See You Later Broadway (Broadway Series Book 2) Page 3

  Here we go, I think to myself.

  “I can’t make you any promises that we will end up together,” I say softly. “But, I can promise that I will be a friend to him.”

  She smiles. “Mmmhmm . . . friends, we’ll see about that. The longer you two fight it, the more you will be in turmoil.”

  I refuse to argue with a ninety-year-old woman who’s ill. But, I’m also not going to make any “deathbed” promises.

  “My grandson is unsettled in his life, very restless,” she continues. “He can’t see what’s right in front of him.”

  I just listen without responding to her.

  “He’s damn annoying, though, so I can understand you being reluctant.” She pauses. “My Charles was annoying, too, but I loved him more than life itself.”

  I can’t help but smile. I have always enjoyed her stories about Charles. Even though my grandmother and Beatrice had a bit of a falling out because of Charles, they both still found true happiness in the end.

  “I’m proud of you for trying to make your dreams a reality and I know Maris is, too.” She clears her throat. “Thank you for being a wonderful friend to me.”

  I fight back more tears for fear she will yell at me again.

  “And thank you for everything,” I whisper.

  I lean in to give her a hug.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Trevor apologizes.

  I stand up and wipe the corners of my eyes where the tears are sitting, just waiting to pour out.

  “There’s my favorite grandson.” She beams.

  I think this is my cue to leave. Her family needs to spend this time with her, and I don’t think I can handle any more conversations about my personal life.

  “I’m your only grandson,” he says with a laugh. He walks over to her bedside and fixes her pillow. Next, he pours her a fresh cup of ice water. I have to admit watching him dote over her is very sweet.

  “I’m going to give you two some time,” I announce, leaning down to give Beatrice another hug.

  “Give him another chance. He’s in love with you, even if he doesn’t realize it,” she whispers.

  Um . . . what? Did she just say that Trevor’s in love with me?

  “Gran, stop telling secrets,” Trevor says with a half smile.

  “Oh, shush,” she says, clearing her throat.

  I can’t even look at Trevor. I don’t deny that I have feelings for him, but the stubborn girl inside me doesn’t want to admit it.

  “Maris?” Trevor calls, giving me a strange look. “You okay?”

  I nod my head absently. “Yes. My mind was just wandering.” I glance at Beatrice who winks at me. I squeeze her hand before practically sprinting out of the room.

  I try not to create a scene as I rush down the hall toward the elevator, still holding in my tears. I pound on the button as if my life depended on it. The doors finally open and I jump inside. Before the door closes, Trevor rushes in.

  Chapter 5

  “What are you doing?” I exclaim. “You should be with your grandmother.”

  He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I know, but she told me to come find you. I didn’t want to upset her, so . . . here I am. Why did you run out like that?”

  I exhale. “I just needed to get out.”

  I try to put Beatrice’s words out of my head. How am I supposed to look at Trevor the same without thinking about what she said? Of course, it’s very possible that she was trying to get me worked up. And it’s completely possible that it’s just wishful thinking on her part.

  “I totally get it,” he says, moving a little closer to me. “It’s hard seeing her like this.”

  The elevator finally arrives in the lobby and the doors open. We both exit.

  “Thanks for checking on me. You can tell Beatrice that I’m okay.”

  He hesitates. “I didn’t just come to check on you because she told me to. I wanted to see if you were okay.”

  We stand awkwardly in the middle of the lobby.

  “I wanted to thank you again for coming to see her. It really means a lot to my family.”

  I smile. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  Trevor stares at me but doesn’t say a word. I can’t help but feel drawn to him as well.

  “You better get back,” I say softly.

  He opens his mouth to say something.

  I put my hand on his arm. “Please keep me posted.”

  He nods quickly. I turn to leave before he has a chance to say anything else. I think I’ve had enough emotional moments today to last me the rest of the year.

  ~*~*~

  “I wish I had more time to spend with you,” Georgie says. We’re sitting in the cafeteria eating dinner while she’s on her break.

  “Me, too.”

  After my visit with Beatrice and Trevor, I spend most of my day driving around. I even drove past my parents’ old house. They sold it shortly before I moved to New York, and I admit I was slightly devastated. I acted like a spoiled child when they decided to move to a condo on the beach.

  I parked out front and got really sentimental reminiscing about my childhood. Hopefully the new owners didn’t notice and call the cops because of the crazy girl stalking their house. (The crazy girl being me.)

  “So, has Trevor said anything about dropping off the face of the earth?”

  I shake my head. “No, and it’s definitely not the time to bring up our . . . um . . . situation.”

  I haven’t said anything to Georgie about what Beatrice said. In fact, I’m trying not to think about it.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks, giving me a curious look. “I mean, I know you were close to Beatrice, but is something else going on?”

