Page 34 of Thanks for the Love
My heart sinks into my stomach, and a wave of nausea comes over me. I recognize the voice, although I don’t understand why she’d be calling me.
“What do you want, Amber?”
After everything came out about the affair with Dustin, Amber tried to reach out to me a few times. It finally took my brother and Nikki to step in and tell her to stop. She claimed she wanted to explain herself, but at the same time there was no way she was letting Dustin go, and she told me that. I still think she wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to fight for him.
Believe me there was no way in hell I’d take him back after what he did to me. I have way too much self-respect for that.
“Really, Gabby, you don’t have to be so rude.”
Typical Amber. Selfish to the core.
“You think I’m rude,” I say with a laugh. “Okay, I’ll humor you. Hey, Amber, it’s great to hear from you. What’s up?”
She doesn’t say anything for a few seconds.
“Whatever. The reason I’m calling is to give you some news—”
“About your engagement?” I interrupt. “Why on earth would you need to tell me that?”
“Oh, you heard?”
This girl is so obtuse. She’s conveniently forgotten that our families are friends with all the same people. There’s no way she could get engaged and me not hear about it.
“Of course, I did,” I snap. “I guess all those months of helping me plan gave you a nice head start on all the wedding details.”
Silence.
What can she say? She knows I’m right.
“Anyway, is that all?” I ask.
“How’s Miami?”
Am I really having this conversation? She calls to tell me she’s engaged to my ex, and now she wants to make small talk. I should hang up on her, but my mother taught us to always finish a conversation even if we have the last word.
“My life isn’t any of your concern anymore,” I say firmly. “Don’t call me again.”
Before giving her a chance to say anything else, I end the call. With a deep inhale I sit on the edge of my bed and bury my face in my hands. Is there any escape? The reason I came to Miami was to get away from all of that drama. I can’t continue to let their toxicity infringe on my new life too. As much as I want to cry, there are barely any tears left in me. Maybe this is the moment I’ve been waiting for? The moment to pull myself out of the ashes and be a stronger person.
I hop off the bed and start picking up things around my room. I’m more determined than ever to keep my focus and not let Amber or Dustin or my mother discourage me. I’m going to make the most of this new opportunity I’ve been given—and when all is said and done, I won’t need to look back.
I’m in my closet folding jeans when I hear a loud beeping sound.Is that the smoke alarm?
Holy crap—my pasta!
I totally forgot about it thanks to stupid Amber’s phone call.
As I run to the kitchen, the house is filling with smoke. I grab the pot off the stove and turn off the burner. The pasta has become a burnt mess stuck to the inside of the pot. I don’t even know where the smoke alarm is, but the annoying sound continues to ring in my ears.
I open both french doors to help air out the kitchen and start waving my arms. I’ve only been here a few days, and now I almost burn down Lila’s kitchen. I wouldn’t be surprised if she kicked me out.
All of a sudden there’s pounding on the front door. Maybe someone called the fire department?
Ahh … the chaos continues.
When I fling the open the door, Theo is standing there. Once again, he shows up to rescue me in my time of need. Is this all a coincidence that he always happens to be in the right place at the right time? Not to mention, he looks as dashing as ever in his gray slacks and a white button-up shirt. His wavy black hair is pushed back with sunglasses.
“Gabby, is everything okay? I just pulled up and heard an alarm going off.”
