And I had to be strong enough to admit when I needed one.
“I love you, too, baby,” my dad said, with an aching note of pain and grief that stabbed me in the heart. “I’ll call you later.”
“Okay. I—” What else could I say? I was at a loss for how to fix things. “Bye.”
Gideon killed the call, then took my trembling hands in his. His eyes were locked on me, the ice melting into tenderness. “You will not be ashamed, Eva. Is that clear?”
I nodded. “I’m not.”
He cupped my face, his thumbs brushing away my tears. “I can’t bear to see you cry, angel.”
I forced back the lingering heartache, shoving it into a corner where I would deal with it later. “Why are you here? How did you know?”
“I came to thank you for the flowers,” he murmured.
“Oh. Do you like them?” I managed a smile. “I wanted to make you think of me.”
“All the time. Every minute.” He caught my hips and tugged me closer.
“You could’ve just sent a note.”
“Ah.” His ghost of a smile made my pulse skip. “But that wouldn’t cover this.”
Gideon pulled me into his lap and kissed me senseless.
We still heading home tonight? Cary texted as I waited for the elevator to take me back down to the lobby at noon. My mom was already waiting for me there and I was trying to pull my thoughts together. We had a lot of ground to cover.
God, I was hoping she could help me deal with it all.
That’s the plan, I replied to my beloved pain-in-the-ass-sometimes roommate, typing as I stepped into the car. I have an appt. after work, though, then dinner with Gideon. Might be late.
Dinner? U have to catch me up.
I smiled. Of course.
Trey called.
I exhaled in a rush, as if I’d been holding my breath. I guess in a way I had been.
I couldn’t blame Cary’s on-again, off-again boyfriend for taking a big step back when he’d learned that Cary’s booty-call girl was pregnant. Trey had already been struggling with Cary’s bisexuality, and now a baby meant there would always be a third person in their relationship.
There was no question that Cary should have committed to Trey sooner, instead of keeping his options open, but I understood the fear behind Cary’s actions. I knew all too well the thoughts that ran through your mind when you’d survived the things Cary and I had, yet still somehow found yourself faced with an amazing person who loved you.
When it was too good to be true, how could it possibly be real?
I sympathized with Trey, too, and if he called it quits, I’d respect that decision. But he was the best thing to happen to Cary in a long time. I was going to be extremely bummed if they didn’t make it. What did he say?
I’ll tell u when I see u.
Cary! That’s cruel.
It took him until I was walking through the lobby turnstiles to reply. Yeah, tell me about it.
My heart sank, because there was no way to interpret that as good news. Stepping aside to allow others to pass me, I typed back, I love you madly, Cary Taylor.
Love u 2, baby girl.
“Eva!”