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“I might be able to relate to your first kiss. Escalator. Lobby. All your groupies.” She touches my jaw. “So what happened?”
I turn my face into her hand and make sure my eyes sparkle. “I rocked that kiss out of the park, Escalator Girl.”
“Of course you did.”
“Of course I did.” I lean in, a heartbeat at a time until our lips touch, then grin against her mouth. “I’m me.”
She shoves me away, but it’s too late. My grin is contagious, and it looks beautiful spread across her face.
“Want to go back, order room service, and do that all night?” I whisper.
chapter 41
Jess
T showed up at my locker with a flower and whispered, “Lizzie, I’m totally going to fall in love with you.” He smiled against my mouth and added, “Oops. Too late, I already did.” Then he handed me his class ring on a chain. He had it engraved with our first date and our initials.
~ from the diary of Elizabeth Sara Thorne (age16)
Gabe’s offer to kiss all night curls more than just my toes.
Until Vi crashes our private bubble, flattening my Gabe-induced high with a pair of silver stilettos. “I caught your spot on theDallas Daily Dish.”
I haven’t seen her since our bizarre relationship detonated in the hallway. Her suit, lipstick, eyeshadow, and earrings are the color of raspberry sherbet. How she and my dad even work—a flashy disco ball dancing around a steady Maglite—not a clue.
“IfThe Pack’sproducers are smart”—she balances a hip on the brick half wall next to me—“they’ll build a marketing strategy around that interview.” She speaks to Gabe the way she does her clients—shrewd, yet reassuring.
“Guess we’ll see.” Everything about him seems relaxed, when I know he’s anything but.
“You’ve been in this business long enough to realize that the only bad press is no press,” she says.
“You’re wrong,” I tell her, sliding in front of him. Ironic when I can’t stand up to her for myself.
Straightening from the half wall, she scrutinizes us, weaving me into a Texas-size knot of tension. But before she can say anything, Gabe’s phone goes off.
I turn to find him frowning at the screen. “My agent.” He hesitates, glancing at Vi, then answers. “Billy, give me a second.” Looking at me, he presses his phone to his chest. “I’ll meet you back in the room and order food. What do you want on your burger?” He tangles the ends of my hair around his finger like he’s not quite ready to abandon me to Vi.
Not quite ready to be abandoned, I work hard to smile like I am. “Anything but ketchup.”
He presses a long kiss to my forehead, then puts the phone back to his ear. “I’m here,” he says, walking out onto the main patio.
Missing his body heat, I shuffle closer to the outdoor heater.
“Gabriel Wade looks good on you.” Vi’s lips curve into a sly smile. “You’re welcome.”
“He’s leaving in a few days.” Something I don’t want to think about.
She flicks her wrist the direction he disappeared. “Don’t let your boy go without a good reason to come back.”
“I’m not giving himthatkind of reason. Didn’t you hear anything I said in the hall?”
“I heardeverythingyou said in the hall.” The tiniest hint of hurt hides behind her eyes. “How did you find out about your dad and me?”
“He was blowing up your phone before the luncheon.” I wait for her to accuse me of snooping, but she doesn’t. “Why would you keep that from me?”
“Not my idea. I told Trevor you were a big girl, and you could handle it.” She rolls right over the black hole that is my relationship with my dad. “But he thought you’d be upset.”
For once, Dad got something right. “So you lied.”
