Apparently the two weren’t mutually exclusive.
“So I guess this is it, then,” she said. She tried for insouciance. Her voice was shaking.
“Guess so,” he managed neutrally enough.
Though his voice had gone arid as the Sahara.
She hovered in place. There was a split second where he contemplated reaching across to touch her. She might have decked him. Or maybe that awful, cold, furious pain in her expression would dissolve and she’d crumple into his arms and he would sayI don’t know what the hell I’m doing or why, but something in me hurts so savagely all I want to do, all I know how to do, is defend defend defend and I can’t stop it. Even if it drives you away. Stay. Stay. Stay.
She spun on her heel, flung open his door, and vroom.
She was out of there, hair sailing out behind her.
Because everything in her life was scheduled down to the minute, she used her time in the car between leaving Gabe’s office to the time she made it home again for racking, noisy rage sobs, growling and taking the name of Gabe Caldera in vain.
“What an asshole! I can’t believe he would... GAH! He has no right!”
At another stop light, she bellowed, “You are hands down the sexiest human I have ever touched or tasted, Gabe Caldera. How could you think otherwise? I was in love with you!”
Why hadn’t she said that?
Wasshe in love with him?
Was shestillin love with him?
“No! I’m the one who’s right here!” she blustered at another stoplight.
The man in the car next to her gave a start. And quietly rolled his window all the way up.
If only she were morecertainthat she was right.
If only she had time to think.
But there was no time. There never was. Onto the next thing, the next emotion.
She’d texted her entire family, even Jude, Dr. Jude, who was always,alwaysbusy, but did make it into town now and again on weekends to see his parents, and Jesse, who was in the Himalayas or Machu Pichu or camping on a glacier or some such nonsense on assignment for Redmond Worldwide.
THIS IS URGENT. I need a family meeting. 7 o’clock tonight. It’ll only take a few minutes.
P.S. Nobody’s dying. xoxo
That ought to intrigue them.
Home to everyone meant the Harwood family homestead, the comfortable old 1940s farmhouse shaped like an L, perched on a slight rise between Devil’s Leap and Main Street at the end of town. It was painted a soft periwinkle-blue, which blended in with soft summer days and clear winter twilights.
At seven o’clock Avalon and her mom and dad were cheek to cheek on the squishy old olive-colored sofa that never relinquished anyone willingly—you always had to kind of fight to stand up from it. Jude, handsome devil, her much-loved, pedantic, witty, pain-in-the ass brother who was fond of fast cars, inappropriately fast women, and saving lives, was slouched in the old armchair they used to fight over. Jiggling one foot. His face was alight with anticipation.
Jesse was on Skype on a laptop screen on the desk, over in some corner of the Himalayas, if she recalled correctly, on some adventure travel assignment for Redmond Worldwide. He was rocking quite a bushy beard. Through which they could see his bright smile.
Eden stood in the middle of the circle braid carpet, feeling like an idiot child about to do a tap-dance routine for company.
Her mom darted a surreptitious glance at Eden’s belly.
“No, Mom,” Eden said tersely. “Don’t worry. I’m not quite that careless.”
Though that sure didn’t feel precisely true anymore.
“All babies are welcome, honey,” her mom said. Which was easy for her to say now that she knew there wasn’t going to be a baby.