Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) (11 page)

She hung up and stared at the counter top, clearly perturbed. The silence hung thick and heavy. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to say something.

“Rough day?” I asked.

She looked up at me, her lips drawn tight. “I have to go pick up my son from his daycare. He has a fever.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Oh. Fevers suck. But hey, sick days can be fun. I loved getting to stay home when I was a kid.”

She nodded, and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

I bit my tongue. Clearly the woman was just not in the mood to be cheered up.

Fine. Whatever.

I turned away from her just as the storeroom’s door opened. Brie came out with a cardboard box full of boxes and cans of food. A bag of diapers peeked out of one corner and a stack of cans from another.

Brie passed the box to Tracey, and the other woman accepted it.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome, dear. Have a wonderful day.”

Tracey turned and hurried out the front door, the little bell tinkling cheerily behind her.

Brie clapped her hands together. “All right! Let me show you how the computer works.”

*

Luke didn’t come back that day, at least not while I was there. Brie let me go after a couple hours, telling me to get a good weekend’s worth of rest in preparation for Monday.

By the time I got back to the house — not an easy feat when you’re riding a bike in high heels — I was spent. It was still early afternoon, and neither Uncle Joe or Aunt Ginger were back from work yet.

Collapsing onto the couch, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. It immediately went to the storage room, to the moment when Luke had stood only inches away from me, his face hovering tantalizingly close.

I’d partially expected him to kiss me.

I’d also known that it was too soon. Just my showing up at Community First clearly wasn’t enough to convince him of anything. He still had a bias — one which I was pretty sure didn’t have anything to do with me. Basically, he was judging a book by its cover.

Never mind. I’d get to him sooner rather than later.

Pulling out my phone, I checked my text messages. Despite the fact that I’d texted Eli twice over the week, he’d never once responded. Either he was dead and none of my friends had thought to tell me, or he was avoiding me.

The last option really got my blood boiling. Yeah, I was moving on, and the day Eli saw mine and Luke’s wedding announcement in the New York Times he would be sorry. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t hurt. There was literally no reason for him to spurn me. For God’s sake, all I’d done was go away to school.

My heart skipped a beat. What if Eli knew the truth about where I was?

What if
everyone
back in Los Angeles knew?

Quickly, I pulled up Rainy’s number and called her. The phone rang and rang. When she didn’t answer, I threw it down on the couch.

She could have been doing any number of things, I knew, but I had a horrible sinking feeling that she was ignoring me. Call it intuition. Or bitch radar.

And I knew that I couldn’t just wait around for the hour that I discovered, through someone else, that my best friend had betrayed me.

My phone rang, making me jump. It was Rainy.

“Hello,” I coolly answered.

“Hey. I was getting a pedicure with Morgan.”

“That’s nice,” I snapped.

“What’s wrong?”

“Have you told anyone about where I am?”

“What? No. Of course not.”

I gnawed on my bottom lip, not sure whether or not to believe her. She was an actress, after all — even if she wasn’t a very good one.

“What’s going on?” Rainy asked, her voice grating. “Why are you being so paranoid?”

“Because,” I snapped. “I haven’t heard from Eli at all since I left L.A. He hasn’t responded to any of my text messages.”

A short silence followed. “Maybe you’re texting him too much.”

I guffawed. “I’m not a dumbass, Rainy. I know how many text messages are too many. I’ve only sent him two.” I sighed sadly. “He knows I’m not in New York. I just know it. The thing is, you’re the only one I told about where I was going.”

“Grace,” she said, drawing out the word. “I didn’t tell anyone. I swear.”

I played with the silver ring on my finger, twirling it over and over. “Really?”

“Yes.
Really.”

I half believed her. “So why is he ignoring me?”

Another silence followed. She knew something. Something she wasn’t willing to share.

“I have to go,” she announced. “I have an audition to get ready for.”

“What?
Are you serious? You’re just going to leave me hanging like that?”

“I’m not leaving you hanging.”

“Then tell me whatever it is you’re hiding!” I shouted into the phone. “You know something, and you’re afraid to spill it.”

