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“Well, I’m sorry.”
“It just seems like we’re both on different paths, Willow. I don’t ever get to see you. I also feel like you’ve been avoiding me lately. Not answering my calls as much. Not texting me back.”
“I haven’t been avoiding you.” Sort of a lie. “It’s just ever since my promotion, I have more work to do, which means more traveling.” A door swings open behind me and music floods out, along with a train of women in cocktail dresses, all of them carrying a drink. One of the women in a ruby red sequin dress gives me a double take and grins.
“You’re Willow, right?” the woman asks, stumbling toward me.
I smile and lower the phone a bit. “I am.”
“Girl, you did so good with this event! Soooo good! Lou Ann has been going on and on about how all of this was mostly your idea! We’re…” the woman hiccups. “We’re having the time of our lives. I bet somebigbiddings are going up tonight!”
I force a smile at her. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re having a great time.”
The woman takes off, following the line of other women. They all giggle and shrill as they turn a corner of the boat and disappear, taking the joyous noise with them.
“You still there?” I ask, bringing the phone back to my ear.
“You sound busy,” Garrett mutters. “Look, just call me when you’re back home.”
I close my eyes for several seconds, inhale, and then say, “Okay. Sure. Talk later.”
I hang up quickly, wanting so badly to chuck my phone into the lake and scream, but I don’t because I need my phone tonight. Hell, I need it every day and night. Withoutit, I wouldn’t be able to give my stealing boss event ideas for Townsend Corporate.
“Why the hell did I suggest a party on a fucking boat anyway?” I mutter. And not justanyboat. Nope, I had to mention The Titan, a premium boat. Lou Ann was gung-ho for the idea—so much so that she wanted the best boat she could snag. It now rocks gently over the waves, and I place my elbows on the silver railing, staring out at the water.
My gaze tilts to the full moon and the splatter of stars in the midnight sky. It’s a beautiful night—one I should be enjoying, but what’s the point of enjoying any of this when there’s no one to celebrate it with?
For a while, I thought the psychic was lying. Iwouldfind love. Itwouldcome to me. I deserved it. And when I met Garrett, we weren’t serious at first, but we became sort of serious over the course of a year, and I thought the psychic lady was wrong.
But it turns out, with him he’s been more of a placeholder—someone to occupy my time and my mind whenever I feel alone. It’s nice having someone who can pop over with a meal and watch a movie with me. And at one point, I thought I could see myself marrying Garrett, until he revealed a different side of himself, one that woke me up and put me back in reality. Since then, I figured the witchy lady was right and because of it, I refuse to look for love.
Garrett isn’t the man I thought he was and everyone I’ve ever loved has pulled away from me, either of their own accord, or because they had to, and I can’t help wondering if it’s because of me. Am I destined to be alone? Was I doomed from the moment I was born?
There was Warren. My mother. My father. All of them are gone. Am I truly that unlucky?
The door to the ballroom opens again. “Willow,” a familiar voice calls. “There you are.” I look over my shoulder to seeLou Ann, my boss. She didn’t go with a cocktail dress like all the other women. Instead, she’s in a coral pink women’s suit. Dresses aren’t for her. She’s all business, even at parties. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear a dress in my whole three years of working for her.
“Is everything all right?” she asks.
“Yeah, everything’s fine, I just...” I start to tell her who I was on the phone with, but by the way she darts her gaze over her shoulder toward the party, it’s clear she doesn’t really care what’s wrong with me. It’s a courtesy ask. I sigh and turn fully to face her. “Do you need me for something?”
“Yes. They’re about to start the biddings,” she says, waving the hand with her phone in it. “If you don’t mind, can you tell the band to soften the music, and once that’s done, request more champagne to top off the night. We want high bids, big smiles—you know the deal.”
“You got it,” I return with a smile.
“Thank you so much!” Just then, her phone rings and she says, “Ooh. Better take this. Hi, Charles? Yes, I can hear you now.”
I watch her take off, disappearing around the same corner as the train of women. When she’s gone, I draw in as deep a breath as I can, then look back at Lake Washington and the twinkling water. Warren would have loved this—sailing past Portage Bay to get to Lake Washington, the twinkling city lights and snow-capped mountains in the distance. The thought of my brother makes the center of my chest ache.
“Why do I have to deal with all this alone?” I whisper, then turn for the party, putting the biggest smile I can muster on my face as I enter.
Three
WILLOW
Relief washesover me when the boat docks and the partygoers leave. They stumble over each other, sweaty and drunk off their asses, but with smiles on their faces. For Lou Ann, that’s a solid win.
I bid my farewells after checking in with Lou Ann and a few other Townsend colleagues, and don’t waste a single second going to my hotel, packing up, and rushing to the airport for my midnight flight.
