Winnie laughed gently. “Well, the scones are a good start. And taking her to the doctor’s appointment. I know that meant a lot to her.”
“It did? Did she say that?”
“She did,” Winnie said carefully. “But she’s nervous, Gianni. That’s probably why she doesn’t say much.”
“About what?”
Winnie glanced at the door, then got up and closed it. “Okay, if I talk to you about this, it has to stay between us.”
“I swear.”
“I mean it, Gianni. I will never forgive you if you betray this confidence or use it to hurt her.”
I held up my palms. “You have my word. Please, talk to me. And if you say that she’ll be better off without me and I should just leave her be, I will.”
Winnie sat down again and studied me, like she still wasn’t sure she could trust me. “I don’t think she’d be better off without you, but she’s scared of being hurt.”
“By me?”
“Yes.” Her voice softened. “She has feelings for you, Gianni.”
“But I have feelings for her too! Ever since those days at the motel, I can’t stop thinking about her. I want to be with her, but she keeps pushing me away.” Too restless to sit still, I jumped to my feet. “Tell me what to say to convince her to let me in.”
“At this point, I don’t know that she’d believe words,” Winnie said. “I think you have to be patient and show her you really want to be with her, and not just because she’s pregnant.”
“I want to do that,” I said. “But she won’t let me. I offered to get out of doing that show so I don’t have to leave for ten weeks, and she’s insisting that I go.”
“Because she thinks if you’re gone, she’ll get over you.”
I stared at her. “That’s why she wants me to leave? So she can get over me?”
Winnie nodded solemnly. “And if she ever found out I told you that, she would stab me with a thousand sharp knives. But for some reason, I have this feeling you’re telling me the truth, and you really do care for her.”
“I do,” I moaned. “Swear to God, Winnie, I’ve never spent so many sleepless nights thinking about how to make a girl want me. I had no idea it could be this hard.”
Winnie smiled. “Ellie’s a tough cookie. She’s stubborn and she’s proud. She’s got it in her head that she could never be what you really want, and she won’t settle for being anything less.”
I slumped into the chair again. “That’s my fault. I said a bunch of stupid stuff to her at the motel about never wanting to be tied down to one place or one person. But it was mostly just me showing off how immature and unattached I was. It seemed like a badge of honor to be so free.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
Exhaling, I looked at my hands in my lap. “Yes. I don’t care about that freedom anymore. I want to be with her. And I’d give up anything to have another chance.”
“Then prove it,” Winnie said.
“But how? She hardly lets me near her.”
“I can’t tell you that, Gianni. You’re going to have to figure that out for yourself.” She paused. “But it should be big.”
I went straight to the kitchen office and called my agent. When he didn’t pick up, I left a voicemail.
“Hey Spencer, it’s Gianni. Listen, I’m sorry to do this, but I need to get out of my contract for Hot Mess. I can’t leave Michigan at the end of March for family reasons. Can you please call me back when you get this? My mind is made up.”
I ended the call and set my phone down, then rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans. Next, I jumped online and canceled my flight out of town, as well as the small house in L.A. I’d rented for the duration of the shoot. Finally, I called the manager of my Traverse City apartment complex to see if I could extend my lease, but unfortunately, that unit had already been rented starting April 15th.
“But I’ve got a two-bedroom, two-bath available,” she offered. “Rent is higher, obviously, but it’s available right now. Would you like to come see it?”
“Yes,” I said, “but I can’t come today. Tomorrow okay?”
“Sure,” she said. “I’m here nine to five.”
“I’ll be there at nine. Thanks.” I hung up with her, took a deep breath, and made the final call.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Pop. It’s me.”