“Liv Phillips?” she answers after it seems like it rings one hundred times.
“Hi, Liv. It’s Maris Forrester, returning your phone call.”
“Maris, how are you?” she asks warmly. I almost forgot how engaging she is. She reminds me of the popular girl in school that everyone gravitates toward. Except for the fact that she’s sincere, although I do question her choice in friends (namely: Giselle aka Trevor’s ex-girlfriend).
“Fine. Thank you.”
She doesn’t waste any time asking me all about my job at Selena’s school. She asks me a few times if I’m really happy there. I give her the standard everything is great answer.
“Have you gone to any auditions?”
I groan. I don’t want her to think that her putting me in contact with Miranda was for nothing.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t yet. My teaching schedule has been pretty full lately, which isn’t a bad thing. I adore the students.”
I start to ramble, which I tend to do when I get nervous. In all honesty, I’m debating on coming out and asking her why Miranda came to see me.
“I’m coming to the city next week, would you be available to meet?” she asks. Clearly, she’s trying to get me to stop rambling.
“Sure. That would be great,” I gush. “Miranda came to see me last week. Does this have anything to do with her coming by?”
She chuckles. “I love how inquisitive you are, and yes, there is something I want to discuss with you.”
She ends the call rather quickly after telling me she’ll be in touch next week. Now I just have to stay distracted enough not to let my curiosity take over.
The best distraction I can think of right now would be last night with Trevor. Unfortunately, as great as last night was, I know this can’t continue. I will be back in the city in a few days, and once again we will have distance between us.
Ugh, stupid wine.
~*~*~
Between Georgie and Cassie, I feel like one of those cartoon characters with an angel and devil sitting on my shoulders. Georgie was flat-out disappointed that I didn’t have a full-blown Bachelor fantasy suite night with Trevor, and Cassie is busy lecturing me for not letting her know I wasn’t coming home.
“Cass, I live in a questionable area of New York City by myself and you’re giving me a crap about not coming home last night. I may be your younger, sexier sister but I’m old enough to stay out all night if I want to.”
She folds her arms in an authoritative way and throws her long brown hair behind her shoulder. Maybe she’s trying to come up with a good response to my younger and sexier comment?
“I don’t care that you stayed at Georgie’s, but you should have let me know out of common courtesy.”
I look away and try not to make any eye contact with her in fear that she’ll see right through my lie. “I promise it won’t happen again,” I say, pretending to feel guilty. “And I’m leaving in a few days anyway.”
She gives me a skeptical look. “That was easy. No arguing or stomping your feet?”
“Nope,” I say, hopping off the barstool. I make my way to the guest room to get ready for dinner with Trevor.
He sent me a text a few hours ago asking if we were still on for tonight. He also mentioned that it had been a long emotional day, but the funeral is set for Saturday. I make a point to let Selena know that I would be back on Monday. She told me to take as much time as I needed, but I can’t give her any reason to think she doesn’t need me because I need her and my job.
Even if I wanted to move back (and I’m not saying I do), I kind of burned the bridge with Do-Re-Mi Studios where I used to work. The owner Lucy was very angry when I left. She even went so far as to threaten to sue me and Selena and Company for violation of a non-compete contract that actually never existed. Thankfully, we never heard anything else about it, so hopefully I’m in the clear.
I just finish straightening my hair when there’s a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
“I just wanted to ask if veggie burgers are okay for dinner?” Cassie asks. She looks me up and down. “Are you going out again?”
I sit down on the bed and pull on my boots.
“Yeah. Trevor and his mom planned the funeral today. He asked me to grab some dinner with him to discuss plans.”
Cassie puts her hand in front of her mouth, but I can tell she’s hiding her smile.
“What?” I snap.
She shakes her head and turns to leave the room. “Nothing. Have a nice dinner.”
I grab her arm. “Whatever. Just say what you want to say.”
She turns around. “I knew this was going to happen. As soon as you and Trevor saw each other again.”
“It’s only dinner,” I say nonchalantly.
She raises her eyebrows and smirks. “Whatever you say. I’m sure Grandma and Beatrice are thrilled.”
I shake my head. “There’s nothing to be thrilled about. I’m being a good friend just like I promised Beatrice I would be. Don’t forget that I’m headed back to my life in New York in a few days. So you can get all those ideas of a romance out of your head.”
“Mmhmm. Have fun,” she says in that familiar condescending tone.
I take a deep breath. Just a few more days, I can do this.
Chapter 7
Okay, I hate to admit it but sometimes I really miss living here and everything about it, even annoying, know-it-all Cassie. Don’t get me wrong, I love New York but there’s something special about being back home.
