by Vivian Wood
“I’m going to find a spot to hang out,” I say. “I have a lot of voicemails and text messages to check while we’re on land. I should return a few emails too, while we’re at it.”
Gabe lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “Okay.”
He heads off, leaving me alone. I walk closer to the edge, peering over.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, I try to calm myself down. I need to call Cate, but I can’t do it anywhere that prying ears might overhear us. I walk around the platform we are on slowly. To my surprise, there is another staircase cut into the other side, hidden from sight until you are right on top of it. It trails away into the woods.
I take the stairs down about halfway. I don’t want to be overheard but I also don’t want to get outside shouting distance.
It’s not outside the realm of possibility that someone might call for my help, after all.
I sit down on the steps as I start the video call. It rings a few times before Cate answers, her delicate eyebrows raised.
“Luna?” she asks.
I smile guiltily. “Yes, it’s me. Your fair weather best friend.”
Cate laughs. “I was starting to wonder when you would call. It’s been so long!”
I grin. “Well, here I am. It’s been a wild month.”
Her eyes light up. “Oh yeah? Tell me everything… Oh! Tell me how things are with Hot Boss!”
My cheeks redden and I roll my eyes. “You mean Gabe.”
“Sure, him. Dish, sis.”
I sigh. “Oh man. Uhhh…” I squint. “We are definitely hooking up on the reg.”
Cate squeals. “You are?”
“Yeah. And we literally just had a conversation ten minutes ago about how we are going to keep seeing each other once we get back from this trip.”
She beams at me. “That is so great! Do you actually see it going somewhere?”
I bite my lip, glancing behind me to double check that no one is listening. “So… you know that I’m here for school, right? Like it’s an internship?”
“Yes.” She cocks her head. “Why?”
“Well… this doctor from my school approached me. Dr. Montgomery. He said that he was a friend of Gabe’s and they do this big yacht race together every fall.”
I can see Cate trying to add the pieces of my story together. “Okay…”
“Right. Anyway, Dr. Montgomery asked me to steal some info that will help him win the yacht race. I mean, he didn’t come right out and say it, but he made it very clear that they are competitors.”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound good. It sounds like he’s asking you to do something wrong.”
I nod. “Dr. Montgomery dressed it up, said he needed the information for a totally benign reason. But I could see that he was lying.”
Cate shakes her head. “Did Dr. Montgomery at least offer you something for stealing from the captain of your ship?”
I blush furiously. “He offered to make sure I get the first pick of slots at the hospital in the fall.”
She makes a face. “I don’t know what that means but it must be big if you actually considered it.”
I hesitate. Cate is honest and well intentioned, and she doesn’t really understand why anyone wouldn’t be.
“I don’t like the fact that you’re not answering me,” she says, skewering me with her gaze.
“I told Dr. Montgomery that I would think about it.” I grimace. “I’m pretty sure he’s expecting it now.”
She shakes her head slowly. “You can’t steal from your boyfriend, Luna.”
“Okay, number one. Gabe is not my boyfriend. And number two, I’m not going to go through with it. It’s just… I wish I had just said no when Dr. Montgomery originally asked me.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Scrubbing my hand over my face, I make an aggrieved noise. “Because Dr. Montgomery basically controls my fate at the hospital this fall. I don’t want to do anything to upset him…”
“Ah.” Cate nods. “I see. He’s extorting you, basically.”
“No, but he could extort me. I want to avoid the entire situation.”
She pauses, pushing out her lower lip. “Well what are you going to do?”
I sigh. “I don’t know, Cate. I’m going to try to talk to Dr. Montgomery, I guess.”
She wrinkles her nose. “That sucks.”
“Yeah.” I pull a face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t just call you to vent about my stupid stuff. What’s going on back home?”
“Mmm…” Cate looks thoughtful. “A lot. But also nothing. Harper has been mostly MIA while you’ve been gone. Luca is obsessed with traveling to New Zealand now…” She blushes. “We’ve decided to try to start a family.”
My eyebrows fly up. “So soon?”
She goes from pink to a flaming red. “We’ve been together for almost a year, Luna.”
Instantly, I feel embarrassment slide through my gut. “Of course. I’m sorry, that was a bad reaction. I’m happy for you guys.”
Even as I say it, I feel a strange mixture of happiness and resentment already growing in my heart.
She wrinkles her nose. “Really?”
“I am! I swear.” I force myself to smile. “It’s not like I’m infertile and angry about it, Cate.”
She looks away. “I know.”
“Cate.”
She looks at me.
“I’m really rooting for you, okay?”
A slow smile spreads across her face. “Yeah, all right.”
“Even though if I think about it, that means I’m cheering on my brother when he’s fucking you so…” I wrinkle my face. “That’s kinda gross.”
“Yeah, it kinda is.” She laughs. There is a knock at the door on her end. She crinkles her face. “That’s my sushi delivery. I should go.”
“Okay. I miss your face!”
She grins. “I miss yours more. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Byeeeeee.” I disconnect the call, a little crestfallen.
I put my phone away instead of reading emails or texts. Then I lean my head against the stone wall.
