Lucky was barely home before Emily's call came in. He grabbed the phone knowing it would be her.
"Em…"
"Lucky Spencer, what in the world is going on?" Emily cried into the phone.
"Uh, I just got home so nothing right now." Lucky joked, sliding into a chair. He had a feeling this would be a long phone call.
"Don't even." Emily warned.
"You do realize that none of this is any of your business. Correct?" Lucky said.
"Yes, it probably isn't. But Lucky, you're my best friend and you're obviously mixed up in all this. And I worry about you. You're my business. What is going on?" Emily demanded.
"Would you believe that Gia and I ran off and had a baby?"
"No." Emily said simply. "I know you Lucky and there is no way that child is yours. You wouldn't have slept with Gia while you still loved Elizabeth."
Damn, Lucky thought. That's the problem with being friends with people who'd known since you were both kids.
"I hope you're not pretending to be the father to piss off Nikolas."
"I wouldn't do that." Lucky said. "And Nikolas already knows who the father is. Don't ask. His identity doesn't matter."
"I don't care who the father is." Emily told him. "I just want to make sure you don't wind up hurt after this is over."
"What are you talking about?" Lucky said confused.
"You and Gia…."
"Are just friends." He finished for her.
Friends, he told himself. We're just friends. She was practically falling over herself to make sure he knew that the "kiss" the other night was nothing. Absolutely nothing. She didn't even give it a second thought because they were friends. And she was fine with just that.
"Friends." He repeated.
"Ok." Emily said slowly. "So when Nikolas and Gia get back together and raise her daughter you'll be fine with that?"
"Yes. I will." Lucky said flatly.
"Lucky?"
"What?" He snapped.
She said softly. "Are you okay?"
Lucky sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. He muttered. "Not really."
"I saw how you all were today. You looked like a family. You guys were together for a long time out there, just the three of you. You bonded. You're going to have to give that up, you know that?"
"Look, who's to even say they'll get back together?" Lucky said hopefully. "He hurt her pretty badly. She could be over him and all she needs is to realize it."
"Oh Lucky."
"I know, I know." He shook his head. "I should the right thing. Take a step back. Let them figure out what's going to happen on their own."
"But?"
"But part of me wants to do the opposite. A very big part." Lucky paused. "But you know me. I won't do anything."
"I know. Just…just take care of yourself. Please."
A few weeks later Gia was just coming home from another public appearance tour, anxious to see her daughter. It had been almost two weeks since she'd been home. She knew Caterina was fine with her nanny but she missed seeing her. Elton had been a godsend; the nanny applicant list he'd put together had listed so many perfect choices she'd had a tough time choosing one. But finally with her mother's help she managed to pick one.
With the nanny she was able to settle into a comfortable schedule. She was able to do her photo shoots without worrying too much about Caterina. Just recently she and Lucky had flown to Manhattan to do a few shots. Gia frowned; lately the only time she did see Lucky was during their photo shoots.
For a while he stopped by everyday to check in on her and Caterina. He helped her move their stuff from the hotel to her mother's place. He stayed for dinner several times and frequently took her and Caterina out on outings. But then his visits dwindled down to almost nothing.
If they didn't work together or run into each other at Deception, she would never see him. She didn't understand why he would just stop coming by. He could just be busy, she acknowledged that. But too busy to even see Caterina? She knew how crazy he was over the baby so why would he stop caring?
Maybe, a little voice suggested, maybe he finally got bored. Maybe he moved on and was spending his time with someone whose life was not as complicated as Gia's. But Gia ignored that. If he were seeing someone new, he would have told her. They were friends. After they put the whole kiss thing behind them the only thing between them was friendship. He always referred to her as his buddy, his pal, his friend.
Gia sighed as she let herself into the house she sighed. She shouldn't even be worried about his love life. Her own was messed up enough. She was taking baby steps with Nikolas. He called her often and they went out regularly but she wouldn't sleep with him. She made sure that he knew that she was a package deal by making him spend a lot of time with her and the baby. She wasn't going to let him ignore her child.
Gia wasn't sure exactly how he felt about Caterina. He only held her once. Gia was afraid that every time he looked at her, he only saw Stavros. It scared Gia. What if he never got over it? And what if he did, she often asked herself. She wasn't even sure where it was going with Nikolas. He was working hard to win her back but sometimes she didn't know if she wanted him back.
