And for once in her damn life, she wasn’t going to complete the fall-fast-fall-hard cycle with an epic fall-stupid.
“I have to go, Luke. I’m not saying I won’t be back. I just … have to go.”
Chapter 35
The next afternoon, an hour into the trip back home to Briarwood, Gabi glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the same sight she’d been looking at for the entire trip so far—four girls looking out separate windows, all with their arms crossed. It mirrored the way they’d looked on their way to Camp Echo, but this time, the crossed arms were her fault, not Pricilla Pritchard’s. As furious as these four had been to come to Camp Echo in the first place, they were far angrier about leaving.
And somehow it’d be easier to take, if she herself hadn’t been tempted to turn around ten times already. All she wanted right now was to be in Luke’s arms, Luke’s cabin, Luke’s … life, but she’d promised herself a time-out somewhere far away from Echo Lake so she could think clearly, and as much as it was killing her to drive south right now, she knew she was doing the right thing.
Definitely.
Pretty sure.
Definitely.
“I still don’t understand why we need to go back early.” Madison glared at Gabi. “Is Sam even supposed to be up and around yet?”
“She’s on crutches, Madison. She’s fine. I explained it this morning. The dorm is ready, Oliver and Luke still have a million things to do back at camp, and we were in the way. You guys have served a long enough sentence. There’s no reason to keep hanging out there when we could be out of their hair and back at school. We’ll get the jump on the other students, you know? Get there early and have a little down time.”
Despite her manufactured chipper tone, the argument fell just as flat as she knew it would, dammit.
Waverly spoke up. “Did Luke say we were in the way?”
Gabi sighed. “No.”
“Then why are we leaving?” Eve sat up straighter. “Don’t bullshit us, Gabi. Did you and Luke have a fight? Is that why we have to go?”
“No. Luke and I aren’t—no. He has nothing to do with this.”
“Right.” Madison rolled her eyes. “He’s just the best thing that’s happened to us or you in, like, ever. But we definitely shouldn’t stay and be happy about it. Yes, let’s go back to a deserted campus and hang out being mortally bored for the summer while we wait for the rest of the princesses to show up.”
Sam snorted. “Says the princess of the princesses.”
Gabi braced for Madison’s reply, realizing that only an hour away from Camp Echo, the girls were already reverting to their pre-camp relationship. The weight of dismal failure that had been sitting in her stomach since yesterday sank even further.
“Yeah, well, maybe being a princess is overrated,” Madison replied, making Gabi’s eyebrows fly upward.
Sam turned to look at her. “This mean you’re going to actually act like who you are this year, instead of putting on the rich-bitch cloak when you leave your bedroom?”
Again Gabi braced herself, but Madison just smiled. “I will if you will.”
“Right. Like I have one.”
“You have your own. But you’re actually not nearly as angry and standoffish as you wanted us all to think.”
“Don’t let it get out.” Sam rolled her eyes.
Waverly tapped Gabi’s seat. “Just because they’re getting along now doesn’t mean we’re not still royally ticked that you’re bringing us back early. Just so you know.”
“Noted. Thank you.”
An hour later, the girls begged for a bathroom break, so Gabi pulled into a rest area. Sam didn’t want to navigate with her crutches, so Madison stayed with her while Gabi and the other two went inside. There was free coffee on the hospitality counter, so Gabi filled up a cup and stirred in creamer while she waited for Waverly and Eve to come out of the restroom.
She wandered the tiny building, picking up random brochures, trying to quell the faint nausea creeping up her throat every time she thought of Luke.
But she was doing the right thing. Space and time were important here. She had to make the right decision, for the right reasons, and she couldn’t do it at Camp Echo, where her eyes were trained to look for his soft T-shirts and jeans … where her ears listened for his whistle even when she wasn’t trying to … where her skin ached for his gentle, gorgeous, perfect touch so damn hard.
Finally, when she’d drunk almost half of her coffee, the girls emerged.
“You guys okay?” Gabi scanned their faces, worried something about lunch hadn’t agreed with them.
