Page 30 of Cakewalk

13

Gigi

“Oh for heaven’s sake!” Gigi exclaimed, turning the key in the ignition of her Jeep, listening to it click over and over again. She wasn’t quite sure why she expected it to start after almost thirty minutes of trying, but she was still holding out hope. This was the last thing she needed right now.

Two days since the incident in the kitchen and Gigi was still on edge. She’d managed to avoid Holden since, happy to not have to face him. She believed him when he’d told her he was sorry through the door, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to have to look him in the eye or talk to him. Right about now she could go the rest of her life without talking to Holden St. James.

Flipping the key one last time, Gigi said a little prayer. If this didn’t work, she was going to be forced to walk home from the Busy Bean. She’d gotten here at the crack of dawn, as part of Operation: Avoid Holden, and the last thing she wanted to do was walk back in this cold, dreary winter weather. The engine cranked like it wanted to start for a split second, but then returned to the same clicking as earlier. Gigi’s heart sank as she collapsed back into the driver’s seat.

It’s okay, Gigi, just call the tow truck and have it taken to the garage. Things like this happen to people all the time…

A knock on her driver side window startled her, causing her to jump and hit the horn on the steering wheel. The obnoxious noise that followed made both her and her visitor recoil, and she turned to see Holden cautiously approaching again. What is he doing here? She thought, taking in his muscular form, that he looked even bigger under the parka he had on. He moved his hand in a circular motion, indicating he wanted her to roll down the window. Gigi swallowed hard, suddenly nervous at being this close to the man who had knocked a turkey across the room the last time they had been together, but did as he asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, a nervous smile tugging at his lips.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, confused. This was way too late in the day for him to be going for his run. Had he been out running errands and saw her sitting here? Oh please, please, please don’t let him have witnessed today’s calamity…

“Kirk called, said your car wouldn’t start.”

Stupid Kirk. Why couldn’t he have just minded his own business. It was bad enough that she’d had to ask him if he could drive her home, only for him to look at her like she was crazy. How was she to know he had sold his car and walked everywhere to “reduce carbon emissions”? But now she also had to deal with the fact that he called and told on her? She had no idea when he was leaving for Costa Rica, but right about now it couldn’t be soon enough.

“Um, yeah. It just keeps making this clicking noise,” she offered up.

“Probably the alternator. Guys down at the garage will have to look at it.”

“Okay, good to know.”

“C’mon, I’ll give you a ride home.” He nodded his head in the direction of his truck across the parking lot. Had he really come into town just to pick her up?

“I have to call the tow truck,” she said, trying to make an excuse. It was a lame one—they both knew it—but it was all she could think of. While there was a part of her that was thrilled to see him and wanted to launch herself into his arms and cry, another part of her wanted more than just a car door between them.

“I already took care of that. Kirk is gonna watch for them. Just leave the keys in the visor.”

“And just what makes you think I’m going to get into a car with you?” she spat. The words were sudden and harsher than she intended, but she didn’t regret it. He needed to know that showing up like a white knight with a working vehicle didn’t mean that he was out of the doghouse.

Holden’s face fell at her reaction, a look of hurt taking over. Gigi steeled herself, trying to remember that she didn’t care if she hurt him. He’d hurt her worse.

“After the way I acted the other day, you have every right to not trust me. I was an ogre, and I am so, so sorry. But if you’ll just give me a chance, let me drive you home and I’ll explain everything. And if you still hate me, then I’ll help you find another place to live and move you there myself.”

Gigi looked him up and down. The sincere expression on his face made her just want to melt into his arms. Even after the events of the last couple of days, she did still trust him, even if she didn’t know why. But she was curious as to what set him off, and it seemed the only way she was going to get her answer was to take him up on his offer.

Nodding, she opened the door and slid out, placing her keys between the visor and the roof of the car. Holden helped her up into his truck, which he had left running so it was nice and warm. The short drive back to the house was silent and awkward, but no part of Gigi could bring herself to say anything. There was nothing to say.

Once they were inside the house, Gigi only felt more awkward. The fireplace in the living room was lit, giving the room a warm glow that was more inviting than she wanted to admit. Holden had moved the overstuffed couch closer to the fireplace, between the two large armchairs that normally flanked it, making it look like a scene from a magazine showing off the perfect New England fall Saturday night.

“Okay if we talk in here?” he asked, walking into the living room. “Fire feels good.”

Gigi nodded and headed toward the fire. Holden was right—the heat coming off of it did feel good. She watched as he sat down on one end of the couch, motioning for her to join him. Instead of taking the other end of the couch, though, she sat in one of the chairs—the one farthest from him, trying to put some space between them. A hurt look flashed across Holden’s face as he watched her purposefully sit as far as she could from him, but she didn’t care. She needed the space.

“Gigi, I’m so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped the way that I did. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never acted like that in my life. Which probably isn’t much of a consolation, but it’s the truth.”

“It’s not a consolation at all.” Everyone had a first time; she knew this all too well.

Holden nodded solemnly, turning on the couch so that he faced her. Running his hands through his hair, an almost tortured look crossed his face as he searched for the words, like he was unsure exactly where to start.

“Six and a half years ago my team won the league. Soccer in other countries is different than American sports. There isn’t a playoff system. It’s whatever team has the most points at the end of the season wins. We’d been in a battle with Liverpool all season long, and they were our last match of the season. We had one point on them in the standings, so as long as we didn’t lose that game, we won the cup. They were a tough team, with some of the best players in the world, but we managed to edge them out one nothing, and we won the cup,” Holden began, his voice tense. Gigi’s mind flashed back to the game—she knew it well. Bradley had taken to following the English Premier League that season due to a client of his being a big Liverpool supporter. Things had not ended well in their house when they lost that game. “It was one of the happiest moments of my life. Right up there with my wedding day and Hannah telling me she was pregnant. We were all kinds of hyped up after the game, and a bunch of my teammates wanted to go out and celebrate. Hannah was exhausted, and being seven months pregnant I couldn’t blame her. I told her I’d skip the celebrating and we’d just go home, but she was insistent that I go out with the guys. So I went out with them.”

Holden swallowed hard, and Gigi could see the tears glistening in his eyes. His large frame shook as he tried to steady himself. Gigi felt her heart ache already, anticipating what was coming next.