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I thought it was too late for that. Everyone saw the blow he’d landed when he’d mentioned he’d hired Harrison for his weddings. Gia prided herself on using the best vendors, and Harrison created custom pieces for our brides. But if Silas was using him too, what did we offer that was unique? Sure, we were good at our jobs, but so were Silas and his wedding planner.
“Are you still planning on staying the night?” I asked her.
She nodded tightly as a gentleman in a suit approached her. “Would you like to dance?”
Gia placed her hand in his and said, “I’d love to.”
“I’m going to head out. I need to get Evie.”
“Have a good night,” she said to me before the man led her to the dance floor.
“You ready to get out of here?” Leo asked.
Suddenly, I was exhausted. I couldn’t solve this problem for Gia, and it was literally my job to ensure we had enough money to survive. “I want to relieve your mom. It’s getting late.”
“She doesn’t mind. Evie’s probably sleeping.”
I hated being away from her. It was nice that I could rely on Leo’s mom, but how could I explain that I didn’t want to? I was all she had.
We gathered our things, and when we left, I didn’t see Silas. I wondered if he’d seen the man ask Gia to dance and if it bothered him. If I had to guess, he liked her more than he let on, and not just as an attractive woman, but as a savvy businesswoman. For that reason, and because he was friends with Leo and his brothers, I suspected Silas was a good guy. But probably not the right one for Gia.
In Leo’s large SUV, I settled into the deep leather seats. “Thanks for driving me home.”
“Anytime.” He signaled to change lanes on the highway. “You know, I didn’t want to come tonight.”
“I don’t blame you.” That hurt, even though I knew he hadn’t meant anything about the company. What guy liked to attend weddings, especially for a couple he didn’t know?
“It’s just that Gia is playing with fire. I wish she’d let this thing with Silas go.”
I thought about what I wanted to say before I began. “I think she feels like she can’t. Silas is taking more of her business, and she’s right to be worried.”
Leo glanced over at me. “Are you serious?”
“We need several large weddings to float us the rest of the year, and she’s panicking because we either haven’t gotten them, or they’ve left before signing the contract. They always end up at Silas’s resort.”
“Does she need help?”
“Don’t tell her I told you. She’d hate that, you know. She wants to make it on her own. The thing is, we used the recent profits to hire a couple of wedding planners and new vendors, and we need continued growth to pay them. The responsibility of employees relying on her is weighing heavily on her.”
“I had no idea.”
“She wants to make it without the family’s help.”
He flicked his hand. “Family helps each other.”
“I think Gia wants to prove she can make it on her own.” She’d always been independent and, as the youngest of four kids, felt like she was babied growing up. She wanted to be more involved in the restaurant, but her father hadn’t allowed it. He had her older brothers for that. He’d wanted her to work for him, but not as a manager. There wasn’t room for her, and she hated that. She wanted to be the boss.
“Papà’s a hard guy to please. I started out as the busboy and dishwasher, learning everything there was to know about the business over the years, but he still doesn’t trust me to manage a restaurant. Not by myself. One of my brothers is usually there, or he is.”
“Aren’t you the manager when your father isn’t working?”
“He’s always stopping by to check on me or calling in to get an account of the night. I’m never in charge, and the employees know that.”
“I didn’t realize.”
Leo shook his head. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this.”
“You want him to have more faith in you?” I asked gently.
