Page 127 of Bottle Shock
I HEARD THAT
After hopping off a video call with my agent, I look down to find my phone lit up with notifications.
Four missed calls.
Two Texts.
One voicemail.
All from Gavin.
I was with him just a few hours ago.
My stomach plummets to the floor. He doesn’t usually call.
Gavin
Call me when can.
No one is dying.
I snort, as if he read my mind that I would be freaking out.
As soon as I’m in my car I call him back.
“Hey,” Gavin answers on the second ring, sounding out of breath. “I’m really sorry to ask this. I know it’s last-minute.”
“What’s going on?”
“There’s a production emergency in Woodinville,” he says, exhaling hard. “One of the glycol chillers failed, and they’re mid-fermentation on three tanks of Syrah. If the temp spikes too much…anyway, the details don’t matter. I have to leave in the next hour. My parents are out of town, and they’re usually my go-to when I need a babysitter. Lily gets out of dance at five and—” He hesitates. “Can you get her? Just for tonight. I’ll be back late. I hate to ask, but you’re one of the few people I trust with her.”
“Yes,” I say quickly. “Of course I can.”
Relief slips out of him on a quiet breath, and warmth blooms in my chest. He came to me. He could’ve gone to Elyse or one of his other siblings, but he came to me.
“Thank you. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“Gavin.” I laugh softly. “You don’t owe me anything. It’s not like watching Lily is a burden. We’ll have fun. Girls’ night.”
He’s quiet for a beat and I wonder if we got cut off until I hear a hum pass through the phone.
“I’ll text Kathleen that you’re the one picking her up.”
Kathleen.Just hearing her name sours my insides.
I hate that he even has her number to text. Even if it’s for completely appropriate reasons.
It still makes me irrationally jealous.
“Okay,” I say brightly. “Please drive safe and text me when you get there. And don’t worry about Lily at all, I’ve got her. I Lov?—”
I freeze.
Shit.
“—drive safe!”
I hang up so fast I practically slap myself in the face with my phone.
