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Now that he was on the path to figuring out what had really happened, it didn’t seem too far-fetched to think about the future and Gabi waiting for him at home. He knew he needed to call Conner but it was after two in the morning, which was eleven in Carmel. His son would be sleeping and he’d wait until the morning to call him.
* * *
Gabi woke to Kingsley’s text message on her phone. She rolled over in bed and stared at it. She had about ten minutes before Conner woke up. Her habit was to always wake before her alarm went off. Even as a teenager she was always awake before it.
Kingsley’s text wasn’t very explanatory; in fact, it was almost impersonal. She hoped he sent something more to his son. Conner was going to want to talk to him as soon as he woke up.
She texted Kingsley back to that effect and he returned her text saying he was waiting for Conner to call him.
She hopped out of bed and hurried into the bathroom, taking a few minutes to pull her hair back so it didn’t look so crazy. She debated putting on makeup but that would look as if she was trying to impress him. So she settled for a quick swipe of eyeliner to define her eyes and then went into Conner’s room just as “Everything Is Awesome” started playing.
He rubbed his eyes and glanced over at her with his stuffed pig in his arms. His hair was tousled and his gaze moved from her to his iPad, which she’d left propped open on his nightstand.
“I have to potty,” he said.
“Go ahead, I’ll keep my eye on the iPad.”
He ran into the bathroom and then came back out a few minutes later. Just as he sat down on his bed again and was opening the app to video chat with his dad, Kingsley called him.
Conner hit the button and stared down at his dad’s face. Happiness lit up the little boy’s face. “Daddy, we missed you last night.”
“I know, buddy. I’m so sorry. Tell me what you did yesterday.”
As Conner talked, Gabi stared at Kingsley. It was just after noon on the East Coast. She was trying to see if he was in a hotel room but soon realized that he was in a car.
“Gammi didn’t know about the man in the moon,” Conner was saying. “But she did know some camping songs.”
“That’s good. So you enjoyed the campfire and then told her about the man in the moon. What else?”
“I fell asleep waiting for you. Was your meeting good?” Conner asked.
“It was. I might be done early.”
“Yippee!” Conner jumped up on his bed and danced around on it. “Daddy is coming home!”
“Not yet, buddy. I’m trying to set up one more meeting before I can get back. I’ll let you know at bedtime tonight.”
“Okay. Love you, Daddy.”
“Love you, too, Con. Go brush your teeth so I can talk adult stuff with Gabi.”
“Okay.”
Conner scampered off, his energy palpable now that he’d talked to his dad.
“What’s up? Also, what kind of meeting were you at so late at night? Conner goes to bed at eight,” she said.
“I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be leaving Manhattan and heading to Chicago. I will text you when my meeting’s over,” he said.
She noticed he didn’t say what kind of meeting it was.
She felt a little angry because now she thought it might have been a date. And she knew she had no reason to be angry. They’d kissed—that was it. That wasn’t a promise of anything except maybe another kiss. But Conner had been really upset that his father hadn’t called last night.
“You know, it’s fine if you want to go on a date. But Conner was worried about you. I almost called Hunter to calm him down. He wouldn’t go to sleep.”
“If it was a date, Gabriella, I would have said it was a date. I wouldn’t have called it a meeting. I didn’t mean to worry him. When Jade died in the car accident, he was too young to remember. He only knows that she was traveling. This hasn’t been an issue before. I’ll talk with him when I’m home,” Kingsley said.
Gabi didn’t feel that bad about assuming he was on a date. She knew lots of parents who claimed to be in meetings when they weren’t. “I can help, too. We are going to be here all day today. We didn’t discuss this, but how do you feel about me conducting meetings out of the home office?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. He looked tired and stressed now that she was really looking at him.
“I’d rather you didn’t. I haven’t advertised my address because there are people who post that information about me and Hunter on the web.”
