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“You know I wouldn’t.” I thought that might be a worse betrayal than dating her brother.
Gia held up her hand to stop me. “You could work for Silas. I paid Harrison for priority. I’m paying you enough to keep you happy. As your friend, I want you to be happy, live in a comfortable house, and put Evie in a good school.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“I researched salaries of business managers who also handle marketing, and this is in that range.”
“I had no idea.”
“You know I don’t do things on a whim. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and if you’re right about out-of-state couples wanting destination weddings, you’ll have saved the business.”
“We can’t know that yet,” I said, swallowing over the tightness in my throat.
“I know that you’ve radically changed my business for the better since you’ve been here. I know I can’t live without you, either personally or professionally.”
I was struggling with the raise, not only because it seemed like a lot of money, and I never thought I deserved it, but because I was sneaking around behind her back. I felt horribly guilty.
“You deserve this. You are worthy of success. You are not your mother. And you didn’t get this job because we’re friends. I hired you because you’re good at organization, and I’m keeping you because you’ve proven yourself in other ways. You did this.”
“I have a hard time believing good things can happen or that I deserve them. Especially when everything I have is because of your family.”
“You’re an amazing, kind friend and loving mother. You didn’t get that from us or your mother. That’s all you,” she said forcefully.
I’d never thought of it like that before. I was a good mother, but I thought it was because I knew how not to be my mother. But at the same time, loving Evie came easily. Like it was how it was supposed to be. I could never understand how my mom was so distant and uninvolved. “All I can say is thank you, and I’ll keep working hard.”
“You do that.” Then she hugged me. “Love you like a sister.”
It was something we used to say but hadn’t in years. She’d always said she couldn’t trust other girls because they were after her brothers, but with me, she could relax and know I was a real friend. I’d never felt guiltier. “Love you too.”
When she pulled away, she said, “I think you should work fewer weddings. We have enough wedding planners now, and I want you to focus on the marketing and business side. You’ll still be at the initial consultations, but otherwise, you can work in the office or at home.”
“I’m good with that.” It would allow me more time with Evie, which was always my priority.
“I figured you’d want to spend that time with Evie.”
“Definitely.”
And then she smiled. “And whoever you’re seeing that you won’t tell me about.”
When I opened my mouth to respond, she waved a hand at me. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll tell me when you’re ready.” She smiled like we shared a secret, but we didn’t. Not really.
I stopped at the restaurant after work to grab a pizza and just to see Leo’s face. I missed him. He’d been working nights all week, and I was asleep by the time he left work.
I stood at the hostess stand and gave Crystal my name for the carryout order I’d placed online. But before she could look for the order, Leo appeared. “Hey, I saw your order come in. Want me to help you take it upstairs?”
“Yeah, sure.” I smiled at Crystal before following him to the steps to my apartment.
“Are you hungry, Miss Evie?” Leo asked, smiling at her.
“I’m starving,” Evie said dramatically.
“I added a salad and some breadsticks too.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I was hoping to join you for dinner,” he said sheepishly.
“I don’t want to take you away from work.”
