Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
But I also need to fight off the inevitable heartache. We’re on a honeymoon. It ends tomorrow night, then we return to reality. We will go our separate ways. He’ll head to training camp and to the love of his life—football. I’ll be working long days and long nights to build the next phase of my life. And I was fine with that when we first started. But now, I’m definitely not.
SATURDAY
A Day
24
I’VE GOT THIS
Ellie
We’re five miles away from my mom’s home when my phone trills. Mom’s calling.
Of course.
“Want me to hit answer?” Gabe asks from the passenger seat as we cruise down a winding road in the town where we both grew up.
“Of course,” I say, and he swipes up. I call out cheerily, “You’re on speaker, Mama Snow. Gabe’s here.”
“Hello, Gabe, you cutie-pie,” she says.
I snort-laugh.
He hisses at me, then says aloud in a chipper voice, “Hello, Mrs. Snow.” I’ve never heard him use that voice with me. That must be the good-boy voice. The one that convinced the book club ladies he was a sweet, wholesome lad.
Ha ha.
“It’s going to be such a treat to see you both. And,” my mom says, then takes a pause, “do you mind popping into Trader Joe’s and picking up an extra pink lemonade? It’s a mile from where you are.”
“Mom!”
“Sweetheart, you never turned off the sharing,” she says, like this is all my fault.
Yup. I only have myself to blame. “Of course, Mom,” I say, happy to help.
We make a quick pit stop and when we hop back into my car, a reminder flashes across my phone.
Email Sidney.
I can’t put this off much longer. “That’s the producer for Fabio’s List,” I explain to Gabe as I pull back onto the road to Mom’s.
“Yeah? What did you decide?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I say, but the second those words come out, they feel wrong.
Why am I hiding from Fabio’s List?
The show is airing whether I say anything or not. I dated Dexter whether I appear on camera or not. I’ll probably be named regardless. I can’t hide from the doc, which has tongues wagging already. Might as well say my piece.
I lift my chin as I drive. “Actually, I am going to do it. So what if I dated a scam artist? I’m moving on into this new life here, bruises on my butt and all.”
“Do they hurt?” he asks, looking at me.
I shake my head and turn on the blinker. “Nope. But I like knowing they’re there.”
“Mmm. Me too.” He sounds happy—but romantic too. I catch him studying me as if he’s hunting for something in my expression.
“What is it?” I ask curiously.
He shakes his head, but he’s smiling now. “Just thinking.” He says it like it’s a good thing, with the same warm tone he takes when he’s talking about us.
Bubbles of hope swim in my bloodstream. Has he been thinking could there be more too? Oh, god. Oh, wow. That’s almost too much to consider.
“About what?” I ask, trying to mask the hope in my voice.
Gabe shrugs like he’s holding in a secret. He’s still grinning. “Just how fun this week was.”
I fight off a goofy smile. “It was amazing.”
“And you’re pretty fired up right now,” he says.
“I am,” I say, desperate to add because of you, because of that call, because of all these good things.
Except driving isn’t the time to tackle a Big Topic. Maybe later? After the party? We do have to return to Los Angeles tonight. Rachel’s dog sitting Gigi this evening, and I need to swing by and pick up my girl. But I could ask Gabe to spend one more night with me, then maybe ask for more…
But his smile burns off as he asks, “Because of the call?”
Huh. What? “What do you mean?” I ask.
“You’re fired up because of that call,” he clarifies.
Um. Yeah.
And maybe he wasn’t thinking about us. Maybe he was just being a good guy, asking questions, showing an interest.
Stay grounded, Ellie. Take your time. You have the whole night. You have the drive home to sort through this storm of feelings.
I fight off my romantic fantasies and stick to brass tacks. “Absolutely, it was a great week, and I feel super relieved that I’ve decided what to do about Fabio’s List. The interview’s been weighing on me.”
“Hmm,” he murmurs, like he’s weighing the interview too. I steal a quick glance at the passenger. His jaw is set tight, his gaze staring straight ahead. Something’s on his mind, and I wish I knew what. Several seconds later, he says, “Got it. Makes sense. That was a big moment then with the whole…moving on.”
“Yes,” I say, relieved at last. Finally, we’re on the same wavelength again. The one where we talk freely about work and the past and changes. The one where he understands what I’m trying to do with my life here in Los Angeles. Maybe this is a big moment for us too—where we connect over the way we understand each other. “And life’s big moments call for songs.”