Something About You (Just Me & You) (39 page)

Molly had a point. It wasn’t too late to fix it.

And that the temptation to do so was precisely the problem. 

Sabrina picked the coldest, nastiest night of the year to
leave her car parked outside of the garage. When she went to work the next
morning, she found that the light peppering of sleet that had fallen the night
before had melted and refrozen, molding itself against the Audi’s top body and
windshield. 

Sighing, she retrieved her cell phone from her messenger bag
with gloved hands and left a message with the office answering service that
she’d be in late. Then she used an expired credit card to chip away at the ice
that coated the driver’s side of the windshield.

A little bit of inclement weather in February was to be
expected. But precisely at the first of the month, the temperatures plummeted
to arctic levels; it seemed as though the entire city had been flash frozen,
and it had remained that way for the next two weeks. In Walden, the winter
weather had a brisk, energetic quality. But here in Austin, the chill had a
dark sullenness about it that was reflected in a gray overcast sky.

Sabrina adapted to the gloom and embraced her inner anomie.
When she wasn’t accompanying Theo to after-work functions, she logged long
hours at the gym, ignoring frantic phone calls and texts from Molly and Nola.
By the time she finally got home, she had just enough energy to peel off her
clothes and toss them in a growing pile with all of the others and tug on one
of Gage’s old T-shirts. Then she cuddled up in his deliciously comfortable
four-poster, channel-surfing until she finally fell asleep.

The smell of his hair on the pillow was growing fainter now.

There was an art to forgetting, Sabrina reminded herself.
Forgetting was that soft, dark space in the timeline of her life chiseled by
patience and time. One morning she’d wake up and the time they had spent together
would be a pleasant memory that she could smile about. She would go on and
maybe one day she’d even meet someone new. She would wish Gage well.    

She winced at the cold leather of the car seat. She needed
something hot and highly caffeinated, and she needed it now. Sabrina put her
car in park and let the engine idle while she dashed into Café Firenze for a
triple latte. This morning, customers who usually sat outside on the porch
chatting on their cell phones had gathered inside, and the little coffeehouse
was packed to capacity. The smell of sweet and savory breakfast foods — croissants,
scones, muffins and foil-packaged breakfast tacos — made her feel
light-headed. Despite having a thunderous appetite, she’d been too tired to eat
the night before. She asked the barista for a large latte and a spiced pumpkin
empanada. She had just finished paying for her order when a familiar voice
spoke close to her ear, making her jump.

“You’re in the clear, Sabrina.”

“What—?” Sabrina spun around, taken off guard. Eva Hayes
stood in front of her holding a croissant wrapped in bakery paper, looking
vaguely amused. Her long curly hair was unbound and a little mussed, and she
looked rather comfy wearing black corduroy pants and a matching man’s sweater
that was several sizes too large.

“I said, ‘you’re in the clear’,” Eva repeated. “I’ve got
better things to do than write about Theo Ward’s little, um, tête-à-têtes at
the Four Seasons.”

“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Eva,”
Sabrina told her nervously.

“Please, Sabrina.” The other woman arched a knowing eyebrow.
“We both know
exactly
what I’m talking about. A woman rang me up,
claiming to have dirt on your boss. She asked me to meet her at the hotel
grill.” She bit into the croissant and chewed it leisurely, waiting for Sabrina
to respond.

“What did she tell you?” Sabrina felt a cold sweat break
under her armpits.

“Nothing that the others didn’t. What, you thought she was
the only one?” Eva’s brows inched up farther in response to Sabrina’s stunned
look. “This was the third call I’ve taken from one of Ward’s former mistresses
this year. The others were angling for me to quote them as anonymous tipsters,
but hell hath no fury like a redhead scorned. She really wanted to bury his
career. Oh, well. At least I got lunch out of the deal.” She shrugged in amused
insouciance.

“Son of a bitch,” Sabrina muttered angrily. She looked at
Eva desperately. “How many other journalists did she call? Do you know?”

“None that I know of. When Theo’s paramours spilled their
stories, I reminded them that no good things happen when high-profile
politicians’ mistresses air dirty blue dresses. Apparently, I made a convincing
argument, even on this last one.”

“Why would a journalist suppress her own story?” Sabrina
wondered aloud. It didn’t make sense. Any other reporter in Austin would have
milked Theo’s indiscretions for all they were worth and then some. Scandal
sold.

“I didn’t do it for Theo Ward, that’s for sure.” Eva
scrutinized her croissant with a distracted frown. “Damn, I could have sworn I
got the
pain au chocolat
.”

“If you didn’t kill the story for Theo’s sake, who did you
do it for?” Sabrina pressed, feeling frantic but relieved. Eva looked at her
candidly. 

“I did it for you,” came the unexpected reply. “When our
foster family first took Carlton and me in, the first and only bit of gossip I
remember hearing was that a certain Corners girl was going to take Austin by
storm one day, and that girl was you, Sabrina. Even though we weren’t close
friends, I always admired you from afar. I kept up with you, too. Everyone in
the neighborhood talked about how you went to university on scholarship and how
you landed your dream job at the State Capitol. You made me believe that
anything was possible.”

“Me?” Sabrina squeaked, flabbergasted. She never knew that
she made such a strong impression on anyone, but Nola had proved her wrong. And
now Eva Hayes.

“Yup,” the younger woman said with a friendly sparkle in her
eyes. “If you hadn’t achieved everything you did, I probably wouldn’t have gone
into journalism. I would have pulled a Zarabeth Singer. Your man Ward might get
a merit badge for perfect attendance, but every reporter in this town knows who
did the real work. I wasn’t about to write anything that could tank your
future.”

“Gosh, Eva,” Sabrina said graciously, feeling humbled. