Page 127 of The Fiancée Farce
There was only one thing left of any value for Gemma to give Tansy, one promise left for Gemma to uphold.
She couldn’t do it over the phone.
Gemma borrowed Brooks’s car—she’d spent the last two days hiding out on his boat, nauseated from the rocking waves,additionallynauseated by the heart eyes and shy smiles he and her mother exchanged when they didn’t think she was looking—and drove across town. She made a pit stop at her apartment, letting herself in with Brooks’s key, which shestillhad no idea how or when he’d had made.
The door to Lucy’s room was open, everything except for the bed frame gone. There was a note taped to the door that she ignored, not wanting Lucy’s voice inside her head. Not now. Not ever.
Gemma’s purse was on her bed, someone thankfully having grabbed it for her after she’d left the wedding, her mind on other matters that day. She slipped out of the clothes she’d borrowed from her mom and into her own pair of sweats and an oversized hoodie she’d left behind. The rest of her belongings were still in boxes at Tansy’s.
Seven short minutes later, Gemma pulled up in front of BelltownBooks. She idled by the curb for an additional five, trying to figure out what the hell she was supposed to say, since she’d decidedsorrywasn’t good enough. Five minutes andnothing. She was underprepared and grossly undercaffeinated and... just plain gross. There was still hair spray clumped in her hair, which she should’ve washed before driving over here, but she couldn’t put this off any longer.
A Van Dalen always paid their debts.
Ha.If only.
As soon as Gemma stepped inside the store she was rocked by that familiar, comforting smell of wood varnish and books intertwined with the nutty, slightly bitter, slightly sweet aroma of brewing coffee. A hint of Tansy’s violet-scented shampoo lingered in the air. Tears sprang to Gemma’s eyes.Fuck.One whiff of Tansy’s soap and Gemma was close to blubbering. What the hell was going to happen when she saw her?
This wasn’t supposed to be so hard.
Then again, Gemma wasn’t supposed to have fallen in love with Tansy, either, butbest-laid schemes.
“Welcome to Belltown Books, can I help—” Tansy poked her head around a shelf, words dying as her storm-cloud blue eyes went wide. “Gemma. Hi.”
Nothing ever had or ever would sound as sweet as her name on Tansy’s lips.
Gemma savored the sound, trying to imprint it upon her memory.
“How have you been?” Tansy cringed. “Wow. Stupid question.”
The corner of Gemma’s mouth rose. “I called you.” She stepped closer, stopping a foot from Tansy. Too far away to touch, but close enough to ache with wanting, fingertips tingling, body buzzing with that persistent awareness that she’d felt from thefirst moment she’d set eyes on Tansy across the ballroom of the Seattle Yacht Club. “You didn’t answer.”
Tansy tucked her hair behind her ears, a rueful smile gracing her lips. “Sorry. I turned it off. I kept getting all these—these spam calls.” She averted her gaze. “Reporters, mostly. They started calling the store, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”
Gemma closed her eyes, heart sinking.
“But it’s fine,” Tansy said, a touch too brightly. “I’ve got Kat answering the phone, and she’s much meaner than I am.”
Gemma scuffed her toe against the floor. “Do you, um, have a minute? I was hoping we could talk.”
Tansy nodded. “Sure. Do you want to go upstairs?”
Desperately. But if she went upstairs, if she stepped foot in Tansy’s apartment, was surrounded by Tansy’s scent, her books, the memories they’d made, all the unfulfilled possibilities, boxes of her belongings stacked about, some already unpacked, she wouldn’t want to leave. Shealreadydidn’t want to leave. Going upstairs would only make this harder than it already was—which was a feat, since this was impossible.
“I would, but I’m borrowing Brooks’s car. I should probably get it back to him before he realizes it’s gone.”
“I don’t think that’s calledborrowing.” Tansy’s lips twitched, and without her meaning them to, Gemma’s lips twitched, too.
“I’m going to give it back. Just, you know, with a few additional miles on it and a little less gas in the tank.”
Tansy’s teeth sank into her lip and Gemma ached to thumb it free. “Is that where you’ve been? With your uncle?”
Gemma nodded. “Mom wanted to take me back to Roslyn, but then Brooks offered to let us stay on his boat, so yeah, that’s where I’ve been. On Brooks’s yacht, watching him moon over Mom, which was equally as adorable as it was horrifying. I alsolearned I wasn’t built for a life at sea, seeing as I spent most of yesterday popping Dramamine and staring at the horizon.”
Tansy winced. “That sounds terrible.”
“It could’ve been worse.” She cringed. Way to go, Gemma. “Are you, uh... how did things go after... you know, after—”
“After you left?”
