Read Loving Gigi for Free Online

of the spring day. The peace of the moment was broken by a familiar female voice.
    “I thought you were going to the gym,” Annelise Douglas said as she jogged in place beside the bench.
    “I’m working out my arms today,” Gigi answered as she brought her sandwich up to her mouth and defiantly took a bite.
    Annelise kept jogging. “I hate that you can wallow in food and never put on weight.” Just over five feet, Annelise was constantly battling her weight. She maintained her slender figure by living on salads and working out each day.
    Gigi finished chewing then rewrapped the remaining portion. “I’d love to tell you I’m not wallowing, but it’s my mother’s birthday this weekend so I have to fly home tomorrow.”
    Stopping only to stretch one of her spandex-covered legs on the edge of the bench, Annelise said, “You love seeing your mother; what’s the difference if she comes here or you go there?”
    Gigi closed her eyes and sighed. “A big difference. Too many memories.”
    “Does she really live in a castle on the Grand Canal? What is that like?”
    “It’s a palazzo. More like a house that someone with a title once owned.” Gigi raised her eyes to Edinburgh Castle, a beautiful backdrop to the city that had been her home since she’d graduated from college. “Nothing like a castle.”
    “Well, if my parents lived in Venice, I’d visit them all the time, palazzo or no palazzo. You can take me home with you any time.”
    No, I can’t, Gigi thought. Annelise knew her well, but there were things Gigi preferred to deny even to herself. How confused visiting Venice made her feel was one of them. “Have you heard from Miss Fletcher?”
    “She called this morning. She wanted to know if you had finished cataloging her aunt’s estate.”
    “Finished last night. I emailed the auction house the list this morning. I thought I had sent it to her, too. I’ll double-check. Tell her she should have a date by next week.”
    “Will do,” Annelise said, stretching her arms above her head. “You’ll be back on Monday, right?”
    “Oh, yes,” Gigi said. She didn’t intend to stay in Venice one moment longer than necessary. She was happy in Edinburgh. Well, if not happy, at least content. She and Annelise had opened a small business. They connected people who had either high-end items or entire estates to sell off with people who could bring them the best price. It was commission work, but lucrative enough to allow Gigi to send money each month to her mother.
    The perfect team. Annelise was a bouncy bookkeeping genius, and Gigi was the calmer face of their company with a good eye for antiques. Although they were young, they had built a reputation for impressive results that meant they didn’t have to advertise. Clients found them.
    Wiping her face with one of Gigi’s napkins, Annelise plopped down beside her on the bench. “So, you’re not interested in Greg?”
    “Greg?”
    “You know, the one who keeps dropping by with items to sell, one at a time, as if it’s not obvious he’s there to see you.”
    “Oh, Greg,” Gigi said with new emphasis on his name. She sighed. “He’s nice.”
    “I can’t figure you out. You attract good-looking, seemingly normal men with money. They show up here like you ordered them from a catalog. I’d kill for some of the ones I’ve seen moon over you, but you sit home every Friday without a date. What are you waiting for?”
    Gigi shrugged. “Money doesn’t matter. I’m waiting for someone who makes me feel . . . a zing.”
    “A zing?” Annelise asked, amused by Gigi’s word choice.
    Gigi blushed. “You know what I mean. Your heart goes nuts. Your whole body feels like it’s on fire. You want the person so much you can barely breathe.”
    “That’s what you’re waiting for?”
    Gigi nodded slowly. “Yes.”
    Annelise stood and began to stretch again. “You need to stop watching those sappy old movies. That shit’s not real.”
    Gigi looked up to