Spin My Love(47)

“When’s the wedding?” he asks as he sits down in the sand.

“She said next January. She needs time to plan, and she wants a beach wedding so she wants it during summer.”

“She always did want a beach wedding,” Gage muses.

“I remember,” I add, thinking back to when Giselle was thirteen and raving on about her future wedding. “She said her bridesmaids were going to wear bikinis.”

“I wonder if that still stands,” he replies with a smirk.

“Why? Is Bianca going to be a bridesmaid?” I ask him.

“They don’t even know each other yet!”

“Well, she doesn’t have many other friends,” I say. “Like she always tells me.”

“True.” Gage laughs. “Just Levi and me. And I’m her brother, so I don’t even count.”

“She said Ciara will fly down to be her maid-of-honour,” I say.

“That’s good,” Gage replies, but I don’t miss his slight grimace.

A chuckle escapes me. “You and Ciara?”

He groans and turns to look at me. “Once or twice. Or every day for a whole year.”

I laugh at him, hard. “Will she start shit?”

Gage thinks it over. “I don’t think so. I just don’t want Bianca to be uncomfortable.”

I make a whipping sound.

“Like you can talk,” he grumbles. I ignore that. I’m way beyond whipped. They need to invent a whole new word to describe what I’m feeling.

“Will your parents come down for the wedding?” I ask. Giselle hasn’t spoken much about them. I asked her a few times, but she just said that they try and keep in touch over the phone.

“I think they will,” he says. “At least, they better.”

“What happened?” I ask him.

“They just grew apart after Parker was born. They were angry, saying she was throwing her life away. Especially when she wouldn’t tell them who the father was; they assumed she was sleeping around and didn’t know who the father was. Words were said, and sometimes, no matter how sorry you are, you can’t take words back. They leave an imprint.”

My hands clench. “And I was off living my life while she was here dealing with all this shit.”

“You didn’t know, man.”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll never forgive myself.”

“It’s in the past. Let it go,” he says sagely.

I hate that a certain song enters my head after he says those lines. On the plus side, it lightens my mood. Damn Disney.

“She’s forgiven you; I think it’s time you forgive yourself.”

He’s right. If only it were that easy.

We lay in the sun for a bit, then grab our surfboards and hit the water. Just like the old days.





Chapter Twenty-two

Tane

“Hello,” I say, lifting my phone to my ear.

“Hi Tane, it’s Leanne,” says an assertive female voice.

“Hey Leanne, what’s up?”

“Next week you’re officially back to work, so I’m calling to go through a few prospective shows for you. There has been quite a few calls from people interested in having you play.”

I sigh. I can’t believe how much I’m dreading going back to work. I love what I do, but I love my family more. That realisation hits me pretty hard.

“Alright, give me the run down,” I say, rubbing my brow.



*****



Giselle

“So, when will you be leaving?” I ask him. I can’t hide my disappointment. I knew he’d have to go back to work eventually; heck, he’d told me enough times. Whenever it came up, I’d constantly put it to the side just because I didn’t want to imagine what our lives would be like without him here. Parker and I had gotten used to having him in our little family—not that that will change. It’s the day to day that will be different when he’s traveling.

“Next Thursday,” he says, his expression equally as forlorn. Nine days away.

I move closer to him, pressing my chest against his. “I’m going to miss you,” I tell him as I wrap my arms around his neck.

“I’m going to miss you more,” he says, bending down to press a kiss against my neck. “Both of you.”

I let out a long regretful sigh. “This sucks.”

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he says. He looks forlorn, and it makes me feel bad. I don’t want him to feel guilty for doing something he loves. I knew what I was getting into.

I muster up my best smile. “Don’t be,” I say, giving him a gentle kiss. “We’ll make it work.”

“You’re amazing,” he tells me. I run my hand through his hair, cupping him at the nape.