I heard street traffic on the other end of the line. The honking made my heart ache. I wondered which nail salon she’d gone to and if it was the one we always used to visit together. Somehow, the thought of her going there with Morgan instead of me seemed like the ultimate betrayal.

“Forget about Eli,” she said. “You’re moving on anyway. You told me so yourself. You’re going to marry that billionaire banker dude.”

“Yeah, because I
have
to,” I snapped, selectively leaving out the part about me actually having the hots for Luke. “You seriously think I want to be in this situation? I didn’t ask for any of this, Rainy.”

“I didn’t even know you were that serious about Eli.”

“It’s not about that.” I petulantly kicked at the carpet with my heel. “There’s got to be some reason he’s ignoring me, and I want to know why…” A new thought suddenly occurred to me. “Oh my God. Is he seeing another girl?”

“He probably has been for a while. You and he weren’t exactly exclusive. You weren’t even officially dating.”

For God’s sake. Whose side was she on? “That’s not the point!”

“Okay, fine. He’s seeing someone.”

I let the news sink in. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt like I thought it would. After a few seconds ticked by, I realized I truly was good and over Eli. Which was nice, because it would probably make pursuing Luke all the easier.

“Grace?” Rainy asked.

“I’m cool,” I said, nodding my head to prove it to myself. “You know what? I don’t even care. You were right. I’m going to marry Luke anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Good,” Rainy said, her voice sounding lighter.

I leaned against the couch’s back and drew my legs up. “So who is she?”

“Oh, she, uh… I don’t really know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

Rainy knew everyone — and I mean
everyone
who was anyone — in the L.A. social scene. She’d been going to Madonna’s annual Christmas party since she was fourteen. She had P. Diddy on speed dial. She hung out with at least one person from a Disney show gone by on a regular basis. If she didn’t know a person, she knew someone who knew them.

And then it hit me. Yep.
There
was that ton of bricks.

“It’s you,” I whispered.

She didn’t answer.

“Oh my God.” I gasped for air, but the tightness in my chest only grew stronger. “Since when?”

“Um, well…”

“Rainy! I said since when? Jesus, I haven’t even been gone a week.”

“We’ve just hung out a few times since then, okay?” she said, her voice rising in defense.

“What does hanging out even mean?” I went on, not waiting for her answer, since I already knew I wouldn’t like it. “And what about before then, huh? Did anything happen before then?”

When a few seconds passed without her answering, I laughed dryly. “I can’t believe this. You were screwing him behind my back, weren’t you?”

“You weren’t serious about him,” she said, the excuse already old and worthless.

“It doesn’t matter,” I hissed. “Since when do best friends go after each other’s guys? Have I ever done anything like that to you?”

“I have to go,” she flippantly said. “I already told you I don’t have time for this. Goodbye.”

She hung up, leaving me seething and all alone. I couldn’t take it. A deep anger bubbled up from my core and escaped as a guttural yell. I threw the phone down onto the couch and buried my face in my hands.

I didn’t care about Eli. That much was true.

But Rainy had been my best friend for years. And now it felt like I didn’t even know her.

No, I didn’t care about Eli in the same way as Rainy, but I needed someone to take my anger out on, so I retrieved my phone and dialed his number.

My temples pounded as his phone rang and rang, getting dangerously close to voice mail. When his message recording finally played, I hung up on it.

“Asshole,” I muttered. “Fucking asshole.”

I was glad he hadn’t answered. I wasn’t going to waste my breath on him. Let him think I’d moved away and forgotten all about him. Then maybe he could see what it felt like to be discarded.

Standing up so fast it was a miracle I didn’t get whiplash, I marched to my room and threw my heels in the corner. Rummaging through one of the open suitcases on the floor, I found the yellow Converses I was looking for. I’d only worn them once, and only brought them in case I ended up doing some heavy hiking or, God forbid, had to climb a mountain in search of food. Hey, I had never been to North Carolina before. I didn’t know
what
I would be up against.

