Mr. Smithfield - Louise Bay Page 0,46
the background, but Gabriel was more focused on kissing me than posing for the camera.
“What was that?” she asked.
“That’s the last one,” I said, nodding at the image on my screen. “The chandelier was the first picture I took.”
“No, the one after that. It was a picture of you with a man.”
My heart plummeted to the ground like a skydiver without a parachute.
I started scrolling through to the pictures of the penthouse, pretending I hadn’t heard her and hoping to distract her with thoughts of her wedding. “I really prefer a room with a view,” I said, showing her the screen of my phone.
In a flash, she grabbed my phone out of my hand and tried to scroll through the pictures. “Hollie!” I said, trying to take the phone back, but she turned her back to me. I tried to climb on top of her, but she twisted out of the way. “Give it back.”
“Jiminy Cricket, it locked,” she said, as she turned back to face the front and pushed my phone into my hand.
“You’re insane. What are you doing, stealing my phone?”
“Tell me who that man was.”
“In. Sane,” I snapped, and I shoved my cell into my purse where Hollie couldn’t reach it. I folded my arms, fuming.
We sat in silence as the cab stopped and started along Piccadilly. She was going to have to apologize. How dare she just take my phone like I was a teenager she’d caught doing something wrong.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see her glancing over at me. I turned my head so I was focused on what was going on outside on the street.
More silence.
“I’m sorry,” she said, finally.
“How would you feel if I’d done that to you?” I snapped.
“I don’t have anything private on my phone,” Hollie replied.
She was so annoying. She knew that it was the principle that mattered. “Not the point. If you want to see something, ask me. I’m not a child.”
“I know,” she replied. “I’m losing my mind. Can I blame the wedding planning?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to ruin her day, but she was way out of line. “Fine. Just don’t do it again.”
“I promise,” she said. I could hear the but before it was even out of her mouth. “But are you going to tell me who it was?”
I sighed. This was it. I was in store for a mammoth lecture. But I couldn’t lie. We didn’t do that to each other. I turned to face her. “I’ll tell you if you promise not to lose your goddamned mind any more than you already have.”
She slumped back on her seat, shaking her head. “It’s Gabriel.” She said it with certainty, as if I’d already confessed. “I knew it.”
“I don’t understand what your objection is. The guys I dated before were losers. I get why you didn’t like them. Gabriel isn’t anything like them.”
“No, he’s serious and a father and very settled. None of those things describe you or where you are in your life.”
“But it doesn’t mean I don’t like him or can’t like him. That we don’t or can’t like each other. I don’t get it.”
“You’re both at different stages of your life. You want to travel and see the world. He’s got different priorities.”
“Well, first off, let me remind you who’s responsible for me going to Rome. I got to go to a wonderful city and see amazing things that I could only ever dream about, all because of Gabriel. So don’t act like he’s stopping me from fulfilling my dreams. In fact, he’s actively supporting me in them.”
Hollie shifted around so she was facing me. “But that’s one trip. What happens if you want to go to Bali for three months? He’s hardly going to strap Bethany on his back and stay in some hostel with you and a bunch of other twentysomethings.”
“You’ll be happy to know I’ve realized that five-star hotels make a much nicer base than hostels when travelling.” I laughed, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. “Also, I’ve never mentioned Bali. I’ll start a job in September, which means I won’t get a chance to spend three months anywhere but London.”
“But you’re in their international program. What happens if they assign you outside London?”
“You’re thinking too far ahead, Hollie. It’s not venues for my wedding we’re looking at today.” I didn’t want to think too far in the future. Things would get complicated that way, and I liked how things were now. Easy. Simple. Right.
“So you’re not