A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection (24 page)

If she thought back over the years, she was sure that she and Drew had discussed every one of her breakups, and most of his. He hadn’t said anything about dating anyone new, but Gemma hadn’t exactly given him a chance. His last serious relationship was a couple of years back, ending about the same time she started dating Randy. Valentina was her name. Drew dated the most interesting women, with the most interesting names.

Valentina was from Puerto Rico, absolutely gorgeous in the magazine-cover way, and, of course, she was a model. Turning onto Crown Parkway, Gemma couldn’t exactly remember why Valentina and Drew broke up. For a while it seemed they were close to being engaged, but Drew had been vague about the details.

Gemma bit her lip as her eyes involuntarily watered. She’d be spending the weekend listening to Liz and Drew talk about their exciting lives, while hers was in a major dead end. She shook her head, willing the tears back. She wasn’t going to feel sorry for herself; she hadn’t escaped work for three days to wallow. She tried to imagine what sorts of stories Drew would have, and who he might be dating.

The Five had always been a unique combination. None of the girls had dated Drew. Why not, she wasn’t sure, exactly. It was just sort of an unspoken rule. He was plenty good looking, even in high school, when he’d been as skinny as a rail. But it seemed they were all just good friends, and that was fine with everyone. It kept things from getting weird or awkward, which meant the Five were always a safe place to be themselves. A couple of years ago, Drew and Gemma had gone on a spur-of-the-moment double date. It wasn’t anything official—just a lot of fun. She’d been out a few times with Randy by then and was starting to like him a lot.

So she didn’t see the date with her and Drew as anything more than hanging out with a friend, and what made it entertaining was that the other couple they were with got into a huge fight. It made for a hilarious night—after the fact, of course. For months, she and Drew randomly texted each other things like
Are you mad at me?
to keep the joke going.

By the time the ocean came into view, Gemma discovered she was grinning at the memories. Grinning was good. Much better than crying over Randy. She hadn’t cried as much as she thought she would, and maybe that was because she sensed the tears coming and had steeled herself against them. Yet the tears were still there, waiting.

Gemma opened the car window, letting the warm sea air in. This weekend would be a turning point. New hair, new clothes, new relationship status. She glanced at her image in the rearview mirror, and her confidence went up a notch. She loved her new look, even if Randy hated it.

“Gemma!” a woman screamed as she climbed out of her car.

Liz was early. She barreled across driveway and pulled Gemma into a death squeeze—her trademark, which went perfectly with her saucy red curls and dimpled smile.

“I. Love. It!” Liz squealed. She drew away and took in Gemma’s hair.

“You do? I got it done yesterday.”

“If I hadn’t recognized your car, I wouldn’t have known it was you,” Liz said, hugging her again.

Gemma laughed then gasped for breath. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

“Drew is going to freak, and then he’ll start taking pictures.” Liz finally released her. “What does Randy think?”

“Oh.” For a moment Gemma had forgotten. The familiar burn started at the back of her eyes. “He didn’t say much about it. In fact, we broke up last night.”

Liz’s jaw dropped, and for a weird moment, Gemma admired her dental work. Her teeth were white and even, like a dental implant commercial.

“I didn’t know. I’m so-o-o sorry.” Liz’s eyes rounded. “What happened?”

“Let’s go inside,” Gemma said, not wanting to have this conversation on the side of the PCH with cars whizzing by. She grabbed her suitcase from the trunk then followed Liz inside the beach house. They rented the same one every year from a nice Japanese couple who divided themselves between continents. Somehow their place was always available during spring vacation.

“You are
so
getting the master bedroom,” Liz said, linking her arm through Gemma’s as they walked into the living room. The place was immaculate: pale blue walls, white couches, and gorgeous Turkish rugs.

“No, that’s okay,” Gemma said quickly. The master bed was massive, and it would make her feel even more single if she had to sleep in it. “I’ll take my usual room upstairs. It’s my favorite one.”

“Really, you can have the master. My boyfriend isn’t coming, and I don’t think Drew’s bringing anyone.”

Gemma hoped he wasn’t bringing anyone. Then again, she’d probably be on better behavior if he did. She would definitely sulk less about her pathetic breakup.

