Page 92 of Wish You Would

They smiled back and I stepped behind the counter to join Simon. A trio of curmudgeonly men had joined the first grump. Taking over at the register, I smiled at them and let Simon move over to make their drinks.

If only, I thought as I took their orders. If only real life was like a romance novel. Or even Gigi’s romance show. Then maybe this wouldn’t be the end.

Maybe then, it’d be just the beginning.

37

37 GIGI

3 A.M

Three days later, I was neck-deep in paperwork when Dante leaned in the office doorway.

“You got company, boss.”

My heart leapt. Whirling my chair to face him, that brief flicker of hope dropped straight to my ass when I saw the look on his face. Not Parker, then.

It’d been radio silence since I let her walk away Saturday night. I’d lost count of how many times I reached for my phone, to call her or text her, to apologize, tell her she was right, beg her to come back. Because, yeah. I was not above begging. But each time I opened her contact info on my phone, I stared at her picture—a selfie together from our last Netflix marathon, Parker in her glasses and topknot, nose crinkled with laughter as I nuzzled her neck—and I died a little inside.

Because I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t tell her she was right, and I couldn’t ask her to come back. I wanted her to be right. I wanted to believe her when she said I could have it all, that it wasn’t either/or. But…

But.

Reigning in my cacophonous emotions, I nodded at Dante. “Who’s here?”

“Little Drummer Girl,” he said, and my stomach sank further. I wasn’t in the mood for anyone, but least of all Halle. The root cause of all that was wrong in my life, even if it was only by association. Reading my expression, Dante added, “She knows you’re back here, or else I’d tell her you were sick. Shitting your brains out or something.”

I let Dante take my hand and pull me up from my seat. “I appreciate that,” I told him, “but I’ve gotta deal with my shit eventually.” I paused, then added, “Figuratively speaking.”

He tilted his head, a smile crooking his mouth. “I gotchu.”

We paused in the doorway then. Me, procrastinating. Dante, letting me. We hadn’t talked about what happened with Parker. We didn’t have that kind of friendship. But he knew something was up. Parker hadn’t been here in days, and I was even crankier than Vaughn was that time he had to fish soggy buns out of the steamer. The signs were hard to miss. He hadn’t asked, though. Just let me know in his most Dante way that he was here. I appreciated that.

Now, with Halle waiting for me, and Parker doing the exact opposite of waiting for me, I froze. Paralyzed. By the choices I’d made and refused to make. The ones I still had to decide on.

Turning to face Dante, I searched his face. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure thing, girlie,” he said without hesitation. The most Dante-like response ever.

Exhaling, I glanced over his shoulder. Kai was slicing tomatoes while they danced to a beat only they could hear. I smiled to myself and forced my focus back to Dante. “You know she’s gonna ask me to join the band, right?”

“Far as I know, she’s already asked.”

I nodded, huffing out a quiet laugh. “Yeah. A few times.”

“You keep saying no.”

“I keep saying no.”

Dante let that marinate in the space between us before firing off his next question. I knew before he asked what it would be. It was what everyone wanted to know.

Why?

I opened my mouth, prepared with the litany of reasons I’d damn near memorized by now. But instead of asking the question old as time, Dante hit me with something new:

“You know we don’t need you, right?”

Speechless, I snapped my mouth shut.

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