Page 24 of Red, White, and You

“You were never helpingme.”

“I know that now. And I’m sorry. Gigi, I’m so sorry. I never meant to—”

“To what?” Her eyes flash. “Make me fall for you? Because congratulations. You nailed it.”

“Gigi—”

“I want you to leave.”

The words slice clean and cold.

“Please,” I beg. “Don’t do this.”

She moves around the counter, marches to the door, and holds it open for me. “You need to go, Phoenix. Go back to your shiny endorsements and fake sincerity. Go back to the people who pay you to pretend.”

“I wasn’t pretending.”

“Just go.”

I hesitate, still rooted to the floor. Still hoping she doesn’t really want me to leave.

“Go!” she shouts.

I will my legs to move, walking to the door. “For what it’s worth, falling for you is the most honest thing I’ve done in a long time.”

She doesn’t blink. “I don’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth.”

The door chimes as I walk out, a cheery sound that mocks me as my heart breaks in half.

Chapter 14

Gigi

Thebelloverthebakery door jingles, and a moment later, Ella storms in like a woman on a mission.

"I'm here," she says, not even bothering with hello. Her hair’s still damp from a rushed shower, and she’s got a duffel bag slung over one shoulder and purpose in her eyes. “Tell me who to yell at.”

I blink at her. “You just missed him.”

“What happened? Start from the beginning.”

So I do. I tell her about the phone call with my mother, the bonus, Phoenix’s betrayal, everything—right up to the moment I kicked him out of my bakery. By the time I finish, my hands are shaking and I feel wrung out, like a towel that's been twisted too tight.

Ella’s quiet for a second, absorbing it all.

“So he was paid to convince you to take a job with Hart Health?”

“Yep.”

“And you think that means everything between you was fake.”

“Obviously.” I fold my arms across my chest like I can hold myself together that way.

Ella looks down at the counter, tracing a tiny circle in the condensation from a glass of water I didn’t drink. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you think Phoenix needed fifty thousand dollars?”

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