by Lisa Cardiff
“Yes. That’s why it’s called a surprise,” Michael responded.
Chapter Sixteen
“Are you sure you don’t want to go out for a drink?” Sara said, holding open the front door to the gallery.
“No. I’m going to stay here in case the cleaners have any questions,” Bre said.
“Make sure you lock up after they leave,” Michael yelled from the sidewalk. “I don’t want to walk into a bare gallery tomorrow night. Total ruin before we open our doors to the public would be more than I could handle.”
“Hey, I only forgot once and the gallery was empty at the time,” Bre yelled out the front door over Sara’s shoulder.
“Well, now it isn’t,” Michael responded.
Sara hugged Bre. “Ignore him,” she whispered. “He’s anxious about the opening.”
“So am I,” Bre said.
Sara dropped her arms from Bre’s shoulders and grabbed her hands. “And don’t worry about Cam. Everything is going to sort itself out. This weekend will be good for you two.”
Bre shook her head. “I hope so. For some reason, I’m more nervous about seeing Cam than the gallery. How backwards is that?”
“It’s because the gallery is going to be a raging success. Nothing to worry about there.”
“I think you’re right,” Bre smiled. “Now go have some fun, but not so much that you have a hangover tomorrow.”
“You too! Tell Cam I said hi,” Sara yelled.
Bre watched Michael and Sara get into Michael’s car, then she went to her office to review her notes on all the artists showing their work at the gallery tomorrow night. Although she had everything committed to memory, she took comfort in being overly prepared.
As the hum of the vacuum cleaner filled the air, a text from Cam popped up on her phone.
Sorry, babe. I can’t make it to the opening. Major band and work stuff this weekend. <3
As Bre read the message, she could feel her eyes blazing with anger. Of course, Bre thought. His band. His job. Those are the only two things he cares about anymore. Her loved ones could die, she could be celebrating her new business, and Cam would choose his band and his job over her. Why didn’t she see it earlier? He didn’t want to be part of her life right now.
She started to type a response to Cam’s text, but she deleted it and called him instead. She refused to let him cancel again without talking to her. She deserved more than a thoughtless text.
“Hey, babe,” Cam answered enthusiastically. “Did you get my text?”
“Would I be calling right now if I didn’t? You’re supposed to be on a plane right now! I wouldn’t call you if I thought you were flying,” Bre realized her voice was unnaturally loud, but she couldn’t control her mounting frustration. Michael and Sara were right. Cam never made her a priority, and she let him get away with it. She never challenged or questioned him.
A forced laugh escaped Cam’s throat. “I guess not. Babe, don’t be mad. I’m sorry. The meeting this weekend is important and I need rent money. I wouldn’t miss your big day if I could avoid it.”
“Really? I find that hard to believe,” Bre said, sucking in a deep breath so she could hold back the tears threatening to fall. She refused to cry. Not now. “It’s a believable excuse to use once or twice, not every time you cancel.”
“I don’t cancel every time. You’re the one who left LA early and cancelled our plans.”
“Oh, please. Don’t pretend as if you cared. You hardly could be bothered to hang out with me when I was at your house.”
“That’s not true,” Cam responded softly. “We were working things out when you decided to run home to fix your mom’s problems. I don’t know why you let her push you around.”
“Leaving had nothing to do with my mom. My grandmother was dying. I would have left whether my mom was around or not. Don’t try to change the subject. You’ve bailed twice now for two major things in my life.”
“Don’t be selfish, Bre. Not everything is about you. So what, I’m going to miss your little party. It’s not a big deal. I need to support my band. It’s my future and I need to pay rent. I can’t suspend reality to suit your needs.”
“It’s not just any party. It’s the grand opening for my art gallery, but that isn’t the only thing you missed. You missed my grandmother’s funeral, too. Those are two really big things. They don’t get much bigger than that. If those two things aren’t important, then tell me what is?”
“Succeeding as a music artist has been my dream since I was a kid, and I’m not going to walk away from an opportunity so I can go to some little party for your shop. Getting signed by a label is way more important than opening a little shop in a ski town.”
Bre’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She couldn’t believe that Cam would be so demeaning of her dream. What happened to the Cam she knew? He’d never belittled her before. “Opening an art gallery is my dream. Just because it doesn’t rank as high as being signed by a record label in your opinion doesn’t mean it’s not important, not worthy of your attention.”
“Oh, come on. Everything I’m doing is for us, so we can be together. Can’t you see that? We both have to make sacrifices if we’re going to make our relationship work.”
“I didn’t realize that meant sacrificing my support system. I don’t feel as though you’re there for me when I need you.”
“I’m there for you. I listen to you go on and on about your shop every week, and frankly, it’s starting to bore me. Do you think I want to hear about every artist you meet, the lighting bid, or the color of stain on the hardwoods? I don’t give a fuck. Nobody does, but I listen because I love you.”
Now that was like a slap across her face. “I didn’t realize I was something you felt you had to put up with. I thought you wanted to hear what was happening in my life, but now that I know you think my life is boring, I’ll save you the pain of hearing about it. Don’t worry, I won’t inconvenience you with the details of my small, pathetic life again,” she said sarcastically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that we’re over,” Bre responded, biting on her lip so she didn’t cry. “This relationship isn’t working for either of us right now.”