“Fine. We’re good. Let’s roll.” Eve pointed at the doorway.
When they got into the van, Madison leaned over Gabi’s seat, putting her hand on Gabi’s arm so she couldn’t put the key into the ignition.
“Are you sure about this? Because we could still go back. I’m betting Luke could find us enough work to keep us busy for the next week, and maybe the two of you could work out whatever happened between you.”
“Madison, there is nothing—”
“No offense, Gabi, but save it.” Waverly leaned over as well. “We know you guys—you know—hung out.”
“We’re just friends.” Gabi felt her face heat up.
Sam snorted. “Friends with ben—”
“No.” Gabi put her hand up. “Don’t even say it. Don’t even go there. I do not do that.”
“But … you did.” Madison did her best cringe-face. “More than once.”
Gabi felt her cheeks go scarlet. “Honestly, this is none of your business.”
Eve stood up in her own seat, leaning onto the one in front of her. “Actually, it kind of is.”
“How do you figure?”
“Well, we earned ourselves a ticket to a free four-week camp. We got a three-week camp. You still owe us a week.”
“Fine. I’ll pitch you a tent at Briarwood.”
“We want to go back, Gabi,” Waverly said. “Please?”
“No. Absolutely not. It’s time to move forward and get ready for the new year.”
Eve flopped back into her seat. “This sucks.”
Waverly mirrored her actions, crossing her arms. “Totally.”
Madison sat back down. “Fine. But when you dry up like a raisin and become an old bitty spinster—or whatever they call those—don’t blame us. We tried.”
Gabi put the key in the ignition. “Noted. I will accept full blame.” She turned the key to start the van, but instead of the purr of the engine, all she heard was a click. She turned the key again, and again, click.
She knew that sound. It was an awful lot like the sound the van had made when Luke had removed the battery.
“Girls?” She looked in the rearview mirror, but four innocent faces met her eyes. “Anyone know what’s wrong with the van?”
All four of them shook their heads, but Gabi felt dread fill her gut as she popped the hood and got out of the van. She walked around to the front and lifted the hood, then sighed and closed her eyes when she saw the empty space where the battery was supposed to be.
She counted to twenty, then let the hood drop back down. She walked calmly to the door and slid back into the seat, and she sat there for a full minute without speaking. Finally, she looked into the rearview mirror, where again, four innocent faces greeted her.
Then Sam grinned. “This guy—he just came right over and stole it while you were in the bathroom.”
“Yup,” Madison agreed. “I saw it with my own eyes. Nothing we could do to stop him.”
Gabi’s eyes shifted to Waverly and Eve. “And the ten minutes it took you two to pee?”
Eve shrugged. “Bad fish for lunch.”
“You had peanut butter sandwiches.”
“Bad peanut butter,” Waverly said, smiling.
Gabi took a deep breath. “Where’s the battery?”
“Gone.” Madison pointed toward the ramp that went back onto the highway. “A garbage truck pulled in be
side us. It was kind of—you know—fate.”
“You threw the battery—” Gabi took another breath and blew it out slowly. “Why? Why did you do this?”
The girls were silent for a long moment, until Sam finally leaned forward. “Because you’re being a moron.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re totally, completely, sickeningly in love with Luke, but you won’t let yourself admit it. So we’re helping.”
“How is this helping?” Gabi felt her voice rise an octave.
“Well, we figure the worst thing that could possibly happen to you is find yourself in a situation where you’re helpless and need a rescue.” Madison shrugged. “So we arranged the situation. And now we’ll arrange the rescue.”
She pulled out her phone and punched a couple of buttons before Gabi grabbed it. “Don’t you dare call him.”
“She doesn’t need to.” Sam held up her phone, an impish look on her face. “I texted him an hour ago with the plan. He’s on his way.”
Chapter 36
“You can stop laughing anytime now, Luke.” An hour later, Gabi crossed her arms as he slammed the hood of the van back down, a brand-new battery now in place.