“Come in the kitchen,” Liz said. “While you spill the details, I’m making you brownies.”

That was Liz. Even before she had a kid, she’d been the mom of the group, always feeding them and watching out for everyone. “You’re amazing,” Gemma said.

“It’s just from a mix,” Liz said, pulling out a box from one of the grocery bags on the counter.

Gemma perched on a stool, and as Liz prepared the batter, Gemma told her about last night. Then she summarized the past couple of months with Randy. “I guess you could say I saw it coming, but maybe I didn’t want to know, so I never confronted him. And it turns out I was right. Things between us
had
changed.”

Liz reached across the counter and squeezed Gemma’s hand. “It sounds like with his eyes and brain wandering, his body would have been next.”

Gemma propped her elbows on the counter and rested her chin on her hands. “I know. It’s just that we’d dated for so long, I thought we were past all of that.”

“About two years, right?”

Gemma nodded. Liz slid the pan into one of the ovens. Gemma couldn’t imagine why the owners needed more than one oven with just the two of them. Maybe they entertained a lot. Liz pulled out a bag of licorice from another grocery sack then offered it to Gemma.

“If you keep this up, I’m going to have to go to the gym tomorrow,” Gemma said.

Liz laughed. “Monday. We’ll all go Monday, but not a minute sooner.”

“Does your daughter know what a junk-food addict you are?”

“No one knows,” Liz said, her dimple showing. “So we have to eat it before Drew gets here.”

Gemma snatched the bag and ripped open the top. If she couldn’t have love, there was always sugar. They settled on the couch, and their conversation turned to Liz’s boyfriend, Sloane. Gemma encouraged her to tell the latest, keeping a smile on her face. She didn’t want Liz to know that inside, she wanted to go crawl into the bed upstairs.

When a knock sounded at the front door, Gemma glanced at the clock. They’d been talking for two hours. The time had flown. “Is that Drew already?”

Liz jumped up and ran to the door. By her squeal, Gemma knew it was him.

She stood and turned to watch him enter. He smiled when he saw her, but there was something soft behind the smile, as if he was remembering their conversation on the phone. His dark hair was shorter than last time, but it still had its spikey look.

When he crossed over to hug her, Gemma said, “Oh my gosh. Do I see some gray?” She reached up to touch his short sideburns, and he swiped her hand away with a laugh then pulled her into a hug.

If there was one thing about Drew that Gemma loved, it was that he always gave the best hugs, ones that made a person feel cared for, which made Gemma envy his girlfriends. She could only imagine what else he did well.

Her face heated.
What am I thinking?
She pulled away and reached for his hair again. This time he let her touch it, a half smile on his face. “Why do men always look great with gray hair?”

He grabbed her hand. “You should talk. Look at you.”

Oh yeah.

“Don’t you love it?” Liz said, all smiles. She passed them and went into the kitchen to cut brownies for Drew.

“I do love it,” Drew said, his gaze on Gemma. His eyes held a bunch of questions.

She guessed what he was wondering. “I told Liz about Randy.”

He nodded and seemed to relax a bit, but he was still watching her, his hazel eyes greener than usual. “How are
you
doing?”

She shrugged. “Fine. It’s weird, I know, but I’m fine.” She let out a big sigh.

Drew gave her another hug, and this time Gemma allowed herself to melt against him.  She appreciated his height, six-foot something, versus Randy, who was only an inch taller than her 5’8”. Drew seemed reluctant to let her go.

Finally Gemma said, “I’ll be fine. Really.”

“It’s great to see you,” Drew said, releasing her. “Your haircut is awesome.”

Gemma touched her hair. “I think it was the final straw for Randy.”

Drew quirked a brow like he didn’t believe her. “What did he say?”

“It’s what he
didn’t
say.” Gemma headed for the kitchen.

Liz had piled a bunch of brownies on a plate and was leaning against the counter, texting or emailing on her phone.

“So y’all know my relationship saga,” Gemma said, settling on a stool. “What about you, Drew? Did you invite someone to join us this weekend?”

“Nope.” Drew popped a whole brownie in his mouth. One bite, and it was gone.

Men get away with a lot.

Liz slid a glass of milk in his direction, where he’d sat next to Gemma. He took a long drink then reached for another brownie.

