I’m about thirty minutes away.” He pulled his suit jacket off the back of his chair and slid it on. “See you soon.”
He ended the call and grimaced. “That was my boss. I’m so sorry, but I really have to go. Um…can we finish this conversation later?”
My shoulders drooped. This secret was burning a hole in my brain, and I had to get it out. But every time we got close to the truth, one or both of us toppled backward. Instead of helping Gabe see that Cameron had no place in his wedding, much less his life, I was bickering with him. We’d been sitting here for ten minutes, and I was going to be the stupid best man standing next to the devil incarnate.
“Gabe, it was a miracle you made any time for me this morning,” I told him through clenched teeth. “You say we’ll finish this later, but will we?”
He reached for my hand again. “Please don’t be mad. I’ll call you tonight, and we’ll set up a time to finish.”
I nodded, just once. Every muscle in my body was too tense to offer more than that.
The corners of his mouth tugged downward. “I know I’ve been unavailable lately, and I’m sorry.”
Damn my stupid chest for tightening every time he looked at me that way. “We used to be together all the time. Everything’s changing. We never see each other, we never talk. I miss you.”
He came closer to me, rested his keys on top of the table, and sat in a chair next to me. I suppressed a shudder when his hands enveloped mine. “I miss you, too, Vi.”
“I always knew that someday you’d be getting married, but I always thought it would be…” I bit my tongue.
He nodded, and brought my fingers up to his mouth. “I know. Me, too.”
His chair squeaked as he stood next to me. “Listen, I’ll make sure that we talk soon. And I promise that we won’t be interrupted.”
We were just a few inches apart, and I could smell his shaving cream again. I took a deep breath. “Agreed.”
We walked toward his door.
“Promise me that you’re okay?”
I took a long, deep breath. Was I okay? My health was good. I still had a pulse. My secret was burning a hole in the back of my brain. I was going to have to find some super-human strength from somewhere if I was going to get through this wedding.
“I will be once we talk again. Uninterrupted.” I pulled the door open.
He scooped me into a stifling hug. “Whatever’s going on with you, I…I miss you. Okay?” He spoke into my hair, his breath against my scalp. The inappropriateness of the way he gripped me sank down into my core as his fingers spread against my lower back, holding me against his body tightly.
Muttering my good-bye, I pulled away briskly and made a straight shot for the stairs. I couldn’t handle being that close to Gabe anymore. That was going to have to stop if I ever wanted to be able to move on.
Chapter Eleven
November 1, 2004
I hate going to school. I hate the way I have to look over my shoulder all the time, watching out for that bastard Cameron. I don’t know how the hell Gabe can stand that piece of garbage. He tortures me…every…single…day. Someday I’ll get revenge. Someday I’ll make him pay, I swear it…
My phone buzzed as I climbed the steps to my apartment, and I fumbled through my purse to grab it in the dimly lit hallway. It had to be Landon, calling to say good night. This is what having an adoring boyfriend was about. The late night calls, the cute little text messages, the impromptu tickets to Victoria, B.C. he’d presented me with…
Aw, hell. It was Gabe calling. It was a whole lot easier not to obsess over him if he didn’t call me late at night. We still hadn’t finished our conversation, and over a week had passed with us sidestepping the topic altogether.
Squeezing my eyes shut and mouthing a curse word—or two—I pressed talk. “Hello?”
Gabe’s deep voice rang through the phone. “Hey. How’s it going?”
I will not get into a long, drawn-out, borderline inappropriate conversation, I told myself. “Not bad,” I squeaked. “How ’bout yourself?”
“I’m good. Drowning in wedding hell around here.”
I rolled my eyes at the mention of The Wedding of the Year. “My mom told me it’s turning into quite the lavish affair.”
He made a sound that was a cross between