I’ll Be There (29 page)

“It wasn't about her, it was about me!”

“That's the problem! She needed your support, but you were too focused on yourself and the fact that you couldn't throttle the guy. And how did you deal with that? You said to her face exactly what you threatened those guys for saying behind her back. Did it make you feel better? Did that make you a bigger man, putting her down?”

He couldn't speak even if he wanted to. He simply shook his head.

“Personally, I can't believe she stayed as long as she did. It's a good thing she didn't say ‘I love you,' because—”

“She did.” Zach looked up, his expression bleak. “She told me, that day, that she loved me.”

“And you didn't believe her?”

“I didn't. I was so out of my mind and just couldn't hear what she was saying.”

“Wow.”

“I know.”

Ethan looked at his watch. “Come on. The car's probably downstairs. Let's go.”

“I don't want to ruin your wedding, Ethan. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that.”

“It doesn't seem like you're really living right now anyway. Might as well come along and at least go through the motions for a little longer.”

Zach knew going was the right thing to do. He owed it to Ethan. And to Summer. They had put up with him almost as much as Gabriella had. With a weary sigh, he walked over to his closet and took out his suitcase and jacket and walked out of his office. The reception area was quiet. It had been quiet for three months. He hadn't hired a replacement. Gabriella's assistant had been dealing with everything and keeping a wide berth between them while doing it.

The elevator doors opened and Ethan stood there waiting. “You coming?”

A quick nod was Zach's only response.

* * *

She hadn't really set out to do it, but it just so happened her all-day movie marathon to take her mind off her crappy life was all about female empowerment—
The Hunger Games
,
A League of Their Own
,
Brave
… By the time
Erin Brockovich
was starting, Gabriella noticed the pattern.

“Why am I hiding out?” she asked herself out loud. “Why am I the one sacrificing my life because of the small-minded thinking of others?” Clicking off the TV, she went in search of her phone and immediately dialed the first number that came to mind.

Her sister's.

“Hey, Mel,” she said when her sister answered the phone. “How are you?”

“Gabby? Oh my gosh. Fine. How…how are you? Wait…why are you calling me? You never call me.”

“I know. I normally try to stay out of your life, but I have some things to say and you're going to listen for once.”

“Well, really, Gabriella, why would I do that if you're just calling to nag me? I'm just saying—”

“No, actually,
I'm
just saying. And I want you to just be quiet for once, and listen.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

For the next hour Gabriella went on to tell Melissa just how she felt—from how she wasn't the older sister she'd wanted to be to Mel, to how Alan had come to proposition her in Portland.

“But…but he said he was in San Francisco. Why would he lie to me?”

Gabriella gave a long-suffering sigh. “
He is a liar
. He is a cheat. I have been telling you the truth for years. Despite the fact that you continually choose to believe him over me, you're my sister and believe it or not, I do love you. You deserve better than him. You deserve to be with a man who loves you and respects you. That's not Alan. It's never been Alan. Aren't you tired of putting up with a man who thinks so little of you that he's still out trolling for women?”

“Of course I am, but why would he keep after you specifically unless…there was something going on between you.”

“That was never the case, Mel. I
never
had feelings for Alan as anything more than a friend. Believe me, I was shocked he turned out to be such a dog. But haven't you had enough?”

Melissa was silent for a long moment. “I…I thought you were just, you know, jealous. At first… I admit that at first I really only wanted to date him to piss you off. And then you went away and I kind of felt victorious.” She paused. “And then I realized what a complete moron he was, but at least I had someone. And Mom and Dad love him, which made me feel like I made the right choice, too. They think he's amazing.”

“Tell Dad how his amazing son-in-law has been spending the family money and cheating on you and see how amazing they still think he is.”

“Gabby…I…I don't know what to say. I mean, why are you even doing this? Why now?”

“I'm tired of living like this. I'm tired of being a victim to other people's closed minds. I never wanted to hurt you, but I'm also tired of getting hurt.”

Melissa was silent for a moment. “What now, Gabby? What do we do from here?”

“That's completely up to you. If it were me, I'd kick Alan's sorry ass out. But first, make sure you have enough ammunition to take him to the cleaners in the divorce.”

Mel and Gabriella both laughed at that.

They talked for a few more minutes and by the time they hung up, they both promised to put in an effort to make their relationship better. Gabriella was just relieved they were both willing to try.

It was the first of three phone calls Gabriella made. The second one was to her boss, Mr. Anderson, to give him a heads-up that she would be giving her two weeks' notice. He didn't seem surprised by her announcement.

“Thank you for being willing to stay on for the standard two weeks, but it won't be necessary. My beloved wife of forty years is here to help out,” Mr. Anderson said with such tenderness in his voice it made Gabriella want to throw up, or cry. Or both. “May I ask what you're going to be doing now? I assume you found a better job.” There was no condemnation in his tone, just general curiosity.

“Actually, I haven't found another job yet. But I think it's time I went after something I'm passionate about. Something of my own.”

“Well, whatever it is, Miss Martine, I know you're going to be successful at it. Good luck to you.”

“Thank you, sir. Thank you for everything.”

The third call had been to her parents. She made sure they were each available to talk and then blasted them for picking favorites in their children and for not backing her when she needed them the most. They didn't put up as much of a fight as she'd expected—it was almost as if they'd known for a long time they'd done something wrong but didn't know how to go about making it right. She told them about her conversation with Melissa so they could be prepared for whatever was going to happen there.

By the time she hung up with her parents, she felt like she could conquer the world. No one had taken too kindly to her harsh words—at first—but by the end of each conversation she had gotten all her years of hurt and resentment off her chest, and their acknowledgment of their part in causing it.

