Page 93 of Love is an Open Book
“Gavin and I sort of...” How do I tell her we broke up when she’s in the dark about what was going on between us? “We were together. And now we’re not.”
She puts both hands on her cheeks. “Shock, surprise, astonishment, et cetera.”
I narrow my eyes at her sarcastic pantomime, and she drops the act. “You knew and let me come over anyway?”
“He played softball with Joe yesterday,” she says. “Don’t be mad. Neither of those men can keep a secret. It’s why I didn’t tell Joe the gender of the baby.”
Her casual announcement totally distracts me from being upset that Gavin confessed the truth of our relationship, which was probably her plan. “You found out?”
She puts a hand on her belly. “No way I was waiting nine months when we’ve waited years. But Joe wouldn’t be able to keep it to himself. He’d tell all our friends and family, and I don’t want them to force names on us or be obnoxious. So I’m keeping it to myself.”
I’m impressed by her willpower. “How can you keep a secret that big?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” she says. “You’ve been keeping a pretty big secret of your own.”
The hurt in her eyes fills me with guilt. “It was really new. And we—” I swallow against a sudden lump in my throat. “I was worried it would change the dynamic. And then there’s the book. There was so much riding on getting it right. Not just for my own career, but the actors’, screenwriters’, crew’s.” As I say it, I realize how selfish it sounds. “I wanted to protect what was happening between us by keeping it separate, and telling you and Joe would’ve opened everything up.”
She sighs. “Well, I have a confession of my own. Joe and I have thought for a long time that Gavin might have feelings foryou.” At my startled expression, she laughs. “Hon, that man has been wrapped around your finger since I’ve known him. We thought we’d grow old waiting for him to make a move.”
“Gavin knows better than anyone how I feel about dating friends.”
“Which is why Joe and I intervened. We saw you two being all cutesy at the party and it looked like you finally might be ready for a nudge.”
“The couples retreat.” Gavin was right about the matchmaking.
She rocks back, smiling. But then her face falls. “Except we didn’t know you were already together. It was meant to get you to admit your feelings, not talk yourselves out of them,” she says, shaking her head like we’re hopeless.
The rumble of the garage opening fills the quiet house, and I look toward the door in horror. “They’re back.”
“Maybe this is good. When you texted, I thought this could be the perfect opportunity to get you two in the same room together,” she says. “Don’t you want another chance to talk through things?”
“Trying to talk things out is what got us into this mess in the first place,” I hiss. “That and your meddling.”
“If you would’ve told us in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to meddle,” she says, green eyes sparking with indignation.
“I didn’t want to make things awkward for everyone.” I raise my brows at the sound of car doors slamming. “Seems like that was the right choice.”
“Was it?” she whispers back. “Because holding back with someone you’ve been close to your whole adult life seems like the mistake to me.”
I glower at her, but there’s no time for a reply because the guys’ voices get louder along with scuffling and grunts. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I poke my head out the door. Gavin is backing into the hallway, struggling to maneuver a longbox through the entrance. At the sight of his muscles bunched underneath his tee, triceps bulging, my stomach gives a pleasant twist, before my brain catches up to the fact that things are over between us.
I duck back into the room before he sees me. “What am I supposed to do?”
Sera crosses her arms, but between her perch in the rocker and her baby bump, she hardly looks intimidating. “Have a conversation?”
“About how I told my editor I can’t finish the book because I’m an emotional wreck?” It makes me feel so vulnerable. “I might’ve just tanked my career, and I can’t even talk to him about it. He told me no matter what happened, he’d be my friend.” My voice hitches at the word. “He lied.”
Sera’s face melts into sympathy. “Oh, honey, I didn’t realize.”
A loud thud vibrates the wall, and Joe shouts, “Careful!”
Eyes darting between me and the doorway, Sera says, “Hide.” At my blank look, she makes shooing motions. “In the closet, hurry.”
It’s stuffed with unopened boxes, and I wedge myself between them, half in and half out. There’s no way the folding door will close. A thought hits me. “My car,” I whisper to Sera. “They must know I’m here.”
But it’s too late to come out. Joe and Gavin have reached the nursery. He glances over and when our eyes meet, his face lights up in a grin. I smile in response, but then the weirdest thing happens. His whole face shutters, like blinds pulled over a window, and that’s when I remember everything’s changed. This isn’t another of Mia and Gavin’s escapades. There’s just me, hiding from the person I care most about. It’s not silly, it’s sad.
He looks away, pivoting to maneuver the rectangular box into an open spot near the wall, and I realize I’ll probably never get to see that unguarded smile again.
