Read Online Loving Gigi by Ruth Cardello - Free Book Online Page A

me.”
    Reluctantly, Gigi backed away from Kane and went to sit beside her mother. Leora took one of her hands between both of hers and held it on her lap. “When you said you wanted to go to school in England, did I stop you?”
    “No, Mamma,” Gigi said. She knew just how much her mother had given up for her and although she could fight with the rest of the world, she could never fight with someone who loved her as her mother did.
    “And when you wanted to go to the university there, I agreed you should do what you want, didn’t I? We made it happen together, didn’t we?”
    “Yes.”
    “I would do anything for you. I couldn’t love you more, but that doesn’t mean I agree with your choices. You’re wrong on this, Gigia. So very wrong. Life goes by in a flash. Do you really want to miss your chance to know your family? To be one of them?”
    “I have a family. I have you.”
    Leora gave Gigi a gentle smile. “You have so much more. Go back with Kane. Meet your brothers and their wives. If you don’t like them, we’ll never talk of them again. But don’t shut your heart to love unless you’re given a good reason to.”
    Gigi shook her head back and forth as she absorbed her mother’s request. “So, what would you have me do—go back with him now? Just like that? I have a business to run. I have commitments.”
    Leora met her daughter’s eyes. “You have a partner. She’ll understand. Go, Gigia. Do this for me.”
    Gigi looked across the room at Kane. His expression was unreadable. Their eyes met. Was Kane really there because her sister-in-law was pregnant and wanted to meet her? Why is my mother so determined that I meet the very people who turned their backs on her? She thought back to the way her brothers had looked at their wives with love and tenderness. Why had they denied Gigi and her mother as long as they did? They claimed they wanted to know Gigi now. Words that came too late. Empty claims that meant nothing more than all the promises their father had made. None of that changed the hopeful look on her mother’s face. If going to the States put an end to her mother worrying over the topic, then let it be so.
    “I’ll go.”
    Kane’s smile held approval and a touch of satisfaction as if he’d personally convinced her.
    Gigi added, “Only because you asked me to, Mamma. Not for any other reason.”
    *     *     *
    Several hours later, Kane sat across from Gigi in the lounge area of his private jet. She hadn’t said more than yes or no to him since they’d left Venice. Normally he would have appreciated a quiet flight since he had emails to answer and project proposals to read. He’d taken out his laptop and tried to work, but his attention kept drifting back to the woman who was nervously chewing her thumbnail as she stared out the window. He said, “I spoke with Julia. She and Gio will meet us when we land.”
    Gigi didn’t acknowledge she’d heard him.
    “When you first meet Gio you may think he’s standoffish. He doesn’t mean to be. Once you get to know him, he’s actually quite funny.”
    In a quiet voice, Gigi said, “He came to my mother’s house after my father died. He was there to bring Papa back to the States. He threatened my mother, threatened to take our home if she ever spoke of my father. That’s all I will see when I look at him.”
    “He didn’t know about you then, Gigi.”
    “So he claims.”
    “I grew up with Gio. He’s like a brother to me. If he says he didn’t know, I believe him.”
    With her face still averted, Gigi said, “Either way, he was cruel to my mother. I can’t forgive that, even if she can.”
    Kane put his laptop aside. “When I first met Gio I teased him about taking everything too seriously. It wasn’t until we became good friends I realized how a family could look normal from the outside but be completely dysfunctional. Gio’s mother passed away nearly four years ago, but her legacy lives on in her sons. She did