Sitting back on her oversize sofa, she was feeling pretty darn good. She had faced her demons and the sky didn't fall. She couldn't say she was ready to move back to Seattle, but things were going to be all right. They no longer had any control over her.

That only left one final call.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone and scrolled through her contacts and hit Call. And waited.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it's me,” she said. “I think it's time we talked.”

* * *

Zach's tie was choking him and the smile he'd kept plastered on his face for the last twenty-four hours was painful. Just a few more hours and he could hop a plane back to Portland and be done with all this wedding nonsense. The only good thing about the whole weekend was that Ethan was true to his word—no one had mentioned Gabriella to him at all. There were some sad and pitying looks, but those were easy enough to ignore.

The wedding was in less than an hour, and as he stood in the corner and watched the flutter of activity going on around him, his thoughts strayed to Gabriella. How could they not? She should be here with him. They should be looking at all the choices Ethan and Summer made for their wedding and talking about how they would do it for theirs.

He sighed.

“You're looking mighty dapper today, Zach,” William said as he strode over, a glass of champagne in his hands. “Can you believe your baby sister is getting married?”

Safe topic, Zach thought. “It certainly seems weird.”

“Hmm…I imagine it does. I'm glad she's marrying a good man like Ethan. He's been like family for years. They're going to be good for one another.”

Zach nodded and reached for his own glass.

“I think they're going to have a hard time finding the balance between the two coasts. Are you prepared for the possibility of Ethan moving here?”

It wasn't something Zach had thought about too much. He shrugged. “I wouldn't hold him back, if that's what you mean. I want him and Summer to be happy.” He took a sip of his champagne. “It might take a while to get used to working with someone new—after all, Ethan and I have known one another our entire lives. We can communicate practically without uttering a word. We have plenty of potential to hire from within the company, but still, it won't be easy to find a replacement.”

William chuckled. “Certainly not. It's not easy to find the right people, period.” He paused. “Can I let you in on a little secret?”

Zach stifled a groan. He really didn't want to socialize and he'd had all the family banter he could stand for the moment, but he wasn't going to be rude. “Sure.”

“Your aunt Monica and I are like that. That woman is in my head and knows what I'm thinking almost before I do. It's downright freaky sometimes.”

Zach chuckled. “Well, you've been married for a long time. I suppose that's a contributing factor.”

William shook his head. “It was like that from the get-go. Monica worked for Montgomerys when my father was at the helm. She was a secretary—back when you could still use that word—and she worked in the human resources department.” He smiled at the memory. “I was smitten with her right away and was always looking for reasons to go down to see her. Of course she saw right through me. She seemed to know what I was bringing and then would follow it up with what she thought I should be doing rather than roaming around the office.”

“I can hear her lecturing you,” Zach said, the fondness in his voice very clear.

“Finally, one day, I asked her out. I was so nervous I could barely get the question out, and you know what she said to me?”

“What?”

William laughed softly. “From her seat at her desk she looked up at me and said, ‘William Montgomery, if you hadn't wasted so much time bringing me silly nonsense paperwork, we could have been dating properly for over a month now!' I fell in love with her right then and there.” He sighed happily. “Of course, that was just the beginning. She was just so in tune with my thoughts, my dreams. We were friends before we were anything else. We still are.”

He reached over and gave Zach a friendly pat on the back. “What I'm getting at is when you look for someone to replace Ethan—if you have to replace him—make sure you genuinely like them. Don't just look at who they are on paper. Take the time to really get to know them.” William took another sip of his champagne. “And that's just good advice no matter what the relationship is, right?” He gave Zach's shoulder a gentle squeeze before walking away and blending into the crowd.

“Well, if I wasn't mildly depressed before, now I have to worry about Ethan leaving me too,” Zach murmured. The only difference was, Zach knew if Ethan left, it was so Summer would be happy. And that's really what Zach wanted, too. He looked at his watch. Forty minutes to go. He didn't want to chance any more chitchat with the relatives, but other than hiding in a closet he couldn't think of what he could do.

Call her.

He shook his head. He couldn't do it. Not right now. There was too much potential for them to argue again. He'd call her when he got home and try to make some sense out of…everything. Ethan was right; Zach was tired of being a jackass and he was tired of being miserable. He just wasn't sure how to correct those things without making matters worse.

The wedding coordinator—his sister-in-law Casey—walked into the room. “Okay, gentlemen, we are getting ready. In a few minutes, you're going to line up and walk out to the sanctuary and line up in front of the altar like we rehearsed last night. The photographer will get some pictures and then the ushers will continue escorting guests up the aisle until I give you the cue to get back in line.” She looked around the room and took a head count.

“At that point, the bridesmaids will begin their walk and then Summer and Robert will come up the aisle to you, Ethan. Then the ceremony. After Ethan and Summer are pronounced husband and wife, you will couple up with your assigned bridesmaid and follow them. We'll take pictures in front of the church after we go through the receiving line and then the remainder of the pictures will be taken at the reception venue.” She looked over the list in her hands.

“Please finish your drinks now, use the men's room, and be picture perfect when I come back for you!” And then she was gone.

Zach looked over at his brother Ryder and walked over to him. “She runs a tight ship.”

“It's not her first rodeo,” Ryder said with a smile. “It still amazes me how she gets it all done.”

“She looked completely in business mode. Is she going to change into her bridesmaid dress after she's done issuing orders?”

“Oh no. She's strictly here in coordinator-slash-guest mode. Her assistant's daughter got sick and couldn't be here to work the event, so Casey had to bail as a bridesmaid.”