Page 46 of An Ex Affair

Em pulled the measuring tape from her tool belt and eyed the next piece of rock to install. “Yeah, the crew is a little unruly, but there’s a lot of love too.”

I watched Em work, climbing back down to get the next rock slab for her. I managed to get it up the ladder with a lot of grunts and renewed sweat breaking out on my top lip. We got it fitted in place and made sure the thick glue held it before we released it and leaned back to assess the placement.

“Probably wasn’t easy assembling an all-women crew.”

Em looked over at me. “Worth it though. Now Georgia can grow up seeing that a woman can do anything she wants.” Em descended her ladder and I followed. “There was a time I let life happen to me. I felt like a victim, and I don’t ever want my kids to feel like that.”

I nodded, thinking I’d felt that way ever since I’d gotten fired. “What did you do to change that?”

Em looked over the next few rocks, trying to pick out the best one for the next empty spot. “I got busy choosing my lifeinstead of letting things happen to me. That way, if life sucked, that was on me. Too many people are willing to sit back and let life pass them by and just complain about it. Not me. If I don’t like something, I either get over it as quickly as I can or I do something to change it. Life’s too short to be unhappy all the time.”

Well, shit. Now I could see why Warrick was enamored with his wife. There wasn’t a day I’d been working for her when he hadn’t stopped by to bring her some food, a baby to kiss, or just to take a moment and tell her how amazing she is. I’d been thinking she was one of the lucky ones to snag Warrick, but maybe she’d worked damn hard to have that kind of relationship. Maybe if I put more work into my relationships instead of just my career, they could flourish too.

“Hey, Em? Do you mind if I get out of here early today?”

She glanced up. “Sure. We’ve already made more progress on this fireplace than I thought we would.”

I lurched forward and wrapped her in a hug, startling her. She laughed in my ear and then patted me on the back. I released her and took off, not even bothering to take off my tool belt until I got to my car. I took one wrong turn, but I made it to the little neighborhood that Joey and Gabi had bought into when they first got married. I wasn’t sure if they even still lived there, but sadly, that was the only information I had for getting ahold of my old friend. Colson and Joey had been friends since elementary school, but Gabi and I had become fast friends once we all started dating in high school. The four of us had been thick as thieves back in the day.

Stopping outside the dark gray house with a white porch railing, I tried to look for signs that the house might still be Gabi’s. I didn’t have to look long. The woman herself came out on the porch, hand up to her eyes to shield the sun. She wavedand I turned the car off, taking a deep breath. I climbed out and headed for her.

“Hey. I wasn’t sure if you still lived here.”

Gabi leaned against the porch railing, arms crossed over her chest. Her pretty face was made even more so with a wry smile. She hadn’t changed much. Still had long raven-black hair, tan skin, and colorful clothes. Maybe she had a few more lines on her face and filled out her skinny jeans a bit more, but she looked good. She looked happy.

“I’m sure you didn’t. You actually need to stay in touch with people to know if they move.”

Yep. Still the same Gabi. I grinned right back at her. “Oh, is that what you’re supposed to do?”

She rolled her eyes, then reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me up the last stair. “Get up here and spill the tea before all my angel spawn come home from school and demand I be a parent.”

We sat in two Adirondack chairs on her porch. “I don’t have much tea to spill. I mostly came by to apologize.”

Gabi snorted. “For what? Ditching me for two decades? Or for being back in town for weeks without coming by?”

I winced. “I’d almost forgotten how direct you can be.”

“Oh! Or for getting back in Colson’s bed when you have no business hurting that man again?”

Oof. Make that four people who’d warned me not to hurt Colson. I waited her out. When she didn’t add another reason to be mad at me, I cautiously addressed the elephant in the room. “I’m sorry for all those things, actually. But mostly the first two. The third is between me and Colson.”

Gabi’s lips pursed. “Fair enough.”

“I really am sorry for leaving and not looking back. I should have stayed in touch with you.”

“Yeah, that was a bitch move.”

I bowed my head. “I deserve that. I honestly just figured you’d take Colson’s side, what with Joey and him being best friends. I felt weird about making contact when it might stir up trouble for you. And I’ll be honest. I was hell-bent on proving myself and it kind of took over my life for awhile.”

Gabi studied me with furrowed brows. Then her face cleared. “I forgive you. Just don’t do that shit again.”

It was just that easy with Gabi. I reached over and squeezed her hand. “Thank you. And trust me, I won’t. Along with a few gray hairs, I’ve learned a thing or two these past few years.”

Gabi clapped her hands together. “Okay, enough of that. Spill the tea! Tell me all about your glam Hollywood friends!”

I shifted in my chair. “Well…”

Gabi gaped at me. “Seriously? I swear I won’t say a word.”

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