“I’m sorry.” He grinned. “I really just can’t. I mean, come on. They took out the battery and tossed it in the back of a garbage truck? That takes some serious balls.”
“We could have been stuck here for hours.”
He held up his phone. “Looks like they thought that part through. You couldn’t have even been in White River before I got Sam’s text. These girls are planners, Gabi.”
She rolled her eyes. “And once again, I’m apologizing for them. I’m so sorry you had to drive all the way down here.”
“I’m not.” Before she could think about resisting, Luke reached out and braced his hands on her hips. “I am thrilled that your closest associates are a bunch of scheming teenagers. I’m thrilled that they know how to disable a car and call for a rescue. But the thing I’m most thrilled about is that after only three weeks, they knew they could call me, and they knew I would come.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I know.”
Luke raised his eyebrows, leaning down so she was forced to fall into those damn smoky emerald eyes of his.
“Gabriela, I know you’re the queen of I-don’t-need-no-knight-in-shining-armor in my life, but in actuality, everybody needs one. Even, y’know, your average hot camp director. Or, say, codirector of the forthcoming Echo Lake Charter School.”
Gabi felt a bubble of laughter sneak out. She couldn’t help it. With his hands circling her hips, and that dimple taunting her as he looked at her, all she wanted to do was close the inches between them and feel his arms pull her close.
He tipped her chin up with two fingers. “Guess what just occurred to me?”
“I can’t imagine.”
“You know how we were talking about how you want the rom-com?”
“I never agreed to that. I just want the happily-ever-after ending.”
He bounced his eyebrows playfully. “Well, we’ve just now had the whole all-is-lost moment, and you did the dramatic run-for-the-hills thing, but you had to careen to a halt because your impish crew of teenagers decided to do your thinking for you, knowing that in your heart, you do belong with the guy from Echo Lake.” He put both hands in the air dramatically. “We’ve done it! We made a rom-com!”
Gabi laughed. She couldn’t help it. “So what comes next, hot camp director?”
“Oh, the next part’s easy.” He smiled. “We do a kiss full of silent promises while we ignore the fact that we’re in a highway rest area, and the cameras pan out to show an idyllic Vermont scene, complete with a big white van making a U-turn and heading back to Echo Lake, where the audience knows it’s just a matter of time before the hero will convince the heroine to follow her heart and stay.”
“It’s that easy, hm?” Gabi smiled, but her butterflies were in full flight.
Luke’s face grew serious. “No. It’s not easy at all. It’ll be hard work, and we’ll have fits and starts, and we might even argue once or twice. But dammit, Gabriela, this is real. You know it’s real, and I know it’s real.” He leaned down, and before she could think to back up, he kissed her softly. “Come back to Echo Lake, Gabi. Come back, and we can build something amazing.”
Gabi looked up at him—at eyes that heated her from the inside, lips that whispered the perfect words, and she knew she really didn’t have a choice. She knew that somewhere not so deep inside, she was secretly thrilled that the girls had taken it upon themselves to disable their ride home, in hopes that they could go back to the very spot they’d dreaded just three weeks ago.
She knew she had to go back. She had to give this a chance, because if what she felt for Luke wasn’t real, then … nothing was. She would hate herself forever if she didn’t give this an honest shot.
She nodded slowly, watching his face break into a grin as she did. “I think I’m completely, utterly nuts to say yes.”
“That’s fine.” He squeezed her tightly. “I can deal with completely, utterly nuts.”
“Are you sure about this?” She blew out a breath. “Really, really sure?”
Luke brought both of his hands up to hold her face—so gently she felt like delicate crystal. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, sweetheart. If there was a minister in the next car, I’d totally ask him to marry us right here, right now.”
“Good God, Luke.” She laughed nervously.
“But it’s okay that you’re not there yet.” He winked. “I can totally wait another week or two.”
“That’s … very generous of you.”
He slid one hand into her hair as the other encircled her waist, a mysterious smile on his face. “So are you ready?”
“For?” she breathed.
