See You Later Broadway (Broadway Series Book 2)
Page 17
“Zack, I want to explain about Trevor. I know how it looked when you walked in, but it was purely innocent.”
“You said he was a friend from back home,” he says nonchalantly.
I sit down at the table. “He is, but we have quite a bit of history.” I stop when I realize I really need to start at the beginning for all of this to make sense.
“Come with me,” I say, grabbing his hand.
“To your room? Yes, ma’am.”
I giggle. “Very funny.”
As soon as we get in my room, he spreads out on the bed.
“Forget that couch. I’m in here this weekend,” he says, grinning from ear to ear.
“We’ll see about that,” I say, laughing.
I sit down Indian-style next to him on the bed and hand him my grandmother’s journal. He doesn’t say anything as he flips through the pages reading every entry. I begin to tell him the story of finding the journal at my parents’ house, and then being inspired by my grandmother’s radio career here in Manhattan. I tell him about how I sought out Beatrice to learn more about this part of my grandmother’s life of which none of us knew much about. Then, I tell him about meeting Trevor and Giselle at Liv’s party, and then finding out he was Beatrice’s grandson.
He patiently listens and asks a few questions here and there.
“So that’s why you were so hesitant to take the job. You were worried about working with Giselle because of him.”
“Yeah.”
Zack clasps his hands behind his head and stares at the ceiling. I hate the uncomfortable silence, but I know he’s taking it all in.
“Say something,” I beg.
“I was just thinking that it’s kind of a crazy story. I mean, what are the chances that you would meet him at some random party, and then he turns out to be the grandson of your grandmother’s best friend?”
I can’t argue with this because I’ve wondered the same thing for a long time.
“I can’t answer that. But a lot of wild things have happened since I found this journal. I’ve had some very vivid dreams.”
“Dreams about him?” he interrupts.
I change positions. “No . . . I mean, I had one recently. But up until that, most of them have been about my grandmother and her telling me to follow my heart. That’s why when you said that to me when you were here last time I got so freaked out. And look at this.” I flip to the last page in her journal and show him where she wrote that.
He rolls over to his side and leans his head up on one hand.
“I appreciate you sharing this with me.”
I nod. “I just wanted to explain before you started questioning how I felt. Let’s be honest, both times you’ve visited there have been men from my past randomly showing up.”
He lies back on the pillow and laughs. “Yeah, what’s up with that anyway? You were quite the wild one, weren’t you?”
I roll my eyes. “Hardly.”
Somehow, we start opening up about our past relationships and I learn a lot about Zack, too. It turns out he was engaged to his high school sweetheart, and they had a huge wedding planned. They were actually about to get married until she ran out of the church right before their ceremony and never looked back. It sounds like a true runaway bride story. I’ve heard these stories before, but I never knew someone who this actually happened to.
We end up talking for hours, and when I come back from using the bathroom, Zack is fast asleep on my bed. I smile to myself and crawl into bed next to him.
Chapter 26
“I have a suggestion,” Ash says loudly. I roll my eyes, of course she does. At least she’s proving to be consistent in her behaviors. “What if we all gave a performance at the party, you know, as a way to introduce ourselves to the world.”
Liv gives a thoughtful look. “I was already thinking about something like that. There are certainly going to be a lot of eyes on us and they’re going to want to know who we are. What do you think, Mir?”
Miranda is scrolling through her tablet and making some notes. “Absolutely, there’s already going to be the baby grand in the ballroom so why not.”
I play with my straw and try to ignore my visions of throwing water in Ash’s face. It’s our first official meeting, but all we’re doing is going over plans for the launch party and some of the details of the London trip. Shockingly, Giselle has also been working, she found our office space right outside of Central Park, and Liv put her in charge of designing it. I admit I’m surprised because I really thought she wasn’t going to do much.
I’m actually feeling really good today. Of course, coming off of spending the entire weekend with Zack has me on cloud nine, but I was also able to meet with Liv before this meeting to perform my song. I guess it’s a good sign that she was in tears, especially after she told me they were happy tears.
I know she’s up to something because she recorded the song. Perhaps she wants to hear it before she asks me to sing at the launch.
I glance at Ash who’s looking as smug as ever. Oh well, I guess you’re never going to like everyone you work with, and for whatever reason, the fates want Ash and me to work together.
“Maris, would you be willing to perform your new song?” she asks. I knew it.
I can feel myself start to turn red. “Sure.”
“Ohhh . . . another new song?” Miranda asks excitedly. “Or is this the one you performed last year?”
