Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
My mind goes to the first time Dane and I ever held hands. It was our trip to Paris with Andrew almost seven weeks ago. I was in a three-way relationship with two men, and there was something so intimate about Dane and I holding hands outside of Andrew’s presence. It was almost like a dirty little secret or something, yet it was so special at the same time. It was after we had stopped at a little cafe outside of our hotel and he invited me to go shopping. We stood up from the tables and as if it was oh so natural, he took my hand in his. My heart tripped hard from the romantic gesture, and I knew I was starting to fall in love with him.
An overwhelming need for some stability courses through me, so I rush to my purse and nab my cell phone out of it. I quickly dial Andrew, not caring that it’s almost one AM in Vegas.
His voice is groggy and thick when he answers. “Hello.”
“Andrew… did you know Dane was coming to Paris?”
I can almost envision him sitting straight up in bed, rubbing his eyes to try to wake up. “He’s in Paris?” he asks.
That answers that. Andrew didn’t know.
“He just had pastries delivered to my apartment with a note for me to meet him at a cafe we’d been at before.”
I can hear Andrew yawn and his voice becomes a little clearer. “He sent me a text a few days ago and said he was going to L.A. for some business, but didn’t tell me anything more.”
“Well, he’s here in Paris,” I say with utter redundancy, but probably because I still can’t believe it myself.
“Why lie about going to L.A?” he muses. “Unless…”
Andrew trails off, and I wait for him to pick it back up. But he doesn’t, so I say, “Unless what?”
“Late last week… I went into his office to check on him, and he had all the stuff you had put together on his dad spread out over his desk.”
“His dad lives just north of San Diego, though,” I point out.
“Yeah, but if he was going to fly to Paris, the nonstops are out of LAX. He could have just flown in there and used a rental car to make a quick visit south to see him.”
This makes sense, but it still doesn’t answer the question as to why he’s here. If Andrew didn’t know he was coming, he’s going to be no help in giving me some guidance.
“What else did you two talk about last week?” I prod.
“Top secret,” Andrew says firmly. “I don’t share that stuff, and you know it.”
“What was the gist of the conversation about?” I demand angrily. “I get not sharing exact confidences, but I need something, Drew. Don’t let me walk in blind when I see him.”
“So, you are going to go see him?”
“I don’t know,” I whine. “I wish I knew why he was here.”
“What did his message say exactly?”
I hold the card out and read it to him. Andrew mutters, “Cryptic much?”
“Drew… what’s happened since I left? How did he react to my resignation?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to ask those questions every day we talked,” he murmurs.
I grimace. Every time Andrew and I were on the phone together, I had to literally bite my tongue not to ask about Dane. It made it easier for me to imagine that he’d gone on with his life and wasn’t looking backward. If I could envision that, then I could perhaps move on with my life as well.
“The resignation stunned him,” Andrew says quietly. “I went straight to the office and handed it to him. He didn’t say anything really. After that, we didn’t talk about you, but he was having a really rough time. I finally confronted him last week when I saw that stuff about his dad on his desk. While I’m not going to tell you what he told me, I’d say that he’s done some major soul searching, Av. You should walk out that door right now and go see him.”
Lifting a hand up, I nibble on my thumbnail. It’s a nervous habit.
“What if he’s just here to get some closure?” I ask him. “What if he’s just here to apologize and wish me well?”
“What if he’s there to tell you he’s the idiot I told him he was?” he counters pointedly. “What if he’s ready to give you the world?”
“He can’t,” I whisper. “He said so himself.”
“People can change, Avril. If they want to. I think the fact he flew to Paris is probably an indication that something big has changed within him.”
I hedge because I refuse to get my hopes up. “Maybe.”
“Just go see him,” he tells me firmly. “And then call me after and let me know when the wedding is.”