My feelings are so mixed. I really am happy for Cate. But part of me is jealous too… and I feel a little regret and anguish, just to top it all off.
“Luna!” Malkia shouts. “Where are you?”
I shoot to my feet, almost glad for the distraction. “Coming!”
Turning toward the top of the stairs, I start jogging.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gabe
Around seven in the evening, I’m just pulling up in my rusted Toyota Corolla when the front door to the Attic spills open. I haven’t laid eyes on Luna since we got back… it’s been a few days of doing all the normal errands and chores.
When she texted me asking me to come tonight… I wasn’t about to say no. I’ve definitely retreated from the world to recharge my batteries but…
Luna is a special exception. She’s all light and air, all good sides and no bad ones. I found that in the three days leading up to now, I definitely felt something was missing when she wasn’t at hand.
So here I am, looking at the front door to the Attic. A small cluster of girls head outside, their laughter bouncing off the smooth tan stone building. They are dressed up in fancy party attire.
I grit my teeth and look down. Luna didn’t mention any fancy attire… I thought that my white button up and dark jeans would put me ahead of the curve on that one.
That’s what I get for sleeping with a rich girl, I guess. We are from such completely different worlds that it probably didn’t even occur to her to mention the dress code.
The front door to the place swings open again, this time letting out Luna herself. Luna is wearing a light pink pair of wide legged pants and a silky camisole on top.
So she’s dressed up, but not like… black tie.
I blow out a breath and heave myself out of my car.
She frowns down at her phone, only noticing me when I am right in front of her. She gives me this surpris
ed grin, really lighting up.
“Hey! You actually came!” she declares.
Not knowing what I should do with my hands, whether I should embrace her or not, I shove my hands into my pockets. I wrinkle my forehead. “Well, yeah. I said I would so… here I am.”
She smiles at me. “I’m glad. I actually just got here too.”
I gesture at the Attic. “Shall we?”
She launches herself at me, surprising me by pressing her lips to mine. She tastes like mint and strawberries, her mouth warm and her lips so soft. I growl and pull her closer, but she pulls away with a shy smile.
“I just wanted to break the touch barrier,” she explains, blushing a little. “Come on.”
She grabs me by the hand and tugs me in the front door. I step into a pretty large space, a stage set up to my left, some tables and a long wooden bar set up to my right. There are quite a few people here, milling around and talking to each other animatedly.
“Luna!” a handsome sandy haired guy yells, fighting his way through the crowd.
“Owen, hi!” she says, hugging him.
Jealousy slithers through me, coming almost out of nowhere.
Luna turns to me. “Owen, this is my friend Gabe. Gabe, this is one of my brother’s best friends. Remember, I told you that Luca owns a bar?”
I extend my hand. Owen does the same, gripping my hand, hard and brief.
“Your brother just asked if you were here, Luna.”
“Well…” she makes a face. “Here I am.”
“Have some punch when you get over by the bar… I made it special.” Owen winks. “If you two will excuse me, I think I just saw Chloe.”
I look over to the woman that Owen is working his way through the crowd toward. “Is Chloe somebody I should know?”
Luna looks up at me, her eyes shining with laughter. “That’s the one that got away, as far as Owen is concerned.”
“Ah.” As I watch, Owen picks Chloe up and bear hugs her. “They seem like a couple.”
She just nods. “Yeah. They’ll figure it out sooner or later…” She shakes her head. “Let’s go to the bar.”
We work our way over to the bar, helping ourselves to a cup of punch. I take a sip, then scrunch up my face as the alcohol burns its way down my gullet.
“This is so…” Luna shudders. “Ugh. This is why Owen is not a bartender.”
“Luna!”
I barely have time to register the call before a red headed young woman barrels into Luna, hugging her hard. “You are not ever allowed to leave again!”
The woman looks familiar but I can’t place her. Trailing after the unknown woman is a dark haired man. He gives me a nod hello.
“Smith,” he says, extending his hand. I shake it. He jerks his chin toward the hugging girls. “I don’t think we’ve met. I come attached to Harper. I mean, not like… attached. Just as friends.”
“Uhh… okay,” I say with a nod. “I’m Gabe. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, thank the lord!” another young woman says, gingerly touching my shoulder to move me out of the way. “You came!”
“Cate!” Luna says, embracing her. “Gabe, this is Cate. This is Harper. Guys, this is Gabe.”
Cate and Harper turn to look at me, both of their gazes appraising. If I were a betting man, I’d wager that they know all about what Luna and I have been getting up to.
Cate touches me gently. “It’s a pleasure.”
Harper grins. “Did you tell Luna yet?”
Cate blushes. Luna cocks a brow. “Tell me what?”
Cate looks unsure. “Have you seen Luca yet? Because maybe he should be the one to tell you…”
Luna’s gaze shifts to me. “Uh… no. Tell me what?”
Cate looks like she would rather crawl under a rock and die than answer Luna’s question. She looks around the bar for a moment, then points. “There he is!”
Harper cups her hands around her mouth and shouts. “Luca!”
A tall, handsome guy looks our way. Then Harper jumps up and down, motioning to Luna. The guy grins and works his way over to us, weaving through the crowd.