Suddenly all eyes are on me, including Ash’s who’s obviously not loving me being the center of attention.
“It’s a new song I just finished working on. Believe it or not, I’ve hardly written any music since I moved here. I was just inspired after losing a friend recently.”
They all give me a sympathetic look, including Ash.
“Did you write a song for Beatrice?” Giselle asks. I look at her, but surprisingly, she doesn’t look irritated at all, more curious. Maybe our little talk did some good after all.
“Not exactly for her. She just gave me a little extra inspiration.”
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” Liv interrupts. I give her a grateful smile.
I sit back and look around the table at these ladies whom I’m about to embark on a new journey with. I never in a million years thought I’d be working with Ash again or with Giselle ever, but I’ve learned that life is certainly about taking risks so here I go.
~*~*~
“You know we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Georgie says excitedly. She and Dr. Scott are attending the company launch party along with my parents, Cassie and Mark, and Zack. (Squeal!) When I invited Zack to the party, he immediately contacted his assistant chef to make sure he could man the restaurant. I acted totally cool when he accepted the invitation, but I may or may not have danced excitedly around the bathroom.
“So, who else did you invite?” Georgie asks curiously. She’s trying to be slick, but I know she’s really asking who I invited as my escort.
“My family is coming of course.”
“And?”
I start laughing. “And I invited Zack. Are you satisfied?”
She starts laughing.
“Actually yes, I’m very satisfied. I can’t wait to meet this Zack person you’ve become so fond of in such a short amount of time.”
Georgie knows me so well. She knows it takes me a while to let my guard down and usually it does. But with Zack it’s different.
“Maris? Are you there?”
She drags me out of my thought.
“Yes. I’m excited for you to meet him, too. Just don’t do anything crazy, we’re just getting to know each other and things have already been pretty eventful since we met.”
“What do you mean eventful?” she asks. “Is this because you thought he was hooking up with his sister?”
I knew I would regret telling her about that.
“Well, there’s that and also that both Kyle and Trevor have made appearances while he’s been visiting. I thought when he saw me in Trevor’s a
rms he would run. But, he didn’t.”
Georgie gasps. “You are kidding, right?”
“Believe me, I wish I were. But don’t worry, it’s all been resolved and I’m just ready to move on.”
“So Trevor’s completely out of the picture?”
I tell her about Beatrice’s letters and when Zack interrupted an emotional moment. Trevor was pretty mad when he left, so I think it’s safe to say he’s out of the picture.
“I don’t know, but maybe the good-bye letters from Beatrice were also good-bye letters to each other?”
“Wow. That’s kind of sad,” she whispers.
“Maybe a little. But it may be just what we needed so we weren’t forcing something that just isn’t supposed to happen.”
I decide to ask Georgie about her shower in order to end this discussion about Trevor and me.
“Sorry again about the games,” she says. “Jeannie had everything else already covered, and since you’re not here . . .”
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “I just went online and chose a few. They’re all pretty lame anyway. And I’m doing gift cards for the prizes.”
Georgie thinks gift cards are a great idea and she’s the bride so that’s good enough for me.
“Can you believe I’m getting married?” she asks excitedly.
“I know. We’ve come a long way from our apartment with the Brady Bunch couch. I still remember when you came home and told me that Dr. Scott asked you out.”
We both start laughing. In our first apartment, we had this absolutely hideous plaid couch. It was gold, black, and white, and it looked like something out of the Brady Bunch, so from then on it was nicknamed the Brady Bunch couch.
“We certainly have come a long way. I remember you were asking me why I called him Dr. Scott instead of just plain Scott.”
I did ask her that and I still think it’s a valid question but I don’t say anything.
The next few months are going to be a whirlwind for both of us, but I’m really excited about what’s to come. And for some reason, I have a feeling it’s going to be amazing.
After I get off the phone, I straighten up my apartment. It definitely feels empty without Zack around. As awesome as it was spending time with him, that makes it even harder to say good-bye. Of course, I’ve already thought about what will happen if things were to progress for us. Right now, our lives are in different cities, so one of us would have to make a change. Thankfully we aren’t too far, but we’re still a good enough distance that it would require more than a daily commute. And considering that my new career will be more flexible, it would make more sense for me to move. Hopefully, he’s able to move forward with opening his second location here because that would make things a lot easier. I may be getting ahead of myself, but it’s definitely something I’ve thought about. And I have a feeling Zack has thought about it, too.