“Not so fast,” Gemma said. “Who’s your new lady love?”

Liz pulled the plate of brownies out of Drew’s reach, joining the game. “Yeah, who is she? A
Sports Illustrated
swimsuit model?”

Drew groaned and folded his arms, shaking his head.

“One of those runway models from Milan?” Gemma asked.

Drew dipped his head and scrubbed at his hair. “I prefer women who weigh more than a hundred pounds, thank you. Give me some credit.”

Liz smirked. “You get no credit with us. Not after all the women we’ve had to meet and play nice around. Fess up. Is she from France? Beijing?”

Drew cracked a smile.

“I knew it!” Liz said. “She’s Asian!”

“No.” Drew spread his hands out. “She’s not Asian; she’s not anything. I’m not dating anyone.”

Liz laughed, and Gemma joined her. Drew not dating was as rare as a quiet Friday afternoon on a California freeway.

He half stood and snatched the plate from Liz. Before she could stop him, he’d grabbed two brownies. “You don’t have to believe me, but it’s the truth. I haven’t dated anyone since... well, for a couple of years now, I guess.”

“Two
years
?” Liz asked. “Since... Valentina?”

“After we broke up, things got really busy, and I was traveling more than anything else.” He popped one of the brownies in his mouth.

Gemma couldn’t believe he didn’t have at least one or two women wondering where he was this weekend, and doubted Liz believed him either. But they had three days to get the truth out of him.

Chapter Four

Liz had taken off to browse a few touristy shops in search of a gift for her daughter, so Gemma decided to join Drew at the beach. He’d brought a surfboard he’d “pulled out of retirement.”

Gemma didn’t remember Drew surfing much in high school, but then again, every California kid surfed at some point.

With a moment to herself, she climbed the stairs to her bedroom and changed into the new swimsuit she’d bought the day before. It was yellow and white striped, two-piece, and way different than her usual black or navy suits.

But I’m a new Gemma now.

She turned in the mirror, checking the fit. She definitely wasn’t a 100-pound model. She was in decent shape, but could probably be better if she were obsessive about it. Still, she pulled on a tank shirt and a sarong skirt and walked down the steps to the beach.

Gemma spotted Drew’s towel spread out on the sand, but no Drew. Six or seven surfers rode the swells. Gemma couldn’t pick him out, since they all wore the same type of wetsuits, but she set her bag and towel by Drew’s.

She slipped out of her top and skirt, then lathered on sunscreen—a vast difference from high school, when she used nothing but tanning oil. These days, her tans were more like a rash of freckles. The ocean sounds were soothing, filling her ears with repetitive calm. Gulls screeched, but even their cries were no match for the volume of the incoming waves.

Gemma hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes, relishing the warm, salty breeze and relaxing with the knowledge that she had no place to be today or tomorrow or the next day. She blew out a breath then inhaled. Her body relaxed. If only she could get her mind to do the same.

On impulse, she dug her phone out of her bag and dialed her mom’s number. Maybe if she got over this one hurdle, she could really relax. She’d already blubbered to Drew and Liz—why not to her parents? Get it done with all in the same day.

When her mom picked up, answering in a cheery voice, Gemma almost changed her mind. But then she decided to plow through and gave her mom the rundown of the Randy breakup.

Her mom was quiet for several moments on the other end of the line. “It seems so sudden, especially after two years together.”

Gemma explained that she’d known something was off for at least a month. Then her dad got on the phone, and Gemma repeated most of the story. Her dad wasn’t quite as understanding as her mom, and used a few choice words to describe Randy.

“It’s better this way,” Gemma said when her dad was done ranting. “I’d rather know now than later, like when we’re engaged or married.”

A dozen yards in front of her, Drew emerged from the water, carrying a surfboard.

Gemma reiterated to her parents that she was spending the weekend on the beach and would see them sometime Monday. She hung up just as Drew spotted her. She waved; he smiled and continued in her direction. Gemma realized she was staring at Drew as he walked toward her in his fitted wetsuit. She forced herself to look away.

When he reached her, he peeled off the wetsuit until he was only in his board shorts, then he dropped down beside her. He was dripping wet and out of breath. “Wow,” he said. “I almost died out there.” He flopped back and stared at the sky, breathing heavily.