23
MAJOR LOVE IN MINOR CHORDS
Amber
Looking back at the house, I see that Gabe is gone. My heart aches in my chest as the truck pulls away from Miss Marigold’s house. Giant raindrops start plopping down on the windshield, blurring the view of the house as we pull onto the road. A knot forms in my belly.
Am I making a mistake?
I know I told myself to stop trusting cute guys, but something about Gabe makes me believe him. After all, I understand why he wanted his privacy. He probably always has people trying to use him for his fame or money. I know I probably would have judged him if I knew that. Hell, I did back when I first met him! He looked so clean and put-together. I thought he was a rich yuppie. Man, I was wrong about him. He ended up being sweet and caring, supportive…
What the hell am I doing?
“Excuse me, can you stop?” I ask.
The man in the green polo and dusty jeans looks over at me. “Huh? What didja say?”
“I want you to stop.”
At this point the rain is coming down harder.
“Why?” He asks.
“Can you just stop please?” I ask in a panicked voice.
This causes him to step on the brake pedal. The truck comes to a screeching stop.
“Thanks a lot for the ride, man,” I say, trying to sound casual as I realize this will reflect poorly on Marigold. “Drive safe.”
Earl looks at me with a bewildered look as I pull my bag and guitar out of the truck and close the door. I cross the street and wave at Earl before heading back to Marigold’s house. The truck waits for a moment before eventually pulling away.
As the rain comes down, soaking me to the bone, I wonder what the hell I’m doing. This is the kind of stuff I’d do with Chuck and I always regretted it. But something is telling me I won’t regret it with Gabe. There’s truly a spark between us, and I really think he’ll do anything to keep that spark alive.
Making my way through the forest, I feel the rain squishing in my shoes. It’s starting to get cold. Really cold. The shed is about ten feet away. I rush over to it and push the door open. As soon as I’m inside, I get relief from the rain.
“Amber?”
I bump into someone.
“Gabe, oh my god! What are you doing in here?” I look down at the bag in his hands.
“I told you I’d be leaving as soon as the truck left. I was going to chase after Earl’s truck.”
I laugh as I wring out my wet hair. “You were gonna follow me?”
“Yeah! You don’t think I’d let you go that easily, do you?”
I try to bite back my smile.
“Oh my god, Gabe.” I jump into his arms. “I’m so sorry. I trust you, I trust you.”
He hugs me back. I notice that his clothes are just as soaked as mine are. The rain is rattling the small window. We look at each other and laugh.
“I don’t want to fight with you anymore.”
He smirks. “Me neither, Phoenix.”
I smile at him.
“What made you come back?” He asks.
“Well, as I was sitting in that truck, I thought about playing at the Rock Heart Festival. And it just wouldn’t feel right without you there to watch me.”
He smiles. “You don’t care that I’m a douchebag celebrity?”
I laugh. “Gabe, I don’t care if you’re a celebrity or a fucking alien. I love you.”
Taking a step closer, he touches my cheek. “I love you too, Phoenix.”
Leaning in, he kisses me. His lips are cold and wet from the rain but they give my warm lips a sense of relief. Lightning flashes in the small shed and a boom of thunder follows.
I lean my forehead against his. “I think we should wait out the rain. What do you think—an hour, two tops?”
He nods. “Good idea. What can we possibly do in the meantime?”
I laugh as his hands slip around my waist. He pulls me against him as he sits back on stack of wood. In the intermittent flashes of lightning, I see his full lips, his hungry eyes.
“I missed you,” I say.
“Come here,” he says in a commanding voice.
He pulls me close, holding me against him.
“You’re so warm,” I whisper as I slip my arms around his neck.
“You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, Amber Sweet.” He pushes a strand of wet hair behind my ear. His finger trails down my neck.
I close my eyes and tilt my head back as he leans in and kisses my neck. His lips find my ear.
“And I’m never gonna let you go.”
As the rain comes down, I sink deeper into him.
***
In the morning, I find myself entwined with Gabe. My head finds the perfect spot on his shoulder as I breathe in his intoxicating masculine scent. As I move my hand across his chest, I listen to the bird chip outside. Sunlight pours in through the small shed window. It’s not raining anymore.
I snuggles deeper against Gabe, reliving the moment last night when we said I love you. Excitement blooms inside my belly as I think about it. I chreish the moment, knowing I’d be thinking back on it for the rest of my life.
The sound of voices outside interrupts my daydream.
Shit.
We slept in!
Sitting up, I push Gabe awake.
“Gabe, wake up.”
“Huh?” He squints at me.
“You can check, but I assure you he’s not here,” Marigold’s voice says.
A deep male voice says something back. Gabe sits up instantly. He looks at me with a worried expression.
“Who is that?” I ask.
A knock at the door causes both of us to jump.
“Fuck!”
Grabbing our clothes, we stand up but the door pushes open. Sunlight pours into the shed. Gabe and I both look up with stunned expressions like deers in headlights.
“What the fuck,” a brunette woman says.
“Oh, Gabriel.” An older man shakes his head. He’s got salt-and-pepper hair and a blue suit that looks out of place out here in the forest.
