Page 3 of One Wild Night
“What does that mean?” Abilaughed.
“Abi, I did something bad.” He brought his large hands together and clasped them at his chin, then touched the dimple in hiscleft.
“What could you possibly have done?” Gale was the most perfect guy ever. He and Margo met in college and they’d been together ever since. They were the description of the perfect couple. She couldn’t even think of him doing something to upset Margo. “Did she find out the roses were red instead of pink?” Abi had tolaugh.
The sick look on his face held her attention. “I did something worse thanthat.”
“Gale, I’m sure she’ll be here. I’ll call and check.” Abi took out her phone from her back jeanspocket.
“No, wait. I should tell you what happened first -- before you speak to her.” He held up hishands.
Abi narrowed her gaze at him and sighed, certain this was going to be one of his crazy tales of overly-ness. He’d probably tell her that he thought Margo was upset because he’d told her the sheets in her room were cotton instead of silk. And, if he did Abi would happily highlight that Margo didn’t care about things like that. She was the humblest woman Abi knew, and Gale honestly didn’t need to be so over-the-top.
“Okay,” she said, just to humorhim.
“There was something on my mind. Had been for a very long time. Years. I planned to tell her days ago, before we got here, but she’s been really busy at work. It was important to me to tell her before she got here. I wanted everything to be perfect and memorable as a happytime.”
This sounded serious. Abi shifted her weight from one foot to the next and folded her arms under herbreasts.
Gale pulled in a breath and continued. “I had a secret that I needed to get off mychest.”
“What kind of secret?” Abi bit the inside of her lip and tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind herear.
“The bad kind.” He brought his hand to his beard and shame filled his handsome features and made him look down. When he looked back to her, she saw that this really was serious. She’d never seen him look like that before. “Abi, about ten years ago, Margo and I had a really terrible argument. I thought that was the end of us. We’d just left college and tried to live together as a couple. Anyway, this argument we had made me think we’d broken up. I was angry, and I got drunk, andum…”
Abi dropped her hands to her sides waiting to hear what he had to say. “What did you do, Gale?” her voice sounded more rigid now, unlike the playful tone she’d usedpreviously.
“I slept with someoneelse.”
Her heart stopped and skipped several beats. Her breath was caught in the walls of her chest. She couldn’t believe what she washearing.
“What?” Her voice soundedfragile.
“Abi, I don’t really want to say it again. And, it’s embarrassing for me to tell you. I can’t even remember how it happened, but it did, and I’ve lived with that secret for all this time. I couldn’t marry Margo with that on my conscience. She deserved to know, and I think she’s changed her mind. I don’t think she’scoming.”
Well, if she didn’t, Abi would understand why. She drew her brows together and frowned at him. “Gale, why didn’t you tell her this before? This is crazy. You wait until two days before your wedding to tell her something that happened ten years ago!” shehuffed.
She was angry and disappointed. Abi instantly thought that ifshefelt this angry, then how did poor Margofeel?
Gale bowed his head and lifted it up again. “I was scared. I thought I could never mention it, but I had to. Abi, I was young and dumb. I swore to God I would never treat her badly. It was also just that one time. I’m not a cheater.” His eyes glossed over. “She was crying when I told her, but then she sounded fine. I asked her if she still wanted to marry me and she said ‘yes.’ I thought she’d be here bynow.”
“I’ll call her.” Abi nodded. She didn’t know what she would say to Margo, but she knew her friend would be incredibly hurt regardless of what she told Gale, and it was definitely the reason why she wasn’there.
“Thankyou.”
“Abi,” said a smooth, cool voice she’d recognize anywhere. Her breathquickened.
Abi looked up to find herself gazing up into Scott’s turquoiseeyes.
The simple tingle she had felt when she’d watched him from the balcony was nothing in comparison to the heat that rose within her now. It was because of the way he was looking at her -- smoldering with the heat she felt, probing and boring into her with an intensity that made her swallow hard and try to calm her racingheart.
Considering that she’d been on a six-year mission to purge herself of him, she wasn’t doing so well. It wasn’t helping that being this close to him gave her a good view of how much hotter he’d become since she last saw him. Looking at him from afar gave only a taste; up close, he was all kinds of gorgeous, and six years older looked great onhim.
The boyish look he had about him back then had turned into sharper, more striking masculine features, and, while he still exhibited that bad-boy presence with overpowering wildness, he had an air of maturity that was even moreattractive.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Gale beat her toit.
“Scott, hey,” Gale replied putting out his hand to shake Scott’s. Gale looked nervous. He always did around Scott, but, with the secret he just disclosed to Abi, she was sure he must have felt like he was walking on eggshells. “When’d you get here?” Even his voicewavered.
