“I won’t,” I promised, both relieved and terrified. “And Mari? Thank you. For the dance, for...everything.”
She studied me for a moment, her expression softening. “You’re welcome. Though fair warning, if this is a proper date, I expect proper wining and dining. None of that ‘let’s grab a quick bite between client meetings’ nonsense.”
“Noted, I’ll plan accordingly.”
CHAPTER 11
Calling From 1997
MARI
If someone had told me at the beginning of all of this that I’d be sitting in a five-star spa resort with an A-list director, her celebrity friends, and a bachelorette weekend itinerary that I’d planned with Hudson Gable—and that I’d be missing him—I would have laughed in their face.
Yet there I was, sipping champagne in a fluffy white robe, watching Lia and her friends get pedicures, and wondering what Hudson was doing at the fishing cabin with Manny and his groomsmen.
Was Hudson even a fishing person? Did he own casual clothes? Or had he shown up to the wilderness retreat in a three-piece suit with color-coded tackle boxes and a laminated schedule for the best fishing locations?
The mental image made me snort into my champagne.
“What’s so funny?” Lia asked, looking up from her phone where she was texting Manny for approximately the fiftieth time since we’d arrived six hours ago.
“Nothing, just thinking about something.”
“Someone, you mean. How’s Hudson doing at the cabin?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“How would I know?” I tried for casual indifference but probably landed somewhere closer to ‘teenager pretending not to care about her crush.’
“Because you’ve checked your phone more than Lia has in the last hour.” Lia’s best friend, Michaela, a makeup artist to the stars with an encyclopedic knowledge of everyone’s business, chimed in. “We’ve been counting.”
“I have not—” I started, then realized I was, in fact, checking my phone again at that very moment. “It’s for work,” I said, shrugging.
“Sure it is, honey.” Michaela patted my hand. “It’s absolutely normal to smile like that at work emails.”
I wanted to deny it, but the evidence was literally in my hand: a text from Hudson with a picture of himself holding up what appeared to be a fish approximately the size of my thumb, looking absurdly proud.
First catch. Manny claims it doesn’t count. Opinions?
“It’s a very amusing work situation,” I said, locking my phone and slipping it into my robe pocket.
“Right,” Lia drawled, exchanging glances with Michaela. “A work situation with the guy you’ve been making heart eyes at for months.”
“I do not make heart eyes at Gable.” I took an indignant sip of champagne. “At most, I make grudgingly-respectful-colleague eyes.”
“That sounds like denial.” Lia’s sister joined the conversation.
My face heated. “It’s not!”
“Totally is,” Michaela added.
“Is this why you invited me?,” I asked Lia with a raised eyebrow.
Lia laughed, then winced as the pedicurist hit a ticklish spot. “Maybe. You two remind me of Manny and me when we first met. All that tension barely disguising the fact that we wanted to jump each other’s bones.”
“That’s—I don’t—we’re not—” I sputtered, causing all three women to burst into laughter.
“She’s broken,” the sister declared. “Quick, someone refill her champagne.”
My phone buzzed again, and despite my best intentions, I pulled it out immediately.Another text from Hudson.
