’t prove that.”
“Let’s go to the film.”
“And cut,” the director said. “That was perfect. We can do a slow-motion roll of the race that’ll be funny.”
“Are we good?” Gigi sensed that Jordan was on the verge of a complete meltdown.
“We’re good,” Matilda said. “See you tonight.”
“See you then.” Gigi took Jordan by the arm and directed her toward Gigi’s car, which they’d dropped off earlier so they could leave as soon as they were finished filming. “Get in.”
Gigi started her car and did a U-turn to head away from the marina. At the three-way stop sign, she took a right for Eastward Look, Evelyn’s longtime summer home where Nikki and Riley lived. They’d talked Evelyn into spending the summer. Thank goodness for that, because having Evelyn around made everything better for all three girls.
Gigi knew it was weird to glom on to other people’s grandmothers, but when you didn’t have family of your own, you created one from the people who mattered most to you. Evelyn, Jordan and Nikki were the three most important people in Gigi’s life. Without a doubt, she knew any of the three of them would be there if she needed them. She tried not to need them or anyone. Independence was her middle name, but she liked having a backup plan.
Just in case.
Of what? She had no clue. But life had gone sideways for her often enough that she tried to be ready for any possibility. “Say something.”
“What should I say?” Jordan asked.
“Tell me what you’re thinking?”