Chapter 27
When and if I ever get married, I’m going to make sure I never have games at my bridal shower. It’s very obvious that most of the guests didn’t want to play them. Many of the women just pretended to pay attention while whispering the entire time. Of course, they sure wished they had tried harder when the winners walked away with gift cards. Jeannie didn’t make any comments about them being impersonal, so I know they were a huge hit.
“Are you okay?” I ask Cassie, who’s gone to the bathroom about ten times since we arrived.
“Yes, I’m just feeling a bit under the weather.”
Crap. I’m staying with her and I absolutely can’t get sick right now.
“Do you want to go?” I ask. “I’m sure I can catch a ride home.”
She shakes her head. “Of course not, I’ll be fine.”
Georgie has started opening her gifts, and I already know it’s going to take a good amount of time because the pile of gifts is almost as tall as I am. I think Jeannie may have invited the entire hospital staff, which makes me wonder who’s over there saving lives today.
“This is great,” Georgie shrieks, when she holds up doctor and nurse lingerie. The crowd starts laughing and cheering. Except for some of the older guests, one elderly lady grabs her chest as if she’s going to have a coronary. I guess it’s a good thing there are plenty of medical personnel in attendance.
“Georgie seems really happy,” Cassie says. “She’s glowing.”
I smile. “She is happy. You should see her with Dr. Scott; it’s almost like they are a part of one another. They just fit perfectly.”
“How about you?”
I give her a curious look. “What about me?”
I already know where this conversation is heading. I know her heart is in the right place. I’m fully prepared for questions about Trevor to begin.
“Are you happy? Living in New York, and with your new career, you know what I’m saying . . . with where your life is heading.”
I purse my lips. “I’m very happy . . . and if you’re referring to my personal life, you’ll be happy to know that I’ve met someone. His name is Zack; he’s actually my roommate’s brother.” (I don’t elaborate on that part.) “He’s a chef, he owns a restaurant in Hyde Park and is possibly opening a second location in the city.”
Cassie’s eyes grow wide. I guess I did give her a lot of information at one time.
“Oh. I’ll be right back,” she exclaims as she takes off toward the bathroom again. Now I’m starting to freak out. She must really be feeling bad to leave in the middle of a conversation, especially a conversation where I’ve revealed a bunch of new personal information.
“Oh . . . thank you,” Georgie says, holding up a cross-stitched wall hanging with a picture of a log cabin. Admittedly, it’s one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.
Dr. Scott’s grandmother explains that it’s a picture of the mountain cabin that’s been in the family for generations. Apparently, every member of the family has one of these hanging in their home.
I try to keep from laughing because I know Georgie’s dying. I have no doubt it will be one of those items that’s brought out only when family members come to visit.
“Sorry,” Cassie apologizes, after returning from the bathroom.
“Cass, I’m sorry but I need to keep my distance. I can’t afford to get sick right now.”
She smiles. “Calm down. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” I whisper. “You’ve had to rush to the bathroom almost a dozen times.”
“Maris, we have to do pictures,” Georgie interrupts. She’s finally finished opening what looks like an entire department store of awesome presents and that cross-stitched thing.
I stand up to join her for pictures.
“So, where are you going to hang that thing?” I ask through my smile.
“Shut up,” she replies through her smile. I giggle.
“Are you having fun?” she whispers.
I put my arm around her shoulders. “Considering it’s a bridal shower, normally I would say no. But because it’s yours, I’m having a nice time.”
She pushes my arm off her shoulders.
“Ha-ha.”
I look at Cassie who looks absolutely miserable.
“I don’t think I can say the same for Cassie.”
Georgie looks at her. “What’s wrong with her?”
I shrug my shoulders. “She says she’s fine but she’s been to the bathroom a dozen times. If she gets me sick, I’m going to kill her. I have so much going on in the next few weeks, and I have to perform at the launch party.”
“Oh, that reminds me. I can’t believe I haven’t asked you this yet.”
I give her a skeptical look. “What?”
She gets a little teary-eyed. “Dr. Scott and I would really love it if you would sing at the wedding.”
“You aren’t going to make me cry, are you?” I tell her, my voice starting to tremble.
She shakes her head.
“Good. And of course I will sing. I’m honored that you asked.”
~*~*~
She leans her head back and closes her eyes. “It was. Her soon to be in-laws are very nice.”
I nod. “Including the wacky grandma.”
She laughs. “Especially her.”
I sit quietly as I watch Cassie take a few slow deep breaths. Something is just not right with her.