Page 48 of Always a Chance
“I know. You’re not a bad guy, Johnny. I’ve dated enough of them to recognize that. But if she’s back, you can’t let her go without a fight.”
“What if there’s no fight in me?” I wasn’t sure there was. Talia went from hating me to tolerating me in a short period of time. All these years I’d wanted her to come home, she’d spent thinking the worst of me. How did I get past that?
Angelina stood and patted my shoulder. “She might reject you.”
“Again,” I muttered.
“But what if she doesn’t? You don’t really have much to lose. It’s not like you two are friends anymore.”
Aidan. He needed to learn when to keep things from his sisters, but he’d never succeeded in that. She was right, though. Talia and I weren’t friends.
Right now, we weren’t anything.
23
TALIA
Nerves rolled in my stomach all morning while I waited for Johnny to pick me up. Gianna’s aide was back from vacation, but I still insisted on helping her in the morning. If I was leaving soon, I wanted to spend every moment I could with her.
“Stop being weird,” she said.
“I’m not weird.” I pouted, making her laugh.
She went serious suddenly. “I know… that I can’t remember things and don’t understand others, but I’m not an idiot.”
“Of course you’re not.”
“Did he mean something to you? Before the… before everything happened?”
I sat on her bed next to her. “He… yes.” More than anyone ever knew. He was my best friend, my person. The one I leaned on and cried with. We loved each other. Not in a romantic way, but in a way that meant more. We were supposed to be unbreakable.
And then, we broke.
“He tried to kiss me last night.”
A childlike grin spread across her lips. “And?”
“I can’t go down that road, Gigi. It only leads to more hurt.”
Before she could answer, Felina, her aide, walked in. “You ready to start the day, sweets?” She was a middle-aged woman with warm brown skin and a kind smile. I’d liked her the moment I let her in.
“Yep!” Gianna pushed herself up and used the lift to get into the wheelchair by the bed. “My sister was just leaving.”
“Apparently, I’m being kicked out.” I stood.
Felina shot Gianna a scolding look.
“What?” Gianna asked. “She has a man to go woo.”
“I’m not wooing anyone.” That ship sailed ten years ago. I leaned down to hug my sister. “You know I love you, right?” I didn’t show it often enough.
“Duh.” She pushed me away. “How could you not? I’m adorable.”
I was still laughing when I walked into the living room, stopping midway. Dad sat on the couch, talking to Johnny and Aidan, though the latter said little.
Dad pushed to his feet. “Well, I’ll leave you three to it. Now that Felina is back, I can head into the office.”
He didn’t look my way as he passed by. Things hadn’t been as tense as they were before last night, but that didn’t mean anything was fixed.
