“My brain is spinning.”
“You’re not worried about what Mason will say, are you?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“It’s just that we’ve only been together a few months, and if it’s true, it’s a lot to put on a new relationship.”
“It’d be a lot with a twat like Brendan-slash-Zane,” Gigi said of Jordan’s ex-husband. “I used to hold my breath and pray you’d never get pregnant with him and be tied to him for life through a child.”
“Thank God that never happened.”
“Everything about your relationship with Mason is different.”
“I know that.”
“So don’t worry. He’ll be elated. He loves you so much, Jord.”
Jordan sniffled and dabbed at her eyes. “I love him, too.”
“Everything will be fine. If you’re pregnant, you guys will have a baby, and that will make what’s already great even better.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“When have you ever known me not to be?”
Jordan laughed even as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Gigi couldn’t bear to see her upset, even over something good. After everything she’d endured with her ex, Jordan deserved nothing but happiness. Gigi was determined to make sure nothing and no one ever hurt Jordan again. The time she’d spent with Brendan/Zane had been torture for the people who loved her. Gigi had had many a difficult conversation with Nikki about what they were going to do to get Jordan free of him. But when Jordan had gone back to him after he released a sex tape that featured her without her permission, Gigi had thrown up her hands and walked away.
She regretted that.
Jordan and Brendan’s relationship had blown up in one violent night in Charlotte, North Carolina, landing Jordan in the hospital and Brendan in jail. The story didn’t end there, but Gigi couldn’t bear to think of the day Brendan had come to Gansett looking for Jordan and held Nikki and Evelyn hostage.
She shivered at the memory of being in LA with Jordan when she received that phone call. Her job that day had been to keep Jordan calm on the long flight to Gansett. But nothing and no one could’ve kept her calm as she tried to picture life without Nikki or Evelyn or, God forbid, both.
After that day, Gigi had taken a step back from the three of them. The fear of losing the only people she loved, and who loved her, took a toll. She’d been a mess for weeks after that and had started to feel better only when she joined the others on Gansett to begin filming their show on the island. Being here had been therapeutic for her, but she still couldn’t stand to think of how close they’d come to losing Evelyn and Nikki.
She took a right into the long driveway that led to Eastward Look. For years, Jordan and Nikki had tried to convince Gigi to visit them at their grandmother’s summer home. Gigi had never been interested in checking out a remote island off the coast of the smallest state. But after she’d spent a few months on Gansett, Eastward Look had begun to feel like a home away from home.
There she went again, glomming on to someone else’s home and making assumptions about what she meant to these people. She’d learned the hard way not to do that. Putting her faith and affection into people who were under no obligation to return the sentiments hadn’t worked out well for her in the past. Yes, Evelyn, Jordan and Nikki were different from everyone else in the world. Gigi honestly believed there was nothing the three of them wouldn’t do for her, but she didn’t want to count on that.
Rather, she’d prefer they count on her to be there for them. That’s what she did. She took care of things for Jordan and her other clients. If she’d occasionally like to have someone take care of things for her, well, that wasn’t how things worked in her life.
Evelyn walked out to greet them, hugging Jordan, who collapsed into her grandmother’s embrace.
“I can’t believe I sent you to buy a pregnancy test for me,” Jordan said.
“Proving there’s nothing I won’t do for my girls.” Evelyn released Jordan and hugged Gigi. “Hi, sweetie.”
“Hey, Ev.” Gigi would also never forget the day that Evelyn had told her to call her Evelyn and not Mrs. Hopper.
“How’s our girl?” Evelyn asked.
“Rattled but holding it together. Barely.”
“Let’s get some answers, shall we?” Evelyn led them inside to the kitchen, where a bag from Ryan’s Pharmacy sat on the counter.
Jordan eyed it with trepidation. “I’ve never taken a pregnancy test before.”
“Ever?” Gigi asked, incredulous. She’d never forget the first time she’d thought she was pregnant and the desperation that had come with wondering how she’d ever care for a child when she could barely care for herself.
“I’ve never had so much as a scare.”
“Girl. That’s crazy!”
“I know! Is there any secret to it?”
“Nope,” Gigi said. “Just try not to pee on your hand.”
“Ew.”
“Go.” Gigi gave her a gentle push toward the main-floor bathroom. “When you’re done, leave it on the vanity.”
“Here goes nothing.”
“Or everything,” Evelyn said.
Jordan huffed out a deep breath and headed for the bathroom.
“I hate Brendan for making her uncertain about everything, even things she knows to be true,” Evelyn said when she and Gigi were alone.
“I know. She has nothing to worry about where Mason is concerned. And she knows that, but still… The insecurities never let up.”
“She’s lucky to have you,” Evelyn said. “We all are.”
“Thank you.” Gigi tried to hide her emotional reaction to Evelyn’s kind words. “I’m lucky to have you guys, too.”
“I love that you girls are as close as you were ten years ago.”
“Me, too.” Evelyn would never know how true that was for Gigi.
She recalled the weeks leading up to their high school graduation, when Gigi had feared they’d go their separate ways and never see each other again. Thank God that hadn’t happened. If anything, they’d gotten closer as the years went by, until Zane had come along to wreck their groove.
Now he was gone, Jordan was back, and things were better for all of them. No way would any of them allow Jordan to have any kind of setback when she’d been doing so much better. Meeting Mason had been the best thing to ever happen to her, even if they’d met when he saved her from a fire at Eastward Look. What could have happened in that fire was another thing Gigi couldn’t bear to think about.
“It’s been good for her to be here with you and Nikki this summer,” Evelyn said. “And Mason, of course. She seems more like herself than she has in years.”
“Yes, she seems good.”
As they waited for Jordan, it occurred to Gigi that a positive pregnancy test was going to change her life as much as Jordan’s. If there was a baby, Jordan wouldn’t go back to LA. She’d stay on Gansett with the man she loved, and the life she and Jordan had shared in LA would be over for good, probably along with the show.
Before she could fully wallow in that thought, her phone chimed with a text from Cooper. Hope you’re having a good day. Jared and Lizzie seem to be doing okay with the baby. If the invite is still good, I’d love to go to Jordan’s party with you. If so, let me know what time, dress code and what I can bring.