“Seriously? You’re dumping me on the phone because I can’t go to your party?” Cam asked incredulously.
“It’s better than by text,” Bre spat out.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You think it’s okay to cancel a weekend visit by text a few hours before your plane is supposed to land, so I don’t have any problems breaking up with you by phone. It seems generous.”
“I thought you’d be busy getting ready. I would have called if I knew you’d react like this.”
“When did you know you weren’t coming this weekend?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
“Fine, I knew a couple days ago.”
Bre let out a bitter laugh. “So you think it’s perfectly acceptable to withhold that information for days, and then send some weak text cancelling a few hours before you’re supposed to be here?”
“It’s not a big deal. Get over it. You’re being overly dramatic.”
“No, I’m not.” Bre walked over to the door to her office and kicked it closed. “Listen, Cam. I can’t do this anymore. I want someone to support me and be there for me, and right now you can’t be that person.”
“Fuck, Bre. Don’t make a knee-jerk decision. You’re angry right now, but don’t ruin everything before you’ve had time to think about it.”
“I’m not making a rash decision. This isn’t the first time I’ve had these thoughts. We’ve been on this path for a while.” Then, she lowered her voice. “Don’t deny it.” Saying the words calmed her fears. She could do this. She had friends that loved her. Breaking up with Cam didn’t mean she would be alone. She didn’t have to settle for a fractured long distance relationship any longer.
Cam did
n’t say anything for a few moments. “Is this really what you want?” he asked, his voice soft.
“I think so,” Bre said, rubbing her forehead. “We can’t be together right now. I think we both could use some space.”
Cam sighed. “Are you breaking up with me because you want to see other people?”
Thoughts of Jax crossed through her mind, and she immediately felt guilty. She couldn’t be with Jax whether or not she and Cam were together. It would interfere with the band and hurt Cam’s dream. “No,” Bre responded, her voice louder than she intended.
“Fine, Bre. I’ll give you space, but it’s only temporary. I’m not giving up on us. In my mind, we’re still together—”
“No!” she interrupted. “I’m not letting you turn this break up into some gray area. We’re over. We’ll be friends like when we were kids, but that’s all we can be.” Her eyes swam with tears. For some reason, when she said it, she realized it was true. Cam may think it was a whim or that they would work it out, but she didn’t agree. She needed to let Cam go. If they stayed together, they would destroy each other.
“For now, but we’ll get back together. I’m sorry about your party. More than you know.”
“Bye, Cam,” Bre said softly, and she hung up the phone.
Cradling her head in her hands, she regretted not joining Michael and Sara for a drink. Maybe then she would have missed Cam’s text and enjoyed a few more hours of blissful anticipation. Now on top of the stress of pulling off a grand opening party, she had to explain Cam’s absence once again.
Over an hour later, Bre heard a knock at the door to her office. She wiped the tears from her face and wished she had some sunglasses to hide her red puffy eyes.
“Yes. Come in.”
An older gray-haired man stood at the entrance to her office. “We’re done cleaning. Do you want to lock up after we leave?”
“Sure,” Bre said, following the man to the front of the gallery. Locking the door, she grabbed a bottle of champagne from the break room in the basement. Opening it, she took a long drink from the bottle and placed it next to her on the floor of her gallery as she stared out the skylights.
When it was empty, she released the bottle from her fingers and let it roll across the uneven hardwood floors. She turned her head sideways, and speculated whether her head was spinning or if the bottle really was rolling away from her. She reached out to grab the bottle. When she realized it was out of her grasp, she decided she hadn’t drunk near enough because the bottle was moving, not her head. Besides, she spilled about a quarter of the bottle when she opened it.
As she pushed to her feet, she heard her cell phone ringing. She ignored it. There wasn’t one person she wanted to talk to right now. She needed to determine how she felt about her break up before other people started telling her how she should feel.
Making her way back to the storage room, she heard her cell phone ring again. “Leave me alone,” she hollered as she walked downstairs to get another bottle of champagne. It looked as though she needed to call a cab to take her back to her grandmother’s house. That wasn’t going to be cheap, but the damage was already done. Driving intoxicated on a snowy road was beyond stupid.
Stumbling upstairs again, she heard her phone ringing again and walked into her office to answer it. Maybe if they heard her voice they would leave her alone.
“What do you want?” Bre yelled into the phone.
Chapter Seventeen
“Hi, to you, too,” Jax said, setting his drink down on the bar.
“Jax?” Bre asked.
“Yes. Where are you?” Jax turned his body away from the couple sitting next to him.
“At the gallery.”
“Perfect. I’m across the street in the lobby bar of my hotel. Come meet me.” Jax hoped that he could talk to her before Cam called to let her know he wasn’t coming. When Cam told him he never booked a ticket and he didn’t plan to go, Jax was furious. Cam gave the same lame excuse about that Mia chick, but Jax knew that wasn’t the only reason. Lately, he had been seeing Anna. He claimed they weren’t serious, but Jax could tell he had feelings for Anna even if they weren’t permanent. Anna convinced Cam to go on a weekend trip to San Diego. Knowing what little he did about Anna, he thought Anna somehow found out about Bre’s opening and she was making a power play for Cam. Even if Bre didn’t realize she lost a battle in the war for Cam’s attention, Anna did, and that’s all that mattered to her.