  Georgie has known me a long time. And she knows I’m not very good at hiding my emotions.

  “It’s Trevor, isn’t it?”

  Thankfully, my phone rings before I have to answer her. And his ears must have been burning because it’s Trevor. Georgie raises her eyebrows.

  “Hello,” I answer.

  “She’s gone, Maris.”

  My heart sinks, and I put my hand to my face. I look at Georgie.

  “Is it Beatrice?” she whispers.

  I nod.

  She reaches over and rubs my arm. I get up from the table and head outside.

  “I’m so sorry, Trevor.” I swallow the lump that’s sitting in my throat.

  “Can I see you?” he exclaims. “I need to get out of here.”

  I remember my promise to Beatrice. I told her I would be a friend to him, especially right now. As confusing as it is, I need to fulfill that promise.

  “Of course. I’m just finishing dinner with Georgie.” I stop. “I’m staying at Cassie’s. You can come over if you want or I can come to you.”

  I really don’t want him to come to Cassie’s. She’s much too nosy and I will never hear the end of it, even under the circumstances. Thankfully, we agree to meet at his place.

  When I get back to the table, Georgie gives me a hug.

  “I’m sorry, Maris, I know how important Beatrice was to you.”

  I nod sadly, although I keep remembering what Beatrice said to me about this being a good thing. She did live a long and happy life and she wouldn’t want us to be sad.

  “Trevor must be a wreck,” she adds.

  I quickly send a text to Cassie and my mom letting them know about Beatrice.

  “Yeah, he is,” I tell her. “I’m going to stop over on my way back to Cassie’s.”

  She raises her eyebrows. “He asked to see you, didn’t he?”

  I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly. “Yes, but it’s not like that. He’s grieving.”

  Georgie hides her smile and stands up. “I have to get back anyway. Give Trevor my best.”

  When I get in the car, I finally get a chance to listen to my messages. Sure enough, there’s a message from Liv. And to think, a few days ago I was anxiously waiting for her call. With everything that’s happening, it’s di
fficult to be excited. She says she wants to discuss something with me. I glance at the time, and it’s already after eight o’clock. I should probably wait until tomorrow to return her call. Of course, now I’m going to be thinking about it all night long. Oh well, if anything it will be a good distraction to keep me from thinking about Beatrice and Trevor.

  ~*~*~

  I nervously ring the doorbell at Trevor’s house. Believe it or not, I’ve only been here twice. When Trevor and I first met, I was still dating Kyle and he was with Giselle (the most awful person ever). After they broke up, I moved to New York. The few times I did come to his house was when I was visiting. His house is very nice, definitely too clean for a bachelor pad, but I guess that’s what a house cleaning service is for.

  When Trevor opens the door, I can tell he’s been crying. It’s not often you see a grown-up, rugged, handsome man with puffy, swollen eyes.

  “I appreciate you coming over,” he says, opening the door all the way allowing me to walk in.

  “Of course,” I say sympathetically, following him into the living room. “How are you doing?”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

  Oh crap. I hope he doesn’t start to cry.

  “Can I get you, like, a drink—a glass of wine?”

  That sounds amazing.

  “Yes, please,” I exclaim, more eagerly than I intend.

  While Trevor excuses himself to get us drinks, I make myself comfortable. I check my phone to see if Liv left any more messages. She hasn’t, but there is a message from Kyle, and I immediately feel guilty. Even though Kyle and I are not together anymore, I began having feelings for Trevor while we were and it still bothers me a little.

  “Here we go,” Trevor announces, holding up two glasses and a bottle of Pinot Noir.

  He sits down next to me on the couch and pours each of us a glass. “Can I make a toast?”

  I smile. “Go ahead.”

  He holds up his glass. “To my gran, one of the best women . . . and to you.”

  I give him a curious look. “Me? Why?”

  He lowers his glass. “Because you basically stopped your life to see Gran one last time . . . and you’re here with me now.” He hesitates. “I . . . I certainly don’t deserve it.”

  Ugh. I was hoping this wouldn’t happen. I don’t want to discuss our . . . whatever it is we have.

  I raise my glass even higher. “Let’s just toast to Beatrice and celebrate her life.”

  He raises his glass to mine. “Deal.”

  ~*~*~

  I’m laughing so hard my stomach is hurting. Trevor has been telling me funny stories about Beatrice and most of them include her catching him in some kind of trouble. I think it’s been good for him to focus on the good, and more importantly, it got us off the subject of . . . us. We’ve both had a few glasses of wine, but neither of us is drunk, maybe a little buzzed.

  “She certainly loved you,” he says, rolling his eyes. “You could do no wrong and it drove Giselle batshit crazy.”

