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It was crazy to think it had only been two weeks. It seemed like so much more time had passed since I'd told him the truth about Nolan and me.
"If I didn't have to hide from the world, I'd offer to take you to the fanciest restaurant in L.A. for dinner. But, since the paparazzi would be all over that, dinner with your family would be great."
I nodded and urged my blush to go away. Was that a hint that he wanted to take me on a date?
I couldn't care less about where he could take me—I'd be happy going on a simple walk around the block. I just wanted to be with him.
We arrived at my apartment. I parked in my spot behind the complex, and then called my mom to make sure she was okay with an extra dinner guest.
A few minutes later, we were inside my apartment watching the video feed from the safe house. Gwen was just sitting on the couch in the living room. Alone. I realized then that I would still need to be Gwen's errand girl for lunch.
Was that why Dion wasn't there yet?
So I dialed the number for the burner phone and put a finger to my lips to remind Drew not to say a word and give us away. He mimed zipping his mouth shut and locking it with a key.
"Hello?" Gwen's voice cut through the line. I stepped away from Alexis's computer so there wouldn't be an echo.
"Hi, Gwen. This is Kate. In my hurry to get Drew to the studio, I realized that I forgot to take your lunch order. Is there anything I can get you?"
"Oh, good. I'm glad you called." Gwen's voice sounded more fake-happy than usual. "I think I'll just have Dion take me to the airport and see if I can catch an earlier flight. If Drew isn't going to be able to come back, there's no reason for me to stay."
I pursed my lips and furrowed my brow, trying to figure out what Gwen might be planning. Was she really thinking about just going to the airport? Because that would mess all our plans up.
"Are you sure you don't want me to bring you anything? It's all on the studio's bill, so feel free to orderwhateveryou need." Gwen seemed to want a free ticket in life, so I hoped that dangling the carrot for free stuff would work.
"No, that's okay. I'll have Dion pick me up something on the way. Thank you though."
I tried to think of something more to offer, but the line went dead. Gwen had hung up.
“Well, that sucks." I shoved my phone into my pocket and returned to the kitchen to watch the video feed.
"What do you think she's going to do?" Drew asked when I joined him. He had sat at the table right in front of the screen.
I took the seat next to him. "I have no idea. I hope she was just trying to keep me from coming back. Maybe Dion is already on his way?"
On the screen, Gwen was walking back down the hall to the bedroom. The screens were still, since we couldn't see into her room. The only thing that told us Gwen hadn't suddenly disappeared were the shuffling sounds coming from the bug in the hall nearby.
Not long after, Gwen was wheeling her suitcase behind her.
"She's leaving."
Drew scooted his chair closer to the screen, bumping against my knees in the process.
We watched as Gwen walked out through the door that led to the garage. We didn't even catch a single second of Dion on the video feed because the door had blocked him from the camera's view.
I pinched her eyes shut, as hope went out of me like a popped balloon. All that planning for nothing.
"Do you think Dion checked the studio?" Drew looked at me, our faces only inches away from each other. I hadn't realized we were sitting so close.
"Hopefully they just wanted to get out of the house." It would be really bad if they'd caught on to everything. I would have to go back through the video to see if Gwen had noticed one of the hidden cameras or bugs or something, tipping her off to our plans.
Drew sunk into his chair. "Too bad we didn't think to bug Dion’s car."
I decidedwe might as well go to my parents’ home early since we had nothing else to do. My mom always loved help with the meal.
"What can we help you with?" I asked when we found my parents sitting in the living room, my dad reading the newspaper, my mom with a book.
Mom looked up. "I was just going to start the dessert for tonight after finishing this chapter, but if you want to make it, that would be wonderful. I wouldn't mind seeing if Mr. Bates is the real murderer." She lifted the mystery novel in her hands.
