Keeping Secrets in Seattle - By Brooke Moss Page 0,64
arms dropped and he backed away from me. “No, Dan, we weren’t—”
Dan whirled around and spoke with his back to the both of us. “Sorry. I, uh…was just looking for you. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Heat flared on my cheeks, spreading down my neck and under the collar of my shirt. “You didn’t interrupt anything.”
Dan glanced at me as we all started hiking down the hall in awkward silence. “Sure I didn’t.”
Chapter Sixteen
September 7, 2003
I heard the doorbell ring after I was out of the shower tonight. I was sitting on my bed in a towel, staring at the back of Gabe’s house while I cried, wondering when he would arrive. My mom said that I shouldn’t call Gabe to tell him what happened, but I knew that he would show up eventually. I just knew it. We’d been friends for too long, we were so in love…and I’d ditched him at Cameron’s an hour ago. It was just a matter of time.
“Hello?”
I closed my eyes and did a happy dance. Getting Gabe on the phone these days was a daunting task. We needed to meet. It was time for Gabe to know my secret and the dirt I had on Alicia. Of course, calling his office at work helped my chances. Score one for me.
“Hey, it’s me. How’s it going?”
“Vi, I was just thinking about you.”
I pretended that my head didn’t whirl when he said that. “You were? Well, I’m calling because we didn’t really get a chance to talk after your party.”
“No, I suppose we didn’t.” His voice had lost some of its enthusiasm.
“Would it be all right if you took the afternoon off from wedding planning, so we could meet for some coffee?”
“Ugh, I’m sorry. I can’t. We’ve got a menu tasting for the reception.”
I thought for a moment. “Hmm. How about tomorrow morning? I don’t work until eleven. We could meet at Harold’s for doughnuts.”
I heard Gabe shuffling some papers. “Crap. No can do. I’ve got a seven a.m. meeting.”
“Okay, then.” I rubbed my eyes. “Why don’t you tell me when you have the time?”
“I hope you aren’t upset with me. I’m just really swamped right now.”
I leaned against my hydraulic chair and motioned for Lizzy to stop singing Lady Gaga falsetto. “I’m not upset, no. But…it’s just that a few months ago, all I had to say was Harold’s, and you’d have been in your car before we hung up.”
He sighed. “I know.”
“Everything is changing,” I said.
There was a pause. A long pause in which I heard Gabe’s other lines ringing. Finally, he said, “Listen—” at the same time I blurted out, “Well, how about Friday night?”
“I can’t,” he said.
“Oh, give me a break!” I groaned. “Are you avoiding me?”
“No. Of course not. I—”
“Gabe, I really need to talk to you. This is getting ridiculous. I don’t care if you don’t want to hear what I have to say.” I ran a hand through my hair, exasperated.
“Whoa, okay, okay.”
“It’s not okay!” My voice cracked, and I scooted out of the salon to the sidewalk. “I won’t relax until you sit down for ten minutes and listen to me. Friday night. Meet me at my place. Agreed?”
He sighed. “Alicia got tickets for the Seattle Philharmonic on Friday night. I…I’m so sorry.”
I would have laughed if I weren’t so pissed off. “The philharmonic? You told me that instrumental music gives you a stomachache.”
“Alicia got tickets in the same private box as the mayor,” he said. “She’s really psyched about it. She says it will be good for our reputation to make friends with him.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I fought the urge to punch a hole in the window of The Funky Fox. “Who the hell cares if you’re friends with the damned mayor?”
“Well, she wants to do charity work someday, and—”
“I just threw up in my mouth.” My voice was low and defeated. “Fine, Gabe. Whatever.”
“No, Vi, listen to me—”
Lizzy tapped on the glass and motioned for me to get back onto the salon floor. “Gotta go. Have a great time at the philharmonic.”
I hung up before he could say another word.
…
“I’ll miss you tonight.” Landon’s voice came through the phone and wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
I smiled lazily. “I’ll miss you, too.”
“Will you call me when you get in?”
“Of course. I can’t wait until tomorrow morning.”
He laughed. The sound was deep and crackly, and it made my heart squeeze. “I can’t, either. Victoria is beautiful in spring.”