Page 40 of The Broken Heart Playlist
I wince at her blunt question, but Gideon answers evenly, “I will.”
“Do you have any siblings, Gideon?” Tess asks, switching topics.
“I’m an only child.”
Like they’re in a relay race, Aaron takes the baton from Tess and begins peppering Gideon with questions. Why did he move to Brown Oaks? What line of work is he in? How does his volunteering work fit in with his job?
Gideon gives Aaron the same broad, generalized answers he gave me, but Aaron isn’t satisfied. He keeps pushing. He’s trying to be subtle. After all, he’s the host and Gideon is a guest in his house, but the tension at the table is rising.
Tess and I are quiet. Now I have an inkling of what Aaron felt like when he first started dating Tess and we subjected him to a grueling family interrogation.
And, yes, a part of me wants to know the answers to the questions Aaron is asking, but another part of me is thinking, this is too much for what is supposed to be a genial, hospitable evening.
I’m about to intervene when Gideon abruptly puts down his knife and fork and wipes his mouth with a napkin.
“I worked for a strategic consulting firm,” he says. “Our clients were high-profile and demanding, and the work was incredibly stressful. But I loved almost everything about my job.” He’s looking at me, as if I’m the only person in the room who needs to hear this. “For years, I lived and breathed my work. And I made a lot of money. An obscene amount of money, to be honest.” His lips tighten. “But I burnt myself out. Badly. I couldn’t stomach another night sleeping at the office. Everyone around me was getting married, having kids, living a life outside of work. And I realized I wanted, Ineeded, to do something different with my life.” He leaves a quiet pause. “I left the city, left my corporate job, and moved here.” His gaze swings to Aaron. “So I don’t have all the answers to your questions, because I’m still trying to figure them out myself.”
Aaron holds his stare, a thoughtful look crossing his face. Tess is, for once, speechless.
There’s more Gideon’s not saying, but this feels enough for now. “I hope you find what you’re looking for,” I say to him.
“I hope so too,” he replies in a quiet voice.
Just then Tess’s cat wanders into the dining room and begins scratching at a sealed box next to the server.
“What does he want?” I ask Tess.
“I keep the catnip in there.” She wrinkles her nose at Ash, who looks up at her with pleading green eyes. “Cut it out,” she says to him. “We have guests. I can’t be your drug dealer right now.”
We all laugh, the mood lightened a little.
Gideon turns to me. “What do you like most about food styling?”
I fiddle with the stem of my glass, giving myself a moment to think. “With so much ugliness in the world, I love creating beautiful arrangements of food that people enjoy looking at.”
He nods, like he gets it.
Suddenly, the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile. I follow the direction of his gaze and see that Lisset has fallen asleep at the table, her head resting on her folded arms, her plate pushed aside. There’s a softness in his stare that pulls at me.
I stand. “I’ll take her to the guest room. She’ll be more comfortable there.”
Gideon stands too. “I can carry her,” he offers. “If you’re okay with it.”
My heart is not okay. Not when the walls around it keep crumbling in the face of gestures like this.
But Lisset is at the age where she’s too big for me to lift and Aaron has disappeared into the kitchen to refill the water jug.
“All right,” I say. “Thank you.”
Gideon gently scoops Lisset up. She stirs and mumbles something, but then nestles against his chest and tumbles back into sleep. I bite my lip and look away, leading the way to the guest bedroom where we tuck Lisset into bed.
When we return, Tess eyes me, her face saying,This guy is so hot.
I pick up my glass, but don’t drink. My frown says,Stop it.
“How’s Lisset doing with the whole reading thing?” she asks.
“I’m going to try her out with the Reading Dog Program at the school,” I tell her. “She’ll be working with Gideon.”
