“That’s not until August.” She’d accepted a new IT job near Schaumburg, and he’d been planning to help her pack up her life in Iowa when the time came.
“You haven’t been picking up your phone,” she chided.
“Sorry.” Guilt over his selfishness pulled at him, particularly when he noticed discomfort on her face for the first time since her surprise arrival. “What’s going on?”
She turned her gaze toward the window as a vehicle in need of a new muffler rumbled down the street. “I decided to move that timeline up a little.” Her ruddy cheeks flushed even redder. “I had a, um, a pregnancy scare.”
Thatgot him up off the wall. “Awhat?But you were…”
“Dating Christine?” Her soft mouth drooped downward. “Yeah, well she and I broke up.”
The back-to-back revelations knocked him sideways.“What happened?”
Gina’s whole body deflated, and he cringed to think that he’d been such a shitty friend when she’d needed him the most.
“I brought up marriage.” She trembled and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes before continuing. “Christine freaked out. I took it badly, and unfortunately that included an unwise rebound decision at the bar at closing time and…”
He couldn’t pull his eyes off her abdomen, which didn’t look any different than the last time he’d seen her. “So, um?” He gestured tentatively.
“Nope.” She brushed a hand over her stomach and shot him a relieved smile. “Despite a broken condom and a period of intense panic, there’s no need for Uncle Erik to report for duty, thank God. But it seemed smart to make the move sooner rather than later. You know how gossipy Liberty Valley is.”
“Sure do.” And if any of those small-minded assholes gave her an instant of trouble, he’d find them and make them wish they hadn’t. Gina’s business was nobody’s but Gina’s. “I can’t believe you stuck around there as long as you did.”
“Oh, you mean after I caused the biggest scandal in town history by bringing Mary Beth Phillips to the prom?” She leaned against the window frame and smugly crossed her arms over her chest.
The memory of fierce-faced Gina in her boxy tuxedo pulled a smile from him. “That, or when you calmly recited anti-discrimination laws in the middle of Main Street Café until they gave you a waitress job.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty badass.” She nonchalantly buffed her blunt nails against the sleeve of her shirt.
Familiar shame moved through his stomach, and he said quietly, “I can’t believe I worked for Dora as long as I did. I’m sorry.”
She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “Like I told you, what matters is that you quit when you finally realized how bad it was. Do I wish you’d pulled those headphones off sooner and figured out what was up? Sure. Should you have taken a page from my book and recited nondiscriminatory legal statutes out loud until that bitch begged you to stop? Undoubtedly. But you handled it your way. And hey, you’re in a better place now, yeah?”
“Yeah,” he said distractedly. “Or I was, anyway.” When was the last time he’d plugged his earbuds in to block out all other distractions? Not for weeks and weeks. Not since he started craving Josie’s voice more than any other sound in the world.Christ, he’d fucked things up.
“So, uh.” Gina interrupted the churn of his thoughts, her round face creased into a frown. “Can I stay here until I figure out a housing solution? Or I can go to a hotel if that would be better. I don’t want to cause a problem with you and Fancy.”
“Josie,” he corrected. “And it’s fine. I’m glad you’re here.” And he meant it, despite it all. Living in the same town as Gina again would be good for both of them.
“Thanks.” She wandered back to the kitchen island and surveyed the remaining cake slices. “So you finally sold the land.”
“I did.” The thought still made his blood pound in his ears, but she just smiled.
“I’m so proud of you. Chase those dreams.” With a smack of her lips, she chose a piece of lemon curd layer cake and settled back into the couch with a grimace. “My God, this is worse than I remembered. I can’t believe a woman wearing designer jeans let you feel her up on this ugly thing.”
“It was actually against the wall,” he admitted before his usual don’t-kiss-and-tell filters kicked in.
Gina’s face lit up with an unasked question, but he silenced her with a look.
“Shut up and eat your cake.”
Sixteen
Hot. Loud. Crowded.
Ordinarily, Josie would consider all three qualities hallmarks of a successful club opening, and she’d be sweaty and happy in the middle of it all on the dance floor. But tonight it was all too much for her. The throbbing bass booming through the packed room rattled her teeth, and she’d given up on getting any bar service an hour ago. Just as well since this was a working Friday for her.
Well, thishadbeen a working Friday anyway. Club Diego was officially open to the public, with all the pretty young things in Chicago decked out, gyrating, and throwing back drinks thanks to Dynamic Marketing’s promotional campaign. Her job for the night was done, and she’d never been more grateful to leave a party.
