Page 75 of The Sweet Life

“Where are we going? And why are you stealing my cat?”

“We’re going to fix our family.” She nuzzled her face in Max’s fur. “And there’s something very calming about this cat. I have a feeling we might need him.”

Gia hadn’t only needed Max. She’d needed a whole lot of patience, empathy, and wine to deal with her daughters and her mother. Willow was the hardest to bring around. It had helped that Noah was there. Carmen had come around when Gia promised to make things right with Cami. It probably would have been easier to bring both Willow and Carmen around had Gia showed them the photo of Cami and Flynn kissing on the dock. But she knew it would have just made things worse. She didn’t want to create a rift between Willow and Flynn or add another layer to the family drama with Cami. They needed to stand united against Aaron when he came at them again, and Gia knew it was only a matter of time before he did.

By the time she parked the car in La Dolce Vita’s parking lot, the sun was setting on the bay. She considered taking a walk on the beach, but she was emotionally drained. She didn’t want to walk through the restaurant, so she walked down a worn path along the side to the stairs on the beach.There were two couples dining on the deck, and she smiled a greeting. Too tired even for polite conversation, she’d put off reaching out to Cami until tomorrow.

Gia frowned as she reached her apartment door, positive the lights had been off when she’d left last week. She pressed her ear against the red-painted door. It sounded like someone was singing.

She unlocked and opened the door and walked into her apartment. It wasn’t someone. It was Cami. She was curled up on Gia’s favorite chair in her studio, Enya’s “Watermark” playing softly in the background. “What are you doing here?”

So much for her good intentions. They flew out the window at the memory of her sister and Flynn kissing on the dock.

Cami lifted her swollen, bloodshot eyes to Gia. “I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t fight with you and do what I need to do.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you made out with Flynn on the dock.” She took her phone from her purse, tossing it onto the chair beside Cami’s knee. She didn’t want to listen to her sister trying to deny it.

Cami picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. “Is this why you broke up with him?”

“Seemed a good enough reason to me.” She lowered herself onto the stool where Flynn had sat just over a week ago.

“It’s not what it looks like, Gia.”

“I was there, Cami. It’s exactly what it looks like.”

“No. It looks like Flynn is kissing me, but it’s me kissing him.” She tossed Gia’s phone back to her.

“Is that supposed to make it all better? You threw yourself at my boyfriend without any thought about how I would feel.”

“I wasn’t thinking about you. I was thinking about me.” She got up from the chair and walked to the window, pressing her hand against the glass. “Hugh broke up with me about three hours before you took that picture. I, uh, got drunk, and I threw myself at Flynn.” She lifted a shoulder. “Amos is right. Flynn is my security blanket. He always made me feel better.” She turned to Gia. “He pushed me away. He was angry I’d kissed him, angrier still when he realized I’ve been drinking again.”

The puzzle pieces started clicking into place. “When did you start drinking again?”

“Last fall.”

“When you started writing your memoir.”

“Yeah. It brought everything back, and all those feelings that I thought I’d worked through…” She shook her head as she returned to sit on the chair, as if she didn’t trust her legs to hold her up. “I was so ashamed of everything I’d done to you, to Willow, even to myself. And I didn’t have my PA to hold my hand. She’d sort of replaced Flynn as my security blanket, and without her there, I started sliding. I’d have a glass of wine every now and then or two bottles of beer, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. But a glass a day became two, then three and four, until I realized I was drinking more than a bottle a day. I should have come home to write the book so I had support.”

“We should have realized you were struggling.”

“I’m really good at hiding it. I always have been.”

“Were you drunk at the Instagram Live filming?”

“Yeah, and I’m sorry. I know I’ve been a bitch to you the past few months. I guess I subconsciously blamed you for howI was feeling because I felt most guilty about what I’d done to you and Willow.”

“That makes sense. But I watched you do the same to Hugh. You were pushing him away.”

“Part of me was mad at him for pushing me to write my memoir. Indirectly, I guess I blamed him for my drinking. But really, after reliving everything I’d done, I knew that we’d never last. He was too good for me, and one day he’d realize it, and he’d break up with me anyway.” She smiled weakly. “I think they call that a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“That or self-sabotage. I’m beginning to think it’s hereditary.” She took her sister’s hand in hers. “I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve made things worse. But I’d like us to go back to the way we once were.”

“Do you really think we can?”

“A week ago, I would have said no. But I think the problem was, we’ve been apart for so long, I didn’t think of you as my sister anymore.”

Cami leaned forward and hugged her. “Thank you. I don’t think I deserve a second chance, but I’ll take it.”

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