Jax shivered. He didn’t understand Cam’s fascination with her. Anna couldn’t compare to Bre. Where Bre was natural and beautiful, Anna was fake and whiny. In truth, Jax thought Cam only kept her around because of her family connections, and Jax knew from experience that connections didn’t make a relationship. No matter how good a person looked on paper, if they sucked, nothing else mattered.
“What? You’re really here?” Bre said.
“The gallery was my idea. I couldn’t miss the opening.”
Bre laughed. “Give me five minutes to lock up and I’ll be there. Order me a vodka martini.”
“I’m on it.”
Just as the bartender placed a martini on a napkin next to him, Jax felt arms encircle his waist, and he turned his head to see Bre smiling down at him.
“I still can’t believe you’re here,” Bre said, looking at him fondly.
He grabbed her hand, pulling her into the seat next to him. Instead of releasing her hand, he held on, rubbing his thumb against her wrist. “So, is everything ready to go?”
Bre twisted the stem of her martini glass with her free hand. “For the most part. Michael has a surprise artist that he won’t share with me. Other than that, we’re ready.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“Yep,” Bre said, pulling her hand out of his and biting her lower lip.
“Then, why don’t you look happy?” Jax tilted her chin up so he could see her face.
“Cam and I broke up.”
Jax didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t lie to himself, he didn’t want her to be with Cam, but he didn’t want her to be unhappy, either. “I guess that means you talked to Cam.”
Bre took a sip of her martini, shivering from the contrast in taste from the sweet champagne she drank earlier. “I guess I don’t need to tell you he flaked again.”
Jax ran his hand through his hair. “No. I knew he wasn’t coming.”
Bre shrugged. “At least he told me himself rather than letting you do it again, even if he did it by text message.”
Cam could be such an asshole. He couldn’t understand why Cam insisted he was going to marry Bre at some point, when he could dismiss her feelings so easily. “How are you holding up?”
“Honestly? I’m more shocked than anything. In the back of my mind, I knew our relationship wasn’t working, but I didn’t want to lose him after losing my grandmother, so I ignored our problems. Cam and his family are the only constants in my life, and I held onto Cam because I’m scared to feel alone. Does that make me weak?”
“No. It makes you human.”
“Maybe.” Bre exhaled loudly. “I wish I’d had the strength to end our relationship earlier instead of holding onto something that wasn’t right. He can’t be the person I need, and in truth, I don’t want to be the person he needs, either.”
Jax leaned in toward her, putting his hand on her leg. “What do you need?”
Bre pushed her empty glass toward him. “Another drink. Are you buying?”
Jax studied her face and he noticed her eyes were a little glassy, and he couldn’t tell whether she’d had too much to drink or if she’d been crying earlier. Maybe both. “Another martini? That seems a little risky.”
“I’m feeling a little risky tonight. This is the start of my new life. I have a new career and, you know what? I’m single, for the first time in forever.”
“Another martini it is.” Jax signaled the bartender for another drink.
When the bartender delivered her drink, she said, “Where�
�s your drink?”
“I think I’ll hold off for a while. One of us has to be responsible.”
“Absolutely not. You’re not going to sit there like some saintly designated driver while I drink alone. I refuse to celebrate the start of a new era drinking alone. That sounds way too pathetic. If you’re any kind of friend at all, you’ll have another drink. I can take a cab home.”
“And I thought peer pressure ended in high school. I was so wrong.” Jax waved for the bartender again. “Another bourbon for me.”
When the bartender handed him his glass, he raised it in the air. “To a new era.”
Bre smiled. “To the beginning of the best part of my life.”
Their glasses collided, making a loud noise. “Careful,” Jax said. “It’s unlucky to break the glass before you drink.”
“Says who?” Bre asked.
“Me.”
Bre lifted her martini glass to her lips and took a sip. Jax felt her staring at him as he turned his glass in circles at the bar. “Jax, thanks for coming this weekend. It means a lot to me, especially since you knew Cam wasn’t going to show up again.”
“I’m not here because Cam isn’t. I’m not his replacement,” Jax said, a little more harshly than he intended.
Bre shook her head. “I know you’re not. I don’t think of you as a substitute. You’re so much more than that.”
“What am I?” Jax watched the play of emotions across her face. Lust. Confusion. Desire.
“Somewhere between a friend and something more. I don’t know exactly.” Her voice lowered, and she played with the chain on her long silver charm necklace. “But I think about you all the time. You’re the first person I want to talk to when I wake up or before I go to sleep. Is that bad?”
“No,” Jax said, grabbing her elbow and squeezing it. “You don’t even want to know how much I think about you. It’s crazy.” He dropped her arm. “But I don’t want to hurt Cam or destroy the band. Not when we’re this close to being signed.”
“God, you sound like Cam.”
