Page 91 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“I’m sure they were just worried about what happened yesterday,” William said, meeting my gaze. The light of day made his lovely blue eyes shimmer in a spellbinding way. I couldn’t seem to be able to look away. I hoped my sunglasses helped in concealing that fact.
“So—we’ve heard about the little game you guys are playing,” Lily chirped.
Oh, the bet! How could I forget? Lily was probably trying to distract me from my restlessness.
“William here doesn’t think I can win,” I snorted. “But I’m sure I’ll be a car owner soon. Who do you think will win?” I asked Lily and Joel.
“Well, that depends,” Joel replied. “Give us your top three guesses. They won’t count as final answers, of course, unless you feel like burning your second guess right now.”
“Lily, don’t you dare move an inch,” William ordered. “I’m sure you will make a face or a sound and give something away. I’d like to keep my car and torture this one on a date.”
Torture.Where do I sign up for that?
“Hey! Tell that to your brother! He’s the one who’s been a second away from blowing it a few times already,” she said in her defense.Already?
“What do you mean? I thought you just found out about the game.” I was confused about her remark.
“This is precisely what I’m talking about, Lily,” William replied to her, clearly annoyed.
“Since we all met you, Billy asked us to … refrain from any comments about what he does for a living,” Joel added.
“Oh God, you two are impossible!” William said with an exasperated laugh. He then shook his head and crossed his arms in front of him, looking defeated.
“Are you like … adrug lord?” I whispered, covering my mouth away from my security detail. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trained to read lips. They all burst out laughing, which I thought was a good sign because it probably meant he wasn’t. I hoped so.
“Is that a final answer? It’ll count as your second guess,” William said.
“No, no, no!” I shouted.
“Okay then, what are your top three guesses then?” Joel asked with curiosity.
“I don’t know. I’m in shock! I really thought he was a chef. Now I don’t know what to think. He could be anything!” I replied.
“You’re clueless. You better get ready for that date,” Joel said with a laugh.
“In your defense, Billy does spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I get why you’d think that,” Lily added. William narrowed his eyes at me as if he were trying to read my mind. But I was the one that hoped I could read his.
“Well, yesterday, he mentioned something about traveling a lot. I guess that’ll help me think about a few more options. I really don’t know.”
My phone buzzed inside the box. I didn’t even know it was on. William apologized and said the guys at the store must’ve left it on after installing the SIM card.
It was Thomas.
I didn’t know how to answer the phone, so I looked at William for help. “Swipe right,” he said. I did after excusing myself from the table. I thought I could at least listen to what he had to say. I’d dodged too many of his calls since the night before, and I knew eventually, I’d have to pick up.
“Billie? I’ve been calling you non-stop since last night. You turned off your phone. I was so worried. I even called Caleb, and he said you weren’t picking up. I’m at the airport. I’m flying back to New York,” he said, sounding pretty agitated. “My flight leaves in about an hour, so I’ll be back in about a couple of hours. Can I see you? I want us to talk.”
“Um,” I hesitated. I wasn’t ready to talk to Thomas right now. What if he did what he always did? Which consisted of wrapping my mind around his words and explaining himself perfectly to make it all go away. I had a weakness for him that needed to be isolated before I could talk to him.
“Thomas, I don’t know. I—”
“You can’t just break up with me on the phone. After all, we’ve been through, are you going to throw it all away just like that?”
It’s not that I didn’t want to talk to him in person. I knew we had to sit down to talk at some point. I just needed a few days. “This was not a decision made on an impulse,” I replied.
“Then, let’s talk about it, please,” he begged. “Please.” He exhaled slowly. I’ve never heard him so disturbed.
“I’m still in the Hamptons, and I don’t know at what time I will return. I’ll let you know once I’m back, and if it’s not too late, we’ll talk.”
