Page 21 of Hot Fake Husband
“I know who she is.” She shook her head. “I asked around at the wedding. And apparently she’s a social media influencer.” She said it like that made Gia the lowest form of life, and my patience was close to snapping.
“So?”
“People like that are so shallow, Joel. They only care about likes and followers and they’ll do anything to get them. You can’t possibly think a woman like that would take you seriously.”
Okay, I’d just crossed the line from annoyed to pissed. “Don’t pretend to know Gia. And don’t stereotype her because of what she does for a living. I’ve known that girl more than half my life, and I can tell you she’s one of the sweetest, most genuine, people I’ve ever met.”
She raised a perfectly arched dark eyebrow. “Then why aren’t you two a thing already, if she’s so great? Could it be she’s just not that into you? Maybe she’s seeing you and other guys too, hedging her bets?” She smirked, reaching for the door handle. “Just don’t come crawling back to me when she dumps your sorry ass. You had your shot with me and you blew it!”
I decided to take the high road and let her get out of the car without a parting shot. I clenched my jaw as she slammed the passenger’s door hard enough to rattle the windows before tottering up the stone walkway on heels so high they should have come with a warning label.
I curled my hands around the steering wheel and drew a few deep breaths before tipping my head back against the leather headrest. I had to meet Gia at my place in an hour and thought about texting her to confirm, but I didn’t want to give her a chance to back out.
Maybe Angela was right and I was deluding myself, thinking Gia could ever be serious about me. Before I could spiral into darkness and start second-guessing everything, my phone rang and her name flashed across the screen.
“Hey,” I said, releasing the breath I’d been holding.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No, I just dropped Angela off and was heading home.” I pulled away from the curb after checking my rearview mirror. “You still meeting me at my place?”
“That’s why I called.”
Shit. I didn’t want her to tell me she’d prefer to do this over the phone. I needed to see her. Touch her. Make things right. I couldn’t let her write me off, like we’d never meant anything to each other.
“I’m sitting in your driveway and was just wondering how far away you are.”
“Couldn’t wait to see me, huh?” I figured a joke couldn’t hurt to lighten the mood.
“In your dreams, Joel.” There was a brief pause before she said, “I know things got out of hand last night. I’m sorry for the things I said.”
I felt like I could finally breathe again. “Sweetheart, you have nothing to apologize for. I was an asshole for saying that shit to you. I was way off base. Forgive me?”
“Of course.”
There was a long silence as I drove through our sleepy little town, counting down the seconds until I could haul her into my arms.
“That woman you were with tonight—”
“Angela.” At least she cared enough to ask. I had to assume that was a good sign. “She’s just a friend.”
“Bullshit.” I could hear the laughter in her voice when she said, “I know who she is. One of the many girls you’ve been dating for the past few months.”
“You make it sound like there have been dozens. In a town this size I’m lucky to find a few women my age who aren’t already tied down.”
“So, um, you’re going to keep seeing her? Them?”
I could tell she was holding her breath, and it felt like everything was riding on my response. “No, I ended it with her tonight.” I wanted to tell her the real reason, because I was so into her, but our friendship was still on shaky ground and I didn’t want to say anything stupid until I knew where we stood.
“Oh, really? How did she take that? She seemed to like you a lot.”
I drove down Main Street, glancing at all the shops that reminded me of Gia. The café where we used to go for coffee. Her favorite bookstore. The boutique one of our high school friends owned. The library where we used to study. This town had our stamp all over it, and it made me love it even more. It felt like it was a part of me. And her. It wove the fibers of our long and complicated history together.
“She wasn’t you,” I said, softly.
“What?”
I cleared my throat. “You ever think about me when I was gone, G? This sleepy little town ever remind you of me?”