He cocked his head and rolled his eyes to the right. “I think our little matchmakers are waiting for the end.”
“The end?”
“Of the movie. The big kiss. The swelling music.” He shook his head. “You know.”
Gabi smiled, reaching up to link her fingers around his neck, feeling like nothing had ever been more right.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Kiss full of promise. I’m ready.”
He touched her lips with his—softly, sweetly, like they were alone … like cars weren’t whooshing by on an interstate just beyond the grassy median. And she melted into him like four teens hadn’t whooped and clapped the moment their lips met.
He pulled back, smiling. “I love you, Gabriela. And that’s not for rom-com effect. That’s … from my heart.”
Gabi laughed, the butterflies settling down for the first time since he’d driven into the rest area in his beat-up old truck that somehow was exactly perfect for him.
“You know what?” She shook her head like she could hardly believe what she was about to say. “It turns out … I love you, too.”
Epilogue
“Oh, Gabi. It’s perfect.” Piper’s eyes got all watery as she did a circle around Gabi, pulling gently at the layers of white satin. “It’s so … you.”
Gabi looked in the mirrors, twisting left and right to see how the wedding gown looked from all angles. It was stunning. Absolutely stunning.
Laura stood up from the fancy wingback chair in the corner, and Gabi’s hand went to her mouth as she saw the tears in the older woman’s eyes.
“Oh, Gabriela.” She circled slowly, touching the pearls, the lace, the satin. “I never thought I’d be so proud as I was the moment you agreed to wear my dress. But seeing you in it right now? I’m just bursting. You look … so beautiful.”
Gabi reached out to hug her. “Thank you for saying so. And for asking me to wear your dress. You can’t possibly know how much it means.”
“Well, I do claim some responsibility for this wedding, so it seemed only appropriate.” Laura smiled. “And I hope you’ll have a marriage as long and as happy as mine was. I never had a dau
ghter to pass this along to.” Laura hugged her tightly. “Thank you for wearing it.”
Piper wiped her eyes with a tissue, then shook her head like she was pulling herself together.
“Hannah just texted from the salon. She’s on her way.”
Gabi smiled, picturing the blond bombshell that ran Hannah’s Hair Palace. She operated at two speeds—fast and super-fast, and over the past year, she’d become one of Gabi’s closest friends. For the first time in—well, ever, Gabi actually had a circle of friends she could picture keeping for longer than a semester, and she marveled at the fact that she’d never considered that Luke might come with a prepackaged group of people he was more than willing to share.
An hour later, Hannah turned her toward the mirror, and Gabi gasped. Her hair was pulled back in a gentle updo, with strands left loose to frame her face. Hannah had done her makeup, as well, and Gabi felt like she’d just stepped out of a magazine.
“You guys!” Her eyes welled up. “I look like a … bride!”
Piper, in a dark blue strapless bridesmaid dress that matched Hannah’s, dabbed at her eyes. “That you do, my dear. Luke is going to flip when he sees you.”
The subtle bell on the bridal salon door rang, and Laura looked at her silver watch. “Now, who could that possibly be?”
Piper went to the door, and Gabi fluffed out her dress in the mirror, wishing she was already walking up the aisle. She smiled as Piper returned with a box, a mystified look on her face.
“What is it?” Gabi asked.
“I don’t know.” Piper handed it to her.
Gabi looked down, and her smile turned into a contented sigh as she saw Luke’s handwriting. She opened the box, then laughed out loud when she realized what was inside.
“What’s in there?” Hannah crowded close, then laughed as well. “DVDs?”
Piper peered over her other shoulder. “Good Lord, there are, like, twenty of them. Has Luke not heard of video streaming?”
Gabi just smiled as she picked up one of the movies and turned it to see the cover. “Pretty Woman.” She put it back in, picked up another. “Sleepless in Seattle.” Her smile grew bigger as she pulled out rom-com after rom-com. “Dirty Dancing, Love Actually, The Proposal.”
She's Got a Way Page 28
