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An affronted huff echoed down the line. ‘It’s not just a job, Gids! Do you know the kinds of doors it will open for an influencer if I have Alessio Montaldi’s endorsement?’
‘No, I don’t, since I don’t have a clue who he is,’ she responded. ‘And what exactly were you offering to do for him?’
‘Whatever he asked. I would’ve done anything for him.’
Giada’s eyes widened at her sister’s low, husky and desperately voiced response. Another swell of dread washed over her. ‘So he refused you the job. And you did what, exactly?’
Again, Gigi hesitated for heart-racing seconds. ‘The thing I took...it was a family heirloom, Gids. And I...’ She stopped and sucked in a breath and Giada took one right along with her, because she knew whatever was coming was big. And dreadful. ‘He’d been looking for it for ever and had just found it the week before; was pretty obsessed with it actually. I think it played into some grand plan he was cooking up. Anyway, I thought he would take me seriously if I kept it for a while and then returned it.’
The creaking of plastic and the lance of pain through her fingers told Giada she was gripping the receiver too hard. ‘When did you take it, Gigi?’
‘Three weeks ago. I’d been trying for months to get him to change his mind about hiring me. I thought this would get his attention.’
‘Look, just return his property and cut your losses. I’m sure you can find another—’
‘I can’t,’ she interjected.
‘Of course you can. Just return the thing, and apologise—’
‘I can’t return something I no longer have!’
‘What do you mean you no longer have it?’
‘Because I lost it three days ago.’
Giada dug the heel of her palm into her eyes, the dread she’d tried to hold at bay unfurling through her. ‘Oh, God, Gigi.’
‘I need you to help me, Gids. Please.’
‘What can I do? I’m half a continent away.’
‘But you’re heading home soon, aren’t you?’ Gigi asked.
‘Yes. For Christmas. With you and Mum.’
‘That’s not for another few weeks. I need you to help me out now. If Alessio discovers I’ve lost his property, I don’t know what will happen. He’s powerful and ruthless, Giada, and his reputation for not suffering fools isn’t a joke.’
The protectiveness that was never far beneath the surface made Giada snap, ‘I don’t care about some power-hungry Italian who clearly likes to throw his weight around. When I get back you and I will talk to him and explain what’s happened.’
Her sister snorted. ‘He’s not Italian. He’s Sicilian. He already thinks I’m some useless airhead. I don’t want to prove him right, Gids,’ her sister said with a clear pout in her voice.
Giada wanted to roll her eyes at that but the lingering irritation wouldn’t let her. ‘Which is why I think you should come clean. Tell him what you’ve done and then speak to the authorities about recovering it.’
She could almost see her sister’s careless shrug. ‘I guess you don’t care about me that much or the possibility that he can destroy my career with a few phone calls—’
‘Gigi...’
Her sister huffed again. ‘Are you going to help me or not?’
No.
The word hovered on the tip of Giada’s tongue, ready to be set free.
But she knew how much her sister cared about her career. Plus Giada hadn’t heard that thread of alarm in her sister’s voice for over a decade. Ever since that final confrontation with Tom that had made her mother stare at Giada with something very close to hate ever since.
The harsh words spoken that had burst the false family bubble their mother had clung to, ignoring the emotional devastation going on under her nose. Giada knew Renata had never forgiven her for shattering that illusion.
‘What do you want me to do?’ she asked her sister.
