Page 44 of Sticks and Stones
“Well…? Do you?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
“Good. When?”
Gunnar chuckled. “Just as soon as I can wrap up a few more loose ends here.” Mainly a meeting with his team, including the record label executives who’d set him on the path to achieving his dreams.
“Does Gianna know that? That she can expect you back, ’cause when I passed by her work earlier to find out whether you were still staying with her, she seemed unsure about your plans.”
He’d called to check in on her while he was driving, but he was too emotionally and physically exhausted to tell her what he’d been thinking. Besides, he wanted to tell her his plans face-to-face, after he’d cut ties to his past.
“She’ll know when the time is right.”
“You think it’s smart to keep a lady like that hanging on?”
“Meaning?”
Levi laughed. “Uh, dude. There may be plenty of women like that where you’re from, but I can tell you they only pass through these parts once in a lifetime, if a guy’s lucky.”
“You’re not telling me that you have a thing for her, are you?” Gunnar let his feet fall to the ground as he sat up, curling his hand around the picture frame. “Because if that’s what you’re tellin’ me, we’re going to have a problem.”
“Relax, man.”
Gunnar could still hear the laughter in his voice and it pissed him off. “Then what are you saying?”
“Our boy Billy doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. He was in the flower shop when I passed by, sniffing around your girl again.”
Gunnar set the photo down and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What the hell is it with this guy? Is he a sucker for rejection or what?”
“He’s okay, Gunnar. And you can’t blame him for wanting to capitalize on your stupidity.”
Gunnar smiled in spite of himself. Levi was right. He had been stupid to let Gianna get away. “So, you’re telling me I better get my ass in gear and get back there, huh?”
“The sooner the better, my friend.”
***
Gianna smiled when Gunnar’s face lit up her screen later that night. “Hey, you,” she said, connecting the call. “FaceTime, huh? I like it.”
“I just needed to see your beautiful face.”
He was leaning against the headboard of their old bed and Gianna’s stomach did a little flip-flop as she remembered all the love they’d made in that bed. “How was your day?”
“I had a meeting with the band. Tomorrow my manager and the execs at the label.”
She was dying to ask about his intentions, but knew he would tell her when he was ready. “How’re the guys?” she asked, referring to his band.
“Itching to get back out on the road,” he said, smiling. “You know them. They get antsy.”
Her heart took a nosedive. So he was going back out on the road… soon.
“But enough about them. Tell me about you guys. Have you had a chance to talk to the girls about what happened the day I left?”
“Of course,” she said, annoyed he would think she’d ignore their bad behavior. “But I know you’ve talked to both of them, so you already know that, don’t you?”
“Baby, you okay? You seem kind of tense.”
She’d really allowed herself to believe that he’d changed, that this time he’d found a way to find a place for them in his busy life. “I’m just tired,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “It’s been a long day and my mother’s coming tomorrow to stay with us for a few days while my father goes on his annual golf trip with his friends.”