Sure she missed him while she was gone. But…there was always a but. She loved him. She knew that. And she knew how good they used to be together. She enjoyed the time they were spending together now. But there was something missing. Something was off. She worried that maybe they wouldn't be able to get back what they once had. And maybe that wasn't so bad.
Gia stepped into the foyer and told the driver to drop her bags right there. She gave him a tip and closed the door behind him. She called out. "Hello?"
She checked her watch. Her mother was probably at work and her brother was in the middle of his shift. But Jane, the nanny, should be home. Unless she took Caterina out for a walk.
"Anybody here?"
"Oh, Gia, hi." Jane walked into the foyer carrying a laundry basket. Jane was around Marcus's age. She was very sweet and so good with Caterina that Gia was occasionally jealous. "Good to see you home. I was just doing a few of Caterina's things."
"Where is she?" Gia asked.
"She's upstairs. Her father's just putting her down for her nap."
Gia gasped. "Her father!"
Jane took a step back. "Yeah…Lucky Spencer?"
"Lucky is here?" Gia said in shock, not bothering to correct her.
"Yes…" Jane said slowly. "He's usually here around this time of day, remember?"
"What are you talking about?"
Jane looked around nervously. "I thought you knew? Your mother was ok with the arrangement. She said you wouldn't mind if he came by every now and then. She was the one who told me it was fine. Did I do something wrong? Is he not allowed to see her or something?"
"What?" Gia snapped. "No, it's fine. Lucky comes here all the time?"
"When you're not home, yes." Jane nodded. "I figured you two weren't…and you're seeing that other guy…well it's really none of my business."
"Thank you for letting me know what's been going on behind my back." Gia said. She started for the stairs. "Oh and he's not her father."
Gia took the stairs two at a time and almost ran down the hall to the baby's room. Sure enough, there was Lucky pulling a blanket up over the baby.
He looked up at her guilty. "Gia…welcome home."
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Ah...putting her to sleep?" Lucky smiled. At the look on Gia's face he dropped the smile. Now was obviously not the time.
"Lucky, you tell me what the hell is going on and you tell me now." Gia gritted out.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else so we don't wake her up." Lucky suggested.
"Let's." Gia muttered. She marched out of the room without waiting for him. He followed her as she went into the room next to it, hers. She took a seat and nodded at him. "So tell me."
Lucky leaned against the door. "What do you want to know?"
"I don't know…the truth?"
"Narrow it down a bit, Gia."
Gia had some many questions she didn't know where to start. She picked one at random. "Why does Jane think you're her father?"
He shrugged. "I didn't tell her I was. She thought I was and I just didn't correct her."
Gia nodded, almost satisfied with that answer. "Ok. Why have you been avoiding me?"
"I haven't been avoiding you." He lied. Badly.
She narrowed her eyes. "I thought hey, maybe he's busy and doesn't have enough time for us. Silly me, you have time for 'Rina. It's just me you don't want to see. Why have you been avoiding me? What did I do?"
"You didn't do anything."
"So why are you sneaking around in order to see my daughter?"
"Because…" He sighed. "Because it's just easier all around for everyone."
"Easier for you maybe. I've missed you and then I find out you don't want to even see me anymore. You know, Lucky, I thought we were friends." Gia said softly. So maybe she was right. Maybe he had moved on to someone else.
"Friends." Lucky murmured. "Friends, friends, friends."
He took a breath. "We are friends. And I thought maybe it was better if I visited 'Rina…I had my reasons, okay?"
"You think I'm just going to accept that as answer?"
"Gia, don't push." He warned her. "Look, I'm sorry I haven't made time for you outside of work. But it's not like you haven't been occupied yourself. Things are good with Nikolas?"
"Yes, they're good. They're fine. Perfectly fine." Gia quickly said. The last time she was going to tell him was the exact details.
Great, Lucky thought darkly, perfect. She might as well be wearing his ring again. "So you guys are?"
"I said we're good." Gia snapped.
"See? So why even bother thinking about me? Right?" Lucky said cheerfully. He grinned and hoped she didn't realize he was faking it.