Marigold is standing behind them with her hands on her mouth, clearly shocked to see us still here.
“Umm.” Gabe grabs his pants. I see the keys to the motorcycle fall out his pocket and onto the ground as he pulls the pants on. He looks at me. “Give me two seconds.”
He grabs his shirt and pulls it on as he steps outside. Everyone is already walking back to the house except for the woman. She’s stunningly beautiful in a short pink dress.
“Gabriel!” She throws her arms around him and kisses him.
I furrow my brow. “What the—”
She touches the back of his neck, whispering something into his ear. When she’s done whispering, she leans in and kisses him on the lips.
The air sucks out of my lungs. “The fuck?”
Gabe pulls away from the woman but she steps forward. There’s a familiarity between them as the woman touches his cheek. Their conversation gets heated. My heart is pounding. My mind begins to race. I think back to Chuck and all the excuses he gave me. All the lies. And now Gabe is revealing new layers every day. I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Looking for my clothes, I pull them on and step out of the shed.
“Gabe, what’s going on?” I ask.
He turns away from the beautiful woman, allowing me to see her clearly for the first time. I look into her eyes and have a brief moment of recognition. She looks vaguely familiar but I don’t know from where.
“Gabriel, honey, I don’t think we should be out here.” She takes his hand as she looks around at the woods. “I just know that damn photographer is out here somewhere. I wouldn’t want to be seen out here with… her.”
She looks at me with an expression that’s equal parts scathing and dismissive.
Gabe pulls away from her. “She is Amber. And I love her.”
The woman begins to laugh. “Her? You’ve got to be kidding me.” The woman
takes a few steps closer, her heels sinking into the grass. “Who the hell are you anyway?”
“Who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?”
The woman raises her eyebrows in shock. “You don’t know who I am?”
Unimpressed, Amber shrugs. “Should I?”
Walking over to Gabe, the woman places a manicured hand on his shoulder, slipping the other around his arm. “I’m Sophie. Gabriel’s fiancé.”
“Fiancé?” My eyes connect with Gabe’s as my stomach sinks to my feet.
Nauseous… so nauseous.
“It’s not like that,” he says, pulling away from an annoyed Sophie. “This isn’t what it looks like at all. It’s fake. It’s all fake.”
I shake my head. “But she kissed you.”
“What has he told you about me?” Sophie puts her hand on her hip.
“Nothing.” I shake my head as I look at Gabe. “He told me nothing.”
“You don’t even talk about me?” Her shrill voice causes a few nearby birds to fly away.
“Amber, please go inside so we can talk… in privacy,” he urges as he looks out toward the forest.
“No! We can talk here if you have nothing to hide.”
Gabe runs his hands through his hair as I step closer to him. He looks around, first at his father who is waiting by the house, then to Sophie who is pulling away in annoyance side.
“They have a fake life for me. It’s not what it looks like. That’s not me.”
“I know,” I say. “But still, you didn’t tell me. Can I not handle the truth? Do you not expect me to understand?”
“I was just afraid. It’s not an excuse, but it’s the truth. I didn’t want to scare you away or drag you into anything.”
Tensing my jaw, I look away.
“I don’t know what to say, Gabe.” Tears threten to fall down my cheeks. “I really thought you’d get me to the festival.”
“And I still will,” he insists. “I’m going to smooth things over with Victor, and then we’ll hit the road.”
“Like hell you will,” Sophie says. We both turn around to look at her. She’s got my guitar in one hand and she’s holding it over her head. “This yours?”
“Sophie, put that down,” Gabe orders.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Sophie holds the guitar higher over her head. “If we’re not going to have a wedding today, then at least we’ll have a break up.”
She brings the guitar down hard onto the ground. I wince as I listen to the sickening CRACK! The curve of the guitar’s body is crushed enough to cause the strings to vibrate in a dull chord. Everybody stares at the sad guitar as it wails a sad note.
“Oh my god. What the hell did you do? It’s broken.” I walk up to the guitar. “Broken.”
In a split moment, my dream of playing the Rock Heart Festival slips away. How will I play without a guitar?
“What. The. FUCK?” My body is singing with heat and anger. My hands are shaking.
Sophie shrugs. “Oops. I guess that’s what you get for messing up my wedding weekend.”
My gaze flashes up to Gabe’s. “You. You lied to me. Again.”
“Amber, this isn’t real. Please, let me fix this.”
I shake my head as I pick up the remains of my splintered guitar. “This can’t be fixed.”
“Amber, I’m so sorry.”
“Gabriel!” That deep booming voice says.
I back away in disgust. Gabe follows me.
“Please…” He rushes to my side.
“Why didn’t you tell me about her?” I ask in a soft, broken voice.
“Because she doesn’t matter to me.” He moves into my frame of view with unwavering eye contact.
My heart is racing and my head is dizzy.
“It’s a publicity stunt,” he explains. “It was arranged by a media team. I’ve never loved her. I don’t even really know her. I love you. You’re the one I want to be with.”
I swallow past the hard lump in my throat.
“Gabriel!” That deep voice beckons again.
“Give me twenty minutes,” he says. “Twenty minutes and I’ll be on the road.”
