A Will To Change (Hope) (16 page)

“Peterson,” Adam and Tim both said at the same time, not sounding very pleased.

“What are you watching, Gabby?” Brian said, taking the seat next to me on the couch.

“Oh, I was watching
The Wedding Planner,
but I actually fell asleep.”

Will’s eyes narrowed as he walked out into the living room and saw Brian sitting next to me. “It’s late and I’m beat so you ass wipes need to leave,” Will said, very abruptly.

“So go to bed. We’ll hang out with Gabby,” Brian replied.

Will completely ignored him and took a seat on the couch on the other side of me. I listened and laughed at the three of them as they tried their best to entertain me by telling jokes and by acting plain old stupid. Will threw his head back on the couch, not looking amused at all. I leaned my head back next to his, deciding that he needed some cheering up. I moved my nose closer to his hair and sniffed. He looked at me strangely. “Hey, do you guys smell something clean and fresh?” The three of them looked at me in confusion. Will shook his head and tried his hardest to hold back his smile, without much success. “It kinda smells like -.” I sniffed deeply. “Like a summer’s eve.” My heart skipped a beat when he flashed me his beautiful smile, no longer able to hold back his laughter.

“Oh, you think you are funny, little girl?” I screeched when he reached over and began to tickle me. I twisted and turned, trying to break free as I tried to catch my breath.

“Okay, on that note, I guess we’ll leave,” Brian said as he, Tim, and Adam got up, looking at Will and me strangely.

“See ya!” Will said, sounding much too happy to see them go.

I finally managed to escape his tickle grip and walked them to the door. “See ya around, Gabby,” Brian said, giving me an extra smile and a wink as he walked out.

“Geez, you were kinda rude to them,” I said to Will as I took a seat next to him again.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever. I don’t care. Hey, you want to get a movie from Netflix?”

I was so tired and knew that I was probably going to be sleeping within the first ten minutes, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say no. I had missed hanging out with Will these past few days. We went through all of the movies, finally deciding on one that we could both agree upon. He looked at me just before he was about to hit PLAY on the remote. “Hey, Gabby, are you off tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Well, what are your plans? You know, for Thanksgiving?”

“Hmm…let’s see. I think I will just stay in my pajamas all day, watch old movies, and eat whatever I want.”

He shook his head. “Change of plans.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re coming with me to my brother’s. I need backup to help me deal with my father.”

As nice as it was of him to invite me, I just didn’t feel right showing up at his brother’s house unannounced for Thanksgiving dinner. “Well, thank you for including me, Will, but I’m not going to just barge in on your family. He reached behind him and grabbed his phone off the table. He turned it on and waited for it to boot up. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to text my sister-in-law and let her know you’re coming. That way, you won’t feel like you’re ‘barging in’ on anyone.”

“Will, Thanksgiving is tomorrow…or today, actually,” I said, looking at the clock and noticing that it was after midnight. “You can’t just text someone -.”

“Sent,” he said, placing his phone back on the table.

“Will, I don’t know. I feel weird just showing up with you.”

“You’re not just showing up, Gabby. I invited you. Trust me. Hope is one of the nicest people I know. She won’t care that you’re coming.”

Hearing his phone, he reached to grab it. “See!” He held it out for me to read the message that just came through.

Not a problem. See you guys tomorrow.

I was still feeling a little uneasy about the whole situation, but I knew that he wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer. A small part of me had to admit that it would be nice to be spending the holiday with other people, instead of by myself.

“Fine,” I huffed.

“Good girl!” He smiled, grabbing the remote and starting the movie.

On the way to my brother’s house, I warned Gabby about my dad. I didn’t want her to be offended if he came off as being a pompous ass, which he normally did…at least to me. She assured me that she could handle it, and I was fairly certain that she would be able to. “Is this the town that you grew up in?” she asked.

“Nope, next town over,” I said.

“Oh, so you’re not a native New Yorker?”

I shook my head. “Afraid not.”

“Well, it’s really nice around here. It must have been really cool growing up near the beach. My dad’s sister always rented a house in Cape Cod every summer, and he and I would spend a week up there every year.” A beautiful smile stretched across her face. “Those were the happiest times of my life,” she sighed.

I turned into Jamie’s driveway and Gabby’s face lit up. “Wow! This is a beautiful house.”

I laughed at her reaction. “Yup. Jamie’s got it all going for him. Lawyer, beautiful wife, beautiful daughter.” I stopped for a minute and realized what I had just said. Jamie really
didn’t
have it all. The one thing that he wanted the most was never coming back. “Not that he doesn’t deserve all of it. He’s worked hard for every single thing he has, and he and Hope have been to hell and back. If anyone deserves it, it’s them.” She gave me a sympathetic smile, clearly seeing the sadness that would overtake me at the mere thought of my nephew.