  I tap my wine class. “I loved her, too.” I decide to ignore his comment about Giselle, but I admit it brings me so much joy knowing I was the source of Giselle going crazy.

  He starts laughing again. He really has the most amazing smile. Ugh. Stop it, Maris, don’t get sucked in again.

  “What now?” I ask.

  He stretches his arm behind me and rests it along the back of the couch. “Do you remember the first time you met Gran, and I showed up with lunch?”

  Of course I remember that. I thought he was an arrogant frat boy, but at the same time I was fighting how attracted I was to him.

  “How can I forget that?” I say, pouring myself another glass. “That was right after we met at that party and you purposely made me run into you.”

  He smirks. “You ruined my suit.”

  I scowl. “Only because you were following me . . . you know and looking back on that, it’s kind of creepy now that I think about it.”

  His smirk turns somewhat serious. “I was following you. As soon as I saw you, I knew I had to meet you.”

  He becomes silent. This isn’t the first time Trevor and I have discussed our first encounter, and every time we do a lot of emotions flood back to me.

  His arm is still behind me, and I’m leaning into him with one leg tucked under me. Any closer and I would be sitting in his lap. Once again, I’m fighting my attraction to him. Why? I don’t exactly know. Other than trying to protect myself from getting hurt.

  “It’s getting late,” I say, without moving from my spot. “I probably should have Cassie pick me up.”

  He shrugs. “You can stay here.” He holds up his hand. “I don’t mean like that. I have a guest room or you can have my room.”

  I grit my teeth. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  He gives me a mischievous smile. “Why not? Don’t trust yourself around me?”

  I punch him on the arm. “You wish.”

  Even though he may be right, I would never admit it. He hasn’t moved his arm, and both of us are sitting in our same spots within very close proximity to one another.

  He puts his wine glass down and runs his hand through his hair. His expression has turned serious again. “Please stay, we can just talk. I really don’t want to be alone tonight, and I promise nothing will happen.”

  I look around his comfortable living room and back at his gorgeous face. Somehow, he looks more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen him before.

  “Okay. I’ll stay.”

  Chapter 6

  “You spent the night with him?” Georgie yells into the phone. “How was it? You know I need to hear every single dirty detail.”

  I roll my eyes. Georgie has no shame.

  “Absolutely nothing happened. We didn’t even kiss,” I say.

  Which totally sucks, but I don’t say that out loud. I can thank myself for that. Trevor promised that nothing would happen and he kept his word. Now I’m driving back to Cassie’s as if I’m doing the walk of shame after a wild night, although it wasn’t wild at all. I kind of wish I wouldn’t have to be so cautious. Would it really have made a difference if we hooked up a little? Probably not. I just didn’t want to make a mistake we would regret later. We’re both feeling a loss of someone important in our lives, and I didn’t want to react just because we’re grieving.

  “Are you serious? I don’t know how you can resist him. If I wasn’t taken, I would be all over that.”

  She’s dead serious, too, and I can’t say I blame her. I try to explain to her that we were both feeling emotional but that doesn’t satisfy her curiosity.

  “Okay, so if nothing happened, then what did you do all night?”

  I grip the steering wheel tightly. The truth is nothing happened with Trevor physically last night. At the same time, we had an amazing night.

  “We just talked.” I pause. “It was really nice.”

  Thankfully, Georgie has to get to work so we cut our conversation short, but not before she makes me promise to tell her everything later.

  I replay every detail from last night in my head. After Trevor asked me to stay and I reluctantly agreed, he ordered a pizza and we talked some more about Beatrice. I also shared with him what I had learned about my grandmother and Beatrice’s friendship. I told him about my job in New York and how sometimes I feel like I’ve failed at what I set out to do when I moved there.

  We ended up sleeping in his bed together, and I fell asleep in his arms. When I awoke this morning, his mom had already called him and they were discussing funeral arrangements. We had coffee, and he made me promise to meet him for dinner tonight. I’m planning on staying in town for the funeral, but I really need to get back to work as soon as possible.

  Cassie sent me three texts this morning lecturing me about not calling her last night. I’m almost thirty years old and she still insists on treating me like a child. As it is, I totally lied to her and told her I stayed at Georgie’s place. I would sooner die a
slow death than tell her I was with Trevor all night. Although, Cassie has this strange super power of detecting lies, so she may figure it out anyway. Not that I owe her any kind of explanation if she does.

  ~*~*~

  Luck is definitely on my side when I arrive at Cassie’s and she’s already gone for the day. I take a long hot shower and make myself a cup of tea. I’m in the middle of relaxing with a magazine when I remember the phone call from Liv. I practically fly off the couch to grab my phone.