Yanking the shoes on, I tied them tight and then grabbed my sunglasses from where they hung from the neck of my shirt. I couldn’t sit still. I was going to internally combust if I did.

Grabbing my purse, I left the house and started walking, not even sure where I was going. All I knew was that I needed to move. I needed to get my feet busy so that my hands wouldn’t destroy everything in sight.

Hot, angry tears pricked my eyes and then slid down my cheeks, escaping from underneath my sunglasses. I didn’t care. The sidewalks were close to empty, with the exception of kids riding their bikes and scooters — and they weren’t likely to even notice what a random adult was doing.

I walked so fast my calves started to ache, but I kept going. I welcomed the burn. It distracted me from thoughts of the traitor I used to call my best friend.

When I ended up downtown, I didn’t recognize it at first. I’d entered the square from a street I hadn’t yet gone down. The courtyard loomed in front of me, its bell shining at the very top.

It was busier downtown, with people strolling around carrying shopping bags or holding the hands of small children. I slowed down my pace, peering into each passing store front.

There was a knitting shop, an old time hardware store, and several restaurants — none of which looked like the type of places I wanted to patronize anytime soon.

A sign swinging above a couple of small round tables caught my attention. I pulled my glasses off to read the letters.
Freddy’s.

The main sign didn’t give much away, so I moved a few steps closer to read the text on the front window.
Coffee & Books,
it said in a pretty scrawl.

Finally, something that was up my alley.

Putting my sunglasses back on — just in case my makeup was smeared — I went inside. The front area was cozy, with a big red couch and several plush chairs. Right behind the sitting area stretched a coffee bar, and past that were two rows of bookshelves, the books stacked all the way to the ceiling.

The place was quiet, with only one customer at the counter, and I made my way to the bar.

The red haired girl finished giving the older man across from her his change, and he shuffled away with a mug of steaming coffee.

“Wow,” I said to no one in particular, watching him go. “It’s kinda hot for that.”

“I know, right?” the barista giggled, propping one of her elbows up on the counter. “But some people are really used to it. You know, in India they drink hot tea to get cool. Supposedly, your body reacts to the hot drink by bringing its temperature down.”

I set my purse on the counter. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, it’s really awesome. So, let me guess… iced coffee.”

“How about an iced latte?”

“Even better,” she practically squealed.

While she made my drink, I ran to the bathroom to check my reflection. Luckily, the tears hadn’t done irreversible damage. Even without any eye makeup on hand, I performed a more than good enough touch up.

The latte was ready when I emerged from the bathroom. I took it and settled down onto the red couch. Magazines spilled across the coffee table in front of me, but I just stared at their covers, not in the mood for reading.

Instead, I pulled out my phone and gazed at its screen. I had a crazy desire to call Eli again and cuss him out this time. Even if he didn’t answer just leaving a scathing voice mail would be satisfying enough.

The door opened and closed, and I heard people talking, but I kept my eyes trained on my phone.

I gnawed my lip, debating what to do.

The truth was, any sort of retaliation would just make me look immature. And just like Rainy had argued, it wasn’t like Eli and I had been serious.

And it wasn’t him I was so angry with.

“Now
those
are work shoes,” a male voice said.

Annoyed, I looked up, ready to give whatever random guy was hitting on me the stink eye. Instead of a stranger, though, Luke stood there. He gazed down at me, a paper cup of coffee in his hand.

My back instantly tensed from a mixed bag of emotions. First of all, he was being super annoying during a time I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to him. Secondly, just the sight of him was enough to make me salivate. And thirdly, I knew that I couldn’t miss an opportunity when it came to trying to win him over.

The problem with the third point was I
really
wasn’t in the mood to attempt to impress him. After the sour exchange with him at the food pantry and then the crushing phone call with Rainy, I was beaten to a pulp.

Instead of answering, I just looked out the window. Let him think I was a callous bitch. I would get back to my mission tomorrow.

I waited for him to leave. Instead, the couch sagged as he sat down next to me. Slowly, I turned to look at him. He set his coffee on the table and turned slightly to face me. Every hair on my body stood up, and I worked to keep my breathing even.