"I tried to warn you."
"I know, and I should have listened." Grady sighed. "Well, get a load of this development: We're leaving tomorrow morning for New York City to do a few morning talk shows."
She gripped the phone tighter. "I'm not surprised."
"I want you to be with us. You're part of the success story and part of my life. At least, I hope so. But we're doing it to talk about lupus awareness, not Heartbeat," he said, but she could tell there was more. She inhaled a breath, bracing herself. "And we've decided to do an EP with Mom's song, the slowed-down version of ‘Give Me Another Tomorrow,' and Oliver's ‘Love Me, Baby.' The proceeds will go toward Mom's foundation."
"I think that's wonderful."
"We're going to do a concert here and there for a couple of reasons. First, it gives us the chance to raise more money for the foundation by keeping us in the media, and we'll be able to travel. But the events will be done sparingly, not a full-fledged tour. We decided that after the hard work we might as well do a few appearances. We had to make these decisions pretty quickly."
"I knew you'd be bombarded with immediate offers."
"We'll only do a few. I promise."
"I told you I didn't want any promises."
"I didn't want you to hear any of this in interviews on TV. Arabella, please just come home. Go with us tomorrow. Or meet us there? I want you to be with me. It won't be the same without you."
Arabella had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying.
"Please."
"Grady, I have to take a few days of calm."
"New York would be fun. We can stay and sightsee, go to a play. . . ."
The hopefulness in his voice clawed at her heart. "There are a few things I need to do."
"Will you at least tell me where you're at? Where you're going?" He hesitated. "If you're coming back?"
"I have to come back. I'm driving your car."
"I don't care about the damned car," he said with the first little edge of anger. "I just want you back here."
"A few days. That's all I need. Please understand and be patient. Okay? Remember when you needed time to think things through?"
///
"That was different," he said, and in truth, it was.
"Can you give me a breather?"
The brief hesitation made Arabella's heart thud.
"Okay," he said in a tired tone. "Arabella, I'm sorry about the chaos after the show. If there had been a way to get to you, I would have done it."
"You've got nothing to be sorry about. This is just me needing to sort some things out." She closed her eyes, wondering if she was doing the right thing by going to Cincinnati rather than New York. "I thought I had everything figured out. Really. But my life has changed so rapidly. I just need to let my brain catch up with my heart."
"I love you, Arabella," he said softly. "Remember that while you're thinking things through."
"I love you too. That I know for sure. And I'm so proud of the performance tonight. You guys absolutely blew me away." Arabella couldn't keep the tremble of emotion from her voice.
"Thanks."
"And tell Jimmy, Jesse, and Oliver I said so too."
"I will. Safe travels," he said, but she could hear the sadness in his tone, and this felt a little bit scary, like a farewell, even though it wasn't meant to be.
"You too," she said, and ended the call. She sat there in the hotel room feeling terribly guilty and alone, but she knew she had to get to the bottom of why she had felt so panicked, and her grandmother's home was the best place for her to sift through the last few months and get a clear picture of her future. And Grady needed to make any Heartbeat decisions without her input or presence.
And she needed to slow the hell down.
She couldn't believe she'd damned near sold herself out to Maxine Morgan! Arabella groaned at the thought. Desperation had brought her to Sea Breeze, but she'd never dreamed the decision would be so life-altering on so many levels. With the constant activity of getting ready for the reunion concert, especially the past couple of weeks, she hadn't really thought much about the fact that she'd moved from California, sold her business, and rekindled her relationship with Grady. . . . She'd revisited fond memories, opened old wounds. In just a little over two months, her life had changed so much.
God . . .
Arabella reminded herself that she wasn't running away but simply taking a breather. When her pulse started to pound again, she told herself that everything would be okay, and then reached for her purse, hoping to find a peppermint.