I was happy to see that my mom and dad weren’t there yet. I didn’t want Gabby to feel uncomfortable right away. At least if she had a chance to hang out with Jamie and Hope for a little while, she would feel a little bit more at ease before having to deal with my dad’s sarcasm that he considered humor. I knocked on the door before opening it up and shouting, “Get your clothes on! Company’s here!” Gabby shook her head and laughed, following me in.

I heard the little pitter patter of feet running down the hallway. Grace finally appeared, grinning from ear to ear and holding tightly to her doll. “Gracie!” I bent down to give a hug, but she quickly turned around and ran back to Jamie.

Jamie picked her up and she buried her head into his shoulder. “Say hi to Uncle Will.” She lifted her head and smiled as I held my arms out for her.

She looked hesitantly at Jamie, then back at me before she finally came to me. “Hey, Gracie. I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten,” I said, placing a kiss on her cheek. She placed her hands on my cheeks and gave me the cutest little smile before covering me in kisses.

“Geez, even the
little
girls are in love with you,” Gabby teased.

“What can I say, Gabby girl? I just got it!” She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Oh, Jamie, you remember Gabby, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Nice seeing you again,” he said with a smile.

We followed him into the kitchen. “Hey, Hope!” I shouted, causing her to look up from the cake she was frosting.

“Hey, you!” She smiled, walking over to give me a hug and kiss. Her smile became even wider when she saw Gabby and I knew right away what was going through her mind. I shook my head when she looked back at me to let her know that she was completely wrong in her thinking.

“Gabby, right?” Hope asked.

Gabby nodded. “Thank you so much for having me over last minute.”

“Oh, my god. Don’t be silly. I think it’s great that Will is finally bringing someone around for a holiday.” I laughed at her overactive romantic imagination. “Sit down, Gabby. Do you want anything to drink?” Hope asked.

“Umm…no, thanks. I’m good right now.”

Grace wiggled to get out of my arms and took off running into the living room. “Geez, I can’t believe how big she got just from the last time I saw her. Pretty soon, my man is going to be beating those boys off with a stick,” I teased Jamie.

“Oh, Jamie, don’t forget. I need to run to the store and get some flour for the gravy,” Hope said.

“Why don’t you just ask the king and queen to pick it up on their way over?” I just couldn’t resist.

Jamie smirked, trying his hardest not to laugh. “Will! Behave,” Hope warned.

“Hey, I always behave. It’s my
father
that always has to act like the jerk and say something to piss me off.”

“Take a ride with me, Will,” Jamie said, grabbing his keys from the counter just as Grace ran into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around his legs. “What’s the matter, pretty girl?” He picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll be right back. Hang out with Mommy and Gabby.”

“Can I see your baby doll, Grace?” Gabby asked.

“Go show Gabby your baby,” Jamie said, giving Grace a kiss before putting her down. Grace smiled at Gabby and hesitantly approached her and, within a matter of seconds, climbed up on her lap, showing her the doll.

We walked out the front door and my eyes lit up at the site of Jamie’s new BMW in the driveway. “Let me drive this bad boy,” I said. 

Jamie tossed me the keys and I jumped into the driver's seat.

“So, what's happening to you, bringing a girl around for a holiday? Did you fall and hit your head or something?” 

“Nah, it's not like that between Gabby and me,” I said, accelerating onto the main road.

“What? You're tellin’ me that you haven't slept with her yet?”

I shook my head. “Nope and I don't plan on it.” I took my eyes off the road for one brief second to catch a glimpse of the look on his face. I would describe it as shocked. “Gabby's different, Jamie. I respect her.”

“What? Did I just hear you correctly?”

“Yeah, you did. I don't know. There’s just something about her. I mean, don't get me wrong. She’s fuckin’ adorable, funny as hell, and I have a great time when I’m with her.”

“Okay, so that should be all the more reason that you would want to sleep with her.”

“I don’t do relationships, Jamie. You know that. I’m not gonna screw up the good thing that I have with Gabby by sleeping with her.”

“What makes you think you’re going to screw it up, Will? Maybe she’s the one for you, but you won’t ever know unless you try.”

I looked straight ahead, concentrating on the road. I had always respected Jamie’s opinion, but Gabby’s friendship meant more to me than anything in this world. I would never take the risk by crossing that line with her.