“Hey sis,” he says, giving Luna a fist bump. “What’s up? Did you bring me back something good from your trip?”
Luna rolls her eyes good humoredly. “Luca, this is Gabe. Gabe, meet my older brother.”
I lean in for the handshake. Luca surveys me, drawing some conclusion that amuses him. He doesn’t share what he thinks, though.
Harper cuts in. “Luca, tell Luna your good news!”
I look expectantly at Luca. He rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah. Luna, let’s go talk.”
Luna frowns and then looks at me. I’m prepared, though.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure her. “I can talk to Smith about stuff.”
Cate flashes a smile. “I’d love to get to know more about you, Gabe. You’re a boat captain, right?”
“Yeah. It’s a family affair,” I answer, my gaze still on Luna’s face.
The worried look on Luna’s face increases but she allows her brother to ferry her off toward the stage. I lose sight of her pretty quickly.
Fuck. I straighten and try to pay attention to the people surrounding me. When Luna comes back, I breathe a sigh of relief.
But she just hugs Cate tightly, whispering in the other girl’s ear. Cate starts crying and nods.
Luna breaks away and grabs my wrist. She leads me toward the front door pretty forcefully.
I can see that she’s overwhelmed, on the very verge of tears. When she pushes into the Seattle summer evening, I pull her to a stop. She looks up at me, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“Luna, what’s going on?”
She flings herself into my arms, burying her face against my chest. “Luca and Cate are expecting.”
She’s not sobbing or anything, but her voice is muffled by my chest.
“That’s the news your brother had to tell you?”
She nods slowly. “Yeah.”
I hesitate, confused. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
She wipes one side of her face, nodding. “Yes.”
“Then why the tears?” I ask.
She blows out a breath, looking up at me with reddened eyes. “It’s complicated. Can we… can we just go somewhere private for a minute? I don’t want to be seen crying about my brother’s baby news right in front of his bar.”
“Sure.” I look around, but Luna already has her keys out. She hits a button and the lights flash on a light colored SUV.
We start moving toward it. It’s not until we’re close enough to touch it that I realize it’s a Porsche.
“Jesus fucking christ,” I mutter. She probably doesn’t even realize that her car is worth ten or twelve times what mine is worth.
As we climb in the car, Luna leans back in the driver’s seat, obviously distraught. I look over at her tear-stained face, my mouth pulling down into a frown. What am I supposed to say to her when she’s like this?
She blows out a breath, wiping at her face. “You probably think I’m a grade a whack job right now.”
I give my head a shake. “I’m actually just wondering how I’m supposed to comfort you.”
She smiles sadly. “I don’t think I deserve comfort. I’m crying because my best friend just told me she’s going to have a baby.”
I cock a brow. “Why is that making you so upset? I mean… it really has no negative impact on you at all.”
She looks over at me, rolling her eyes at herself. “Yeah, I know. I just wasn’t expecting it. I mean, I talked to Cate a few days ago and she just said that she and Luca were going to try to get pregnant…” She takes a long breath. “It’s just so easy for them, you know? They’re like… stupidly in love. They make this decision to try for a baby and… poof! It’s like magic.”
I think for a few seconds. “Have you ever actually even tried to get pregnant?”
Luna looks sheepish. “Well… no… but I know it would be hard.”
&nb
sp; I push on my inner cheek with my tongue. “How do you know?”
That gives her pause. “Well, my gynecologist says it’s likely to be an issue.”
“I feel like you’re getting yourself wound up over something that could be an issue in the future.” I scrunch up my face. “That’s really not fair to yourself. And it’s not fair to Cate or your brother, frankly. This is supposed to be a celebration for them.”
She looks away out her window, taking a moment to digest my words. Then she looks back at me, rubbing a hand over her mouth. “Are you always this grounded?”
One corner of my mouth slides up into a smile. “No. It’s way easier to tell you that you’re not seeing the complete picture of your life. With my own life, it’s obviously different.”
She gives half a laugh, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on my lips. “Well, it seems like you’re a born crisis negotiator.”
I huff a laugh. “Yeah, well. You have Malkia to thank for that. She had so much drama when she was a teenager…”
Luna looks skyward for a moment, then straightens her shoulders. “Do you think we should go back into the Attic?”
Taking her hand, I give it a squeeze. “Whatever you decide.”
She gives me a knowing look. “You’re just willing to wait it out because you know you’re going to be rewarded with sex later.”
I shrug. “Maybe. Do you blame me?”
She grins. “Not at all.”
She leans in for another kiss, steamier this time. I cup her jaw, inhaling her scent and savoring her taste. She finally pulls away and opens her car door, heading back to the Attic.
And I follow, my eyes on her figure, my heart in my throat.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Luna
I’m in love with Gabe. There’s no use denying it.
Lying in bed the morning after the party, I trace figure eights on the bed. Gabe is sleeping right beside me, turned on his stomach. The mid-morning light pours in from my windows and lights up the white bedsheets underneath us both.
I watch him sleep, his breathing easy and natural. If I knew that I wouldn’t wake him, I would trace my fingers across his brow, down his nose, across his expressive lips.