Always You

*Epilogue* Chapter 24-Damien

In the months that followed our hotel night, I made sure to spend as much time as I could with Gianna. I wanted to assure her that nothing would change between us just because we had finally had sex.

But as our time together started to fade, I knew it was only a matter of time before her worries about what will happen with us started to come up again. She had been doing great with us making plans for when she comes to visit but I knew there was always a chance of doubts creeping into her brain.

Us sleeping together reminded me just how much I wanted things to work out with Gianna. My uncle said I'd be able to do long distance because I wasn't the same person I was and I could see it. Normally once I slept with a girl, my interest would start fading but in Gianna's case, I was even crazier about her than I was before. I felt like I always wanted to be around her, even if we weren't doing anything. Her presence alone was enough to satisfy me and make everything better.

As I helped in the restaurant on a Friday afternoon while Aunt Ruby and Uncle John took a weekend trip, I planned a movie night for Gianna with all of her favorite movies. We had already watched some of my favorites the other day and it still amazed me that I was with someone who actually enjoyed watching them.

I texted her and let her know to come over to the house and I would meet her there after I was finished here and couldn't help but laugh at the response.

Is this a booty call???

Ever since we had sex, it was like we couldn't keep our hands off each other. It was like we were addicted to each other. Now that we'd had a taste of each other, we wanted to have as much of it as we possibly could before we were separated for long periods of time. I quickly replied, telling her that as usual, sex wasn't expected but more than welcome. I wanted to make sure that she knew that I didn't expect sex every time we were together. I realized that when you have the right person, you don't always need to have sex to enjoy each other.

Deciding to focus on finishing up here so I could get to my movie night, I put my phone away and walked over to help a customer who I noticed had just sat down. When I got to the table, I froze when I saw it was the same woman from the cemetery a few months ago.

After Jacob said to let it go I let my mind forget all about it but now that seemed impossible with her looking right at me. Now that I was seeing the woman up close, I realized that I was right about her appearance and wasn't imagining it. She looked so much like an older version of Gianna that it was starting to freak me out.

"Uh hi, what can I get for you?" I hesitantly asked, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling I had.

"I think I'll just take some onion rings for right now, thanks," she said.

My brain couldn't register the response at first. All I could think about was Gianna. When I realized the woman was staring at me in confusion, I snapped out of it and shook my head. "I'm sorry, you just look so much like my girlfriend. Must be a weird coincidence. Let me put that order in for you."

As I started to walk away, I heard her call behind me. "Is your girlfriend's name Gianna?"

I froze in my spot and felt my heart stop for a moment before finally walking back to her. I cleared my throat. "You know Gianna?"

"Yes, well no, I mean...it's complicated," she answered, unsure of her response.

"How complicated?" I raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

The woman opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again as if she was contemplating telling me the answer. Finally, she spoke. "I'm her mother, Michelle."

My eyes widened in shock as I took a step back. Gianna said that her mother died when she was a baby. This wasn't possible. There was no way this woman was her mom. I shook my head in disbelief. "No you're not. Her mom died years ago."

"I'm sure that's what she was told," she muttered, disapprovingly before staring back at me. "But it's true. Gianna's my daughter."

"Prove it," I demanded, not wanting to believe it.

The woman hesitated before pulling out a small photo and handing it to me. My stomach flipped when I saw that the photo was her holding a little girl that looked just like one that Gianna showed me in one of her old photo albums. This woman really was her mother, clearly not dead like we all thought.

"You said that Gianna was your girlfriend," Michelle said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "I guess that means she's doing well? She's safe?"

"Yeah she is," I said, starting feeling lightheaded. I couldn't deal with whatever this was anymore. When I remembered that Gianna was probably at my house waiting for me, I took a few more steps away from Michelle. "I have to go."

"I would love to meet her," she replied when I started to walk away. "Maybe you could arrange a meeting for us?"

Struggling to find the words, I shook my head. "I don't know, I don't think that'd be a good idea. Excuse me."

I walked away before she could say anything else. This was all a bit much and I didn't have any other words for the woman. All signs pointed to her telling the truth about being Gianna's mom but if that were true, that means that Gianna had been lied to.

That means that her father and possibly Miss Diane and Jacob all lied to her, her entire life. I couldn't be the one to break that to her, especially without knowing the full story. I didn't want to turn her world upside down again without knowing all the facts.

By the time I got home and saw Gianna in my room waiting for me, I pushed all thoughts about my encounter from today to the back of my mind. As soon as I saw her beautiful smile, I knew keeping that smile on her face was the only thing that mattered. Everything else was secondary.

As we laid in bed watching one of movies that she chose, she looked up at me with curious eyes. "How was the restaurant today? A lot of people?"

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the restaurant because it reminded me of the encounter with Michelle. I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head. "Nope not really. I was kind of in my head the whole time, thinking of how I couldn't wait to get to this part of the day."

I leaned in and kissed her deeply, running my tongue over her lips before slipping into her mouth. When we pulled away, she smirked. "I knew this was a booty call."

As I leaned her back into the bed and kissed her again, I tried not to think about what happened today. Something like this did not need to come to Gianna's attention, especially from me. Hopefully, it will work itself out and possibly never come up again. I'd rather have that than have Gianna questioning every person in her life, especially her father after she'd finally gotten to a good place with him being gone. I had to shield her from this.

My priority will always be to protect Gianna and her feelings over anyone else's, especially that Michelle woman. Whether I was here or in Philadelphia, that will never change. My choice will always be Gianna.