Gia got up and started towards him. Something was wrong. All of a sudden he was too happy and jumpy. "Lucky?"
He glanced at his watch, looking for an excuse to leave. "I better get going. I've got things to do and—"
Gia grabbed his wrist. "I want you to tell me what's wrong."
He shook his head. "There's nothing wrong. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was visiting. And now that that's all cleared up—"
Gia stared into his eyes. "Lucky."
Lucky glanced away after a moment. He murmured. "I can't."
"You can't what." Gia tried to get the eye contact back but he avoided her eyes.
"I can't do this anymore." He said.
"Do what?" She asked.
He finally looked up at her. The sadness in his eyes worried her. "Do what, Lucky?"
He stroked her cheek and shook his head. "I gotta go. I'll…I'll see you."
He gently removed her hand from his wrist and then without looking back, left her.
It was a true romantic setting. Dinner at Wyndemere. Candlelight. Soft music. Gorgeous dinner companion. Gia knew she should be enjoying the evening but all she could think about was her confrontation with Lucky earlier that afternoon. Why had he been so sad when he left? Why didn't he explain why he'd been avoiding her? The questions wouldn't stop rolling around in her head.
Nikolas cleared his throat. "Uh, Gia?"
Gia shook her head. Oh God, she just spaced out on him at the table. "I'm sorry. What did you just say?"
"I was asking if you were having a good time." He screwed up his face in exasperation. "I guess you weren't."
"Oh no." She rushed to placate him. "Everything tonight has been so lovely. I was just thinking…"
About Lucky.
She couldn't stop thinking about Lucky. Even tonight. Even in the middle of her date with Nikolas.
God only knew why.
And suddenly just like that. She knew why.
She pushed back from the table. "Can we go somewhere a little less…this? I have to talk to you about something."
"I was just going to suggest the same. I have something I wanted to talk to you about also." He smiled.
Oh God. Gia's stomach twisted at the sight of that smile. She took the arm Nikolas offered and the two of them walked outside towards the gardens.
"Nikolas, I..." Gia wanted to get her words out first but Nikolas beat her to it.
He took her hands in his and said. "Gia, I love you."
"Oh God." She muttered.
"And I know that you love me too."
"Yeah, about that—"
"And despite everything's that has happened in the past year you still gave me another chance. Gia—"
Gia clamped her hand over his mouth. "Hold that thought. I do love you, Nikolas…"
She winced at the soft look in his eyes. "And I will always love you. However I can't…"
Nikolas pushed her hand away. "What are you saying?"
"You and I…we had good times. But we've changed. I've changed. I can't be with you this way."
"Why?"
"Please don't make do this." She begged.
"I'm not making you do anything." He said. "You're doing it all on your own. You don't want to be with me?"
"No." She shook her head.
"Then leave." He turned his back on her.
Damn it. That didn't go well.
"Nikolas, I'm sorry…"
"Just go."
Two weeks later Gia still couldn't get the look on Nikolas's face out of her head. She didn't want to hurt him but it couldn't have been avoided. And she couldn't find Lucky.
The day after she turned down Nikolas, she waited all day at the house for Lucky to show up to see Caterina. But he didn't. The next day she told Jane to call her immediately if he did. But he never came by that week or the week after that. She tried calling him but he never answered the phone or replied to the messages she left. He was never at Kelly's or Luke's. She never saw him at Deception. He was just…gone.
Laura had called her that morning and asked her to stop by her office. Hoping she would know where Lucky was, Gia got there early. Elton let her right in though.
Laura was seated at her desk talking with an older man. Gia hovered at the door. Laura looked up with a smile, "Gia, come in. I want you to meet Marc."
Gia shook his hand. "Hello."
"Marc is going to be the new Deception photographer."
Gia dropped his hand quickly. "What?"
"Marc." Laura pointed at him. "Is the new photographer. You two will be working together."
"But what about Lucky?" Gia demanded.
"Lucky is no longer working here." Laura said simply.
"Excuse me?"
"He's taken an extended leave of absence." Laura told her. She frowned. "You didn't know?"
"No, I didn't know." Gia said. "He didn't tell me. Is he here?"
"He's gone." Laura said.
"Since when?"
"Gia, he left two weeks ago."