Page 29 of Harrison's Wedding

“I’m out at dinner with Gabriel and Ariana,” I tell her hesitantly.

She doesn’t respond for a moment, but eventually, she asks in a neutral tone, “How is it?”

“It’s good. We’re at Giovanni’s.”

“Nice, are Hayden and Seb there, too?”

She asks this incredibly casually, and I doubt she’s wondering if Hayden is here as much as whether or not her teammate has defected.

“Nah, Hayden had a date, and Sebastian…” I trail off because Gabriel looks very curious for me to finish the sentence, but I don’t really want to lie to Heather.

“Is Sebastian.” She laughs as she finishes the sentence for me.

I’m relieved that she’s not making a big deal out of it, and I laugh as I respond. “Pretty much.”

Our laughter dies off, and Heather says in a longing voice, “I miss you, honey. I wish you were here with me.”

I miss her a lot, and I wish I was there in New York to support her with her business. If it wasn’t for the Reid Music meeting yesterday, I probably could’ve gone with her.

There’s nothing stopping me now, though, so I offer, “Me too. I can catch a plane tomorrow if you want?”

“No, I’m fine. It’s just the weekend, and then I’ll be home. I love you.”

I’m a little disappointed, but I know that it would probably be a bit stupid since she’ll be busy all day tomorrow, anyway.

“I love you, too, angel. Call me tomorrow when you’re free.”

“I will,” she promises before hanging up.

I put my phone on the table and pick up my fork to take a bite of my gnocchi. Ariana smiles at me but doesn’t say anything. It’s Gabriel who speaks up.

“Everything going well in New York, then?”

I nod my head. “She’s got seventy models coming for callbacks tomorrow, apparently.”

“That sounds good,” Ariana says. She flushes red and says, “I’ve kind of been following her career online since Gabriel and I got back together. I can’t wait to see the video of her fashion show; all of her designs are amazing. I wish that we were free to go. Not that I would’ve been invited, of course.” She looks down at her plate and quickly puts a forkful of food in her mouth.

Gabriel was invited, but he and Ariana have a twenty-fifth birthday party to attend that weekend. I’m not sure he would’ve gone without her, anyway. It’s so weird that Ariana has to follow Heather’s career online when she actually knows her in person.

I put my fork down, pick up my napkin, and wipe my mouth before saying, “I’m sure that Heather will come around. She’s been really stressed about her show, but that will be over soon. Maybe you can talk to her at our engagement party or something.”

“Maybe. Do you think she’ll talk to me?” Ariana chews her bottom lip, looking sad and nervous.

“Hopefully. I don’t know if it counts for anything, but I believe you’ve changed a lot and that you’re good for Gabriel.” I look at him, and he smiles at me. I turn back to Ariana and say, “Just give it time.”

I lie in bed later that night, mulling over the events of the day. The rift between us is growing, and I’m not sure what can fix it. Maybe it’ll get better out at Galena when we’re recording the album. Or it’ll get worse, and we won’t be able to make an album at all. With my mind full of these concerns, it takes me a long time to fall asleep.

I wake the next morning with my concerns still weighing heavily on me. I’m reading the morning news on my phone when Heather’s name comes up on the screen. I smile and answer her call.

“Hey, angel.”

“Hey, honey. How are you doing?”

“Not bad. I’m lying in bed, wishing you were here with me.”

It’s the truth; I hate being alone in this bed when she should be with me. I get visions in my mind of the things we could be doing if she was at home with me, and blood rushes to my crotch at once.

“I’ll be home tomorrow; I can’t wait to get my mouth around your cock,” she says in a sexy voice.

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