And tomorrow I get to spend the whole day with Georgie. Of course, we will be working on wedding plans, but it will be nice to see her for more than an hour.
I meet Trevor at his house again in order to avoid Cassie and her eight hundred questions (give or take a few). When he answers the door, I can see how emotionally exhausted he is.
“Hi. How was . . .”
Before I have a chance to finish my question, he pulls me into his arms and wraps his arms tightly around my waist.
I could really get used to this. Neither of us says anything, and he holds me for what seems like several minutes. When he loosens his grip, his hands are still on my waist.
“Thanks for being here again. And for last night.”
I put my hands on his cheeks gently. “You don’t have to thank me. I loved her, too.” I quickly remove my hands from his face and wander into the living room with him following me.
“Maris, would you be incredibly disappointed if we didn’t go out? It’s been a really long day.”
I shake my head. “Of course not.”
Trevor orders some Chinese food and starts telling me all about the funeral plans. I actually get choked up a few times because it sounds like the perfect celebration of her life.
When Trevor’s mother planned a party her ninetieth birthday, she hated every second of it. But I have a strong feeling that she’s going to love what they have planned for the services.
“There’s one more thing we need, and it involves you.”
I give him a curious look. “Um, okay.”
“We were hoping you would sing at the service. I know Gran would want that.”
Wow. I’m not going to cry, at least that’s what I’m trying to tell myself.
“I would be honored to sing,” I say, clearing my throat.
He gives me a grateful smile, and once again I feel like we’re having one of those moments.
“I spoke to Liv today,” I say, trying to lighten the mood. “We’re meeting up next week when I get back to New York.”
His face falls. “That’s right, when are you going back again?”
“Right after the funeral.”
He nods slowly. “I’m sure you’re ready to get back . . . right?”
I smile. “In some ways, yes. At least I won’t have Cassie watching over my shoulder every second. You wouldn’t believe what a hard time she gave me about not coming home. And I didn’t even tell her I was here.”
He nod
s. “She’s just looking out for you, making sure you don’t make any bad decisions, like spending the night with a frat boy.”
I laugh loudly. “True.”
He gives me a smug look. “Don’t forget, those choir girls aren’t supposed to like frat boys.” I can feel myself start to blush. We had a similar conversation the first night we met.
“Anyway, other than that I think I’m ready to go back,” I say, trying to change the subject. “And I’m really curious about this meeting with Liv. She says she has something she wants to discuss with me.”
He takes a sip of his wine. (No wine for me after last night.) “Yeah, Liv is always busy with different projects, and apparently, this latest one is pretty big.”
I stare at him. Holy crap, what does he know?
“Do you know what she’s working on?” I ask. I’m trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, but I’m not doing a very good job of it. “Did Tom tell you something?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know any specifics, and Tom didn’t tell me, Giselle did.”
And just like that, the mood completely changes. Giselle is simply one of the most unfriendly, conceited people I’ve ever met, and the last I heard, they had a nasty breakup. I guess they’re on speaking terms again.
“Giselle, huh?”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, we ran into each other a week or two ago, so we had coffee and we’re catching up. She told me Liv was working on something huge. You never know with Giselle, though, she’s been known to exaggerate sometimes.”
I look away in order to hide my intense disapproval, even though it’s really none of my business if they were catching up, reconciling, sleeping together, or all of the above. I force a smile. “That’s nice that you two had a chance to catch up.”
He throws his head back in laughter. “Liar. I know how you feel about her and I totally get it.”
I smile. “Good.”
“That is, unless you’re jealous.”
Wait. What?
I fold my arms and glare at him. “Jealous? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, don’t get all mad. There’s nothing going on with Giselle and me.”
I really want to smack that stupid arrogant smirk off his face.
“I honestly don’t care if there is something going on between you,” I snap, practically jumping up from the table and starting to gather my things. “It’s getting late anyway, and I don’t need my sister breathing down my neck again.”
He stands up. “Come on, Maris, you don’t have to leave yet. I was just kidding about the jealous remark.”
I ignore him. “Keep me posted on the funeral arrangements.”
I leave so quickly that I don’t even give him a chance to respond.
Before heading back to Cassie’s, I decide to make a stop. When Georgie and I lived together, there was a small park around the corner from our apartment. It’s kind of off the beaten path, so it doesn’t get that much traffic. I loved to go there to think and reflect on life, in other words I would go to sing.
