Page 358 of His Virgin Romance Series

GABBY

Ilooked at the time again. It had now been sixty-three minutes since Miles had left to fix his ‘work emergency.’ I hadn’t bothered to question why a local arts magazine would need a new employee to come in to fix an editorial problem, but now I was starting to see the holes in Miles’s story.

He had promised me only this morning… no more secrets. Was it possible that he could go back on his word that easily… without even the faintest thought for me? Dessert had been served forty minutes ago, and now the guests were finishing up their coffee and making their goodbyes. I stayed apart from the small crowd, preoccupied and getting more and more worried as the minutes ticked by.

What if Miles didn’t show up in the next hour? I couldn’t just stay at his parents’ house indefinitely. I would have to walk home in my heels, which was, of course, the least of my problems. What would I even say to his parents? Both of them kept glancing at me every so often as if they thought I would know where Miles was. I felt abandoned and alone, and my anger with Miles was slowly starting to creep back in.

“Where has your young man gotten to, dear?” Mrs. Roberts asked me, as she put her coat back on.

“Uh… the work emergency turned out to be… bigger than expected,” I replied lamely.

“Shame… anyway, it was lovely to meet you,” Mrs. Roberts continued. “You and Miles make a lovely couple.”

“That was some fantastic piano playing; I really enjoyed it. Hopefully, next time Miles will stick around long enough to hear it. Say goodbye to him for us, will you?” Mrs. Roberts said.

“I will, thank you.” I nodded, as they waved to me and headed out with Mr. and Mrs. Danvers close behind them.

The moment I was alone, I grabbed my phone and tried to call Miles again. And again, there was no answer. I sent him several more text messages, but I could tell that even though they had been delivered, Miles had yet to see them. I no longer believed his flimsy excuse. It couldn’t have been a work emergency. It was something else… another secret he was keeping from me.

Moments later, Mr. and Mrs. Danvers came back into the living room, and I turned to them and made an attempt at a smile.

“I… thank you so much for your hospitality… but I… I should get going—”

“How will you go home, dear?” Mrs. Danvers asked. “Miles isn’t back yet.”

I could feel emotion clog up my voice and I realized I was very close to tears. I swallowed them back and tried to maintain some sense of composure.

“He must have gotten caught up at work,” I said.

“But he hasn’t called you to tell you that… has he?” Mr. Danvers asked shrewdly.

“I… no, no, he hasn’t.”

I could see the disappointment and the annoyance on both his parents’ faces, and for the first time, I was able to see their side of things.

“He didn’t really get called in for work, did he?” Mr. Danvers asked bluntly.

I opened my mouth to try and defend Miles, but I found that I couldn’t do it. “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “The same thing he told you is what he told me. I think he was lying about being called into work.”

“As I suspected.” Mr. Danvers nodded.

“I… I should go,” I said, making for the door.

“Wait, dear,” Mrs. Danvers said quickly. “We can drive you back to your apartment. It’s no trouble at all, right, Gerard?”

I didn’t hear his response, however, because at that moment my phone started to ring and without even looking at my screen I grabbed it and answered, knowing instinctively that it could only be Miles.

“Hello?”

“Gabby.”

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “What happened? Is everything okay?”

I could feel Mr. and Mrs. Danvers watching me with rapt attention, but I blocked them out and focused on the call.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and I could tell from the emotion in his voice that he meant it. I just didn’t know what it was meant for. “I’m so, so sorry, Gabby.”

“Where are you?” I asked.

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