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Lauren remained silent, just letting Callie unload which was something she hadn’t done in a while. “To top it off, Mrs. Brooks called this morning and let me go,” she said, referring to her boss at the summer camp.
“I’m sorry. I know how much you liked it there.” Lauren accepted the iced coffee Callie handed her.
Callie shrugged. “I don’t really blame her, but it still makes me mad.” It was true; she didn’t really blame her former boss. Her presence at the camp was disruptive for the children. Still, she resented the situation. She would miss working with the children. This was her fourth summer there.
“I think I’ll just take the summer off. Maybe by September, I will no longer be newsworthy. My fifteen minutes will be up.” She hoped that would be the case. She couldn’t risk losing her full-time teaching job too.
Lauren didn’t reply, and Callie didn’t know if that was a good sign or not. Instead, Lauren reached for the discarded magazine, which was still open to the pictures of Callie and Dylan. “Have you spoken to him?”
Forcing herself not to look at the pictures, Callie took a long sip of coffee. “No, and he hasn’t called again.”
“Maybe you should call him. Hear what he has to say,” Lauren said gently.
Callie opened her mouth to reply, but Lauren cut her off. “I know what you’re going to say, but it is possible that it wasn’t a lie, that he does care about you.”
“And pigs can fly, Lauren.” Callie shook her head. “You didn’t hear him that night.” Callie didn’t want to have this conversation with Lauren again. She thought about Dylan enough without having to talk about him too.
“No, but these pictures tell another story. He could really care about you. Maybe even love you.”
“It’s called acting, Lauren. People do it all the time.”
Lauren held up her hands in surrender. “If you say so.”
Her friend’s words resonated in Callie’s head long after Lauren left. How she wanted them to be true. The time she’d spent with Dylan had been magical. Never had it felt so right to be with someone.
Without intending to, she’d fallen in love with him. Even now, after his betrayal, he was lodged in her heart. Yet wanting something to be true didn’t make it so. Don’t I know that by now?
She wanted to go for a walk. Sometimes that helped clear her head. Pulling back the curtain, she saw three cars were parked outside, waiting for her to leave. Already that morning, she’d dealt with several reporters and photographers when she’d tried to take Lucky for his walk. In the end, Neil sent her back in the apartment and did it for her.
I just don’t have the energy to deal with them again. She let the curtain fall back into place. Instead, she settled onto the couch to watch the Red Sox game and consider her options.
Maybe I should go to Newport. No one will bother me there. Security at Warren’s mansion won’t let anyone through. She wouldn’t stay long. Just long enough to recharge. With any luck, some other big news story would break in the meantime. Then everyone would forget about her and life would go back to normal.
The plan sounded perfect, assuming Dylan wasn’t there. He’d told her once that he visited Cliff House occasionally. What constituted occasionally to him? Did that mean once a month or once every few months?
She couldn’t handle running into him. Not now anyway. Sure, it was bound to happen someday. After all, his mother and Warren were married. Hopefully, that someday would be years away.
Years might be pushing it, Callie admitted. Still, she didn’t want to see him until she’d been able to bury her feelings for him. Right now, her emotions were too raw.
Would it sound odd to ask if anyone else would be there? Possibly. Then again, this entire situation was odd. It had been from the very moment Helen Lee told her the truth.
Muting the television, Callie pulled Warren’s number up in her contact list. The phone rang several times before Warren answered.
“Callie,” her father greeted warmly. “I was going to call you later tonight. How are you holding up?”
She could hear the concern in his voice. “So, so.”
“Have you thought anymore about my offer? Elizabeth and I are arriving at Cliff House tomorrow for a few days.”
“Actually, yes. That’s why I’m calling.” Callie paused to think of her next words. She didn’t want to come right out and ask about Dylan specifically. At the same time, she needed to know if he would be there. “But I don’t want to intrude on any family time if everyone is going to be there.”
“Callie you are family.”
She was touched by his statement and wasn’t sure how to reply. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.
“Don’t worry though. This trip, it s
hould just be Elizabeth and me. Sara is visiting a friend in Miami and Dylan hardly ever comes anymore. I don’t know what Jake’s plans are, but it is doubtful he’ll show up.”