I haven’t really found a place to do this in New York. Sure, I could go to Central Park but that’s not exactly off the beaten path, and I’m not trying to collect money from the park visitors (although, I may need to if I don’t get back to work soon).
When I pull up in front of my old apartment building, I turn off the car and stare at my former home. I suddenly feel a sense of relief as I make my way to the park. When I get there, I exhale what feels like pounds of pent-up feelings and negative energy, and I sing.
~*~*~
“You’re back early,” Cassie says, sounding completely shocked. “I was just telling Mark I wasn’t going to wait up for you. How did everything go with Trevor?”
Thanks to my impromptu visit to my park, her inquisition doesn’t bother me at all.
“It was fine,” I reply nonchalantly. “It’s been a really long day, so I’m going to get to bed. Good night.”
She opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something, but for some reason she holds back. I’m expecting her to ask me for all the details, but she must sense that I don’t want to discuss my evening or Trevor—and I don’t.
“Okay, there are some gluten-free, dairy-free cookies in the kitchen. Help yourself.”
Ew. Maybe I should introduce Cassie to Layla. They can hang out and eat gluten-free treats together.
“Thanks,” I reply. Although, I’m not thanking her for the flavor-free cookies, I’m actually thanking her for not asking me any more questions. Sometimes her super-spidey senses aren’t so annoying when she uses her powers for good.
As I’m getting ready to crawl into bed, I get a text from Kyle checking up on me again. I stare at the text for a few minutes. I care about Kyle. I’m sure I always will, but I don’t think my feelings for him go beyond friendship anymore. This could be because of Trevor or it could be that we just grew apart. Either way, I need to be honest with him the next time the subject comes up. I would feel weird if I just randomly mentioned it to him out of the blue. I can’t randomly tell him I don’t have romantic feelings for him without knowing how he feels about me. For all I know, he’s thinking we’re in the friend zone as well. Truthfully, his calls and texts could be that of a concerned friend, and knowing the type of person Kyle is, that’s very likely.
I groan as I pull the warm down comforter over my body. Every time I think I have my life figured out something happens to confuse me even more.
I must really need to clear my head, because I’m back in the park. Although, I don’t remember how I got here. It’s kind of freaky, like when you drive home from somewhere and you don’t actually remember driving home. I’m just about to sit down on my bench when I see her across the park. “Grandma,” I yell before I take off running toward her. “You came back.”
She smiles, and her crystal blue eyes sparkle.
“Darling, you know I’m never far from you.”
I want to tell her everything that’s happening in my life but I don’t know where to start. I feel completely tongue-tied. It’s almost as if I’m trying to speak but the words just won’t come out.
“Beatrice is gone and I spent time with Trevor and . . .” I ramble.
“Follow your heart,” she says with a warm smile.
Suddenly, I shoot up. My heart is racing and I look around and find myself in Cassie’s guest room.
Wow, another weird dream about my grandmother. I haven’t dreamt about her since before I moved to New York. I slowly lie back down and try to relax. These dreams must mean something. They must be my body’s way of coping with stress. It totally makes sense that Grandma would be a calming force for me. That’s it. I’ve figured it out. I’m proud of myself for coming up with such a scientific reason for my dreams.
Just a few more days, I tell myself, and then I will be back to my real life. Come to think of it, that really doesn’t sound so bad.
Chapter 8
I’m so glad that Georgie is so easygoing about these wedding plans. I admit I’m not a huge fan of weddings or being in them, but this sounds like it’s going to be a blast. In fact, I think getting married on a cruise ship sounds like a pretty fantastic idea. Should I ever decide to take that plunge, I may have to consider it. Just the fact that everything is done for you on cruises is enough for me. The attendants even get your stateroom ready for bed by dimming the lights and putting chocolate on your pillow. And let’s not forget those super cool towel animals.
Anyway, cruises are the definitely the way to go for a vacation, and from the sound of it, they’re also the ideal wedding spot. Of course, I haven’t been on a cruise since I went with a group of friends from college, but it was one of the best weeks of my life.
“So you’re sure you don’t mind the sailor dress?” Georgie asks, giving me a hopeful smile. Her emerald green eyes are practically sparkling.
Okay, so there is one aspect of her wedding plans that I’m not thrilled with and that’s the sailor bridesmaid dr
ess. Not to mention I look ridiculous in it. However, because I’m a good friend, I’ve decided to just suck it up and not say anything. She seems so excited about the theme, and I don’t have the heart to tell her how awful it really is.
“I told you it’s fine,” I lie. She gives me a skeptical look but doesn’t ask me about it again.
See You Later Broadway (Broadway Series Book 2) Page 4