Spin My Love (My Love #1)(43)
“I promise I’ll last longer,” I retort. My mouth dries at the sight of her, as it does every damn time.
And she’s all mine.
Possessiveness rises in me. “Come here.”
She steps to me, hips swaying. “Do you want something?”
Yes, I do. Her. Always her.
She’s the only drug I will ever need for the rest of my life. The scary thing is she’s far more addictive than anything I’ve ever done.
*****
“So you finally manned up,” Gage says to me, looking amused. He knew I was proposing to Giselle, because I spoke to him about it first. I let him know that I wanted his approval but would ask her anyway without it. I know Gage is much closer to her than her father, which is why I asked him.
I slap him on his back. “You ready to be my bro-in-law?”
The corners of his eyes crinkle. “You’ve practically been my brother my whole life anyway. This is just making it so on paper.”
I swallow. “You getting soft on me? I’m guessing this is Bianca’s doing.”
Gage sighs, running a hand through his hair. “There’s something about her, you know?”
“So it’s serious then?” I ask, touching the ocean water with the tip of my toes.
“Yeah, I think it is.” He pauses. “I just hope her and Giselle get on.”
“Well Giselle owes you for not kicking my ass more than you did,” I joke, shielding the sun from my eyes with my hand.
“That’s the truth. I’m glad it worked out for you both though. She and Parker deserve the best.”
And I plan on giving that to them, for the rest of their lives.
“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.