I stay silent.
“Say something,” he says.
“I could’ve left last night,” I say. “I could be in New York City by now.”
“I know.” He looks down. “But we’ll get there tonight.”
I swallow back the emotion.
“Amber, you’re everything to me,” he continues. “I wish I could show you how much you mean to me.”
“But I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”
“You do. You do.” The sadness in his voice is more than I can bear.
“Was anything you told me about yourself true?”
“Yes.” He takes both my hands and holds them in his. “Everything between us was genuine, I promise.”
I see the sincerity in his eyes. The fact that I believe him makes this all the more painful.
“I can’t disappoint myself again,” I say.
He stares at me in confusion.
The older man appears behind Gabe.
“Gabriel,” his deep voice booms. “Enough of this nonsense.”
“Give me a minute, Victor.” He looks back at me. The authoritative tone in his voice is a departure from his usual tone. “Twenty minutes. That’s all I need.”
Hesitating, I stare into his dark eyes. I can bring myself to answer.
“Gabriel?”
Gabe pulls away. As he starts arguing with his father, I pull back toward the shed. I have the broken guitar in my hand.
What the hell do I do? How many more times can I keep making the same mistake? Looking at the floor of the shed, I see the keys that fell out of Gabe’s pocket earlier.
It’s now or never.
Grabbing the keys, I wheel the motorcycle out onto the forest path. Securing my bag and guitar to my back, I pull on the helmet and start the engine. I’m gone before anyone even notices.
24
FAMILY REUNION
Gabriel
A loud noise catches our attention. I look up just in time to see the motorcycle whipping through the path in the trees.
Amber.
My heart picks up its beat. Yes. I want her to go to New York City. I’m just angry at myself because she’s gonna think I’m a scumbag. I am a scumbag. Why didn’t I tell her everything? The real stuff and the fake stuff. Fuck.
“That woman just stole my motorcycle!” Victor says. “I’m calling the police!”
He starts dialing a number on his phone.
“You won’t get any reception out here,” I say. “Even a billionaire like you can’t make a call.”
Victor lets out a grunt of annoyance. “More reason to get out of this place.”
I’m torn between granting Victor’s wish and catching up with Amber in his car, or stalling in order to give Amber a head start. After all, once Victor gets ahold of the police, who knows what’ll happen. I can’t accidently sabotage her like that. God, this is worse than I expected.
Sophie steps up to me. “Do you know how much I had to pay that photographer not to send those photos of you and that girl to Celebstarz?”
“I don’t care,” I say.
“It was a small fortune! Money that could’ve gone toward our honeymoon.”
“We’re not getting married, Sophie. At all.”
Her chin wrinkles. “But that’s not what we agreed to!”
She looks at Victor with a pleading stare.
“Great, you two are making plans about my life again? It’s not happening.”
“So, we’re not getting married at all?” Sophie looks at Victor. “You told me he’d change his mind!”
Victor mumbles something before turning away from her.
“So, I won’t be a part of the Valentine Chase family legacy?” Tears well up in her eyes.
I roll mine. “What does it matter anyway? You’re already rich and famous.”
“Not Valentine famous!”
For a moment, I feel pity for her. All she cares about is notoriety. She doesn’t care about her craft or her work like my mom did.
“I guess this is over then,” Sophie says.
I jump, forgetting that she’s there.
“Yes,” I say. “It never really began.”
She sighs dramatically and looks at Victor. “I want the money you owe me for breaking the contract.”
Victor stares at her sternly. “We’ll discuss that later.”
“I guess it’s time to tell the truth, then,” I say.
“What?” She shrieks. “The truth?”
“Yeah. Tell everyone this wasn’t really a thing.”
“I can’t do that!” She puts her hands on her hips. “The world thinks I’ve been dating you for months now.”
“So?”
“So?” She clicks her tongue. “The world can’t know I’m a liar.”
“Why not? That’s what you are.”
“Ugh.” She shakes her head in annoyance. “Do you know how much money this story has made me? I’m not gonna let it go just yet. You’ll see.”
Unamused, I look away.
“I’ll wait by the car,” she says to Victor. She crosses her arms and marches off toward the driveway, sinking into the grass with each step of her very high heel.
My jaw pulses with tension as I look back at Victor. “Even when negotiating your publicity stunts, you manage to scare away the client.”
He looks at me with a vitriolic stare. “You really messed things up for me, you know?”
I clench my jaw. “I messed things up for you?”
“It would’ve been a lot smoother if you just played along.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want to play along. I’m not like you. I don’t need the world to see me a certain way.”
Victor simply stares at me with that hardened look in his eyes that I’ve grown acquainted with.
“Victor, what the hell do you want from me?”
“I don’t know anymore.” He shakes his head and looks around the property. “Is this what you want? To stay here?”
I look around at Miss Marigold’s place. It’s at its height of beauty—the rose bushes are in full bloom, the maple trees are green and lush, and Marigold’s house is shining in the sun.
“This place is amazing,” I say. “But I don’t want to stay here. I want to be out in the real world, living my own life.”
Chase: A Secret Millionaire Romance Novel Page 18
