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Madonna blasted me in the face when I opened the door, and I had my answer. Vivian had physically left, but she was still very much here, along with the mountain of her things. It stung like a motherfucker that she didn’t want them, but deep down, I knew keeping them was too painful for her.
I stormed to the study, found the source of the music, and punched the off button on the stereo. The silence was far worse. I felt lost—a feeling I hadn’t had in a very, very long time.Vivian should be here.I rounded my desk and sank into my chair, feeling another blow when my eyes landed on the picture that had been there for nearly eight years.
I picked up the frame, caressing her happy face, remembering that day like it was yesterday. Looking at myself in the picture, it was clear I’d been in love with her then, though I’d have never admitted it to anyone. I pulled out my phone, tempted to call her, but we both had to quit cold turkey. So I settled for second best and tracked her cell to that sushi place Muriella had been wanting to try.Now’s as good a time as any.I confirmed that Muriella was there too, and then I threw myself into action.
“Giselle,” I said tersely when she answered the phone.
“Daniel. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”
“When can you be ready?” I asked, skipping the pleasantries.
“Now,” she replied hesitantly.
“Meet me in twenty minutes. I’ll text the address to you.”
I hung up before she could protest and scrolled through my playlist, selecting “Trouble” by Cage The Elephant. I blasted it through the speakers in the apartment. I had to get Madonna out of my head before I went through with this. Once I did it, there would be no turning back.
Chapter Eleven
Vivian
Present
I wason my third sake bomb by the time our first rolls of sushi appeared. The alcohol was already going to my head, but that was the idea. Home was gone. Daniel had thrown us away. I never thought he’d make it an entire week without changing his mind. This was the longest we’d ever spent apart, and the hole inside me got bigger with every passing second.
I’d thought our souls were tied together, fused as one, and that he’d struggle the way I had been; that he’d have to come home because he couldn’t stay away. The more time that separated us, though, the more I began to wonder if our love had been one-sided. Oh hell.
“Here.” I shoved a shot of sake toward Muriella as I downed mine. She eyed it warily, but took it down in one fluid gulp. “I haven’t heard from Stone lately. Have you?” I asked her, desperately needing a distraction.
She scowled and reached for another drink, slamming it back. “No.” She pointed at me. “And don’t start.”
“Don’t start what?” I asked, feigning innocence. I knew exactly what I was bringing up.
“Apparently, he’s too busy for us,” she snapped.
I shoved a piece of sushi into my mouth to keep from smiling. “Let’s just call him now,” I said as I reached for my phone.
“No,” she responded emphatically, grabbing my arm.
I rarely pushed when it came to Stone Jacobs. And maybe it was a mistake now, but what was happening with Daniel only pressed the issue that I wanted my friend to have happiness. I tried another approach.
“Have you seen this?” I fished the latest issue ofRolling Stoneout of my bag and tossed it on the table.
Muriella’s cheeks reddened. She shrugged noncommittally. She’d seen it all right. “Ruby might have sent me an early copy.”
I slapped her in the arm. “When?”
“Couple of days ago.” Muriella shoved back-to-back pieces of California roll into her mouth to avoid an interrogation.
“How often do you talk to his grandmama?”
“Pretty regularly. You know we only communicate by mail.” She stirred wasabi into her dish of soy sauce with way too much interest.
I held up the magazine and let out a low whistle. “He just looks better with age.”
Stone was a cowboy first and foremost. He’d stumbled into acting, and it turned out he was pretty good at it. Like two Academy Awards good. This certainly wasn’t his first magazine cover. Last week he was the Sexiest Man Alive—again—on one of them.
Since Daniel had met him at a business function six years ago, the four of us had become fast friends, though over the years his career had kept him busy, so we didn’t see him as often as I would’ve liked. I had a feeling Muriella wasn’t too happy about that either. Nothing had ever happened between the two of them, and she’d take the Lord’s name in vain before she admitted she had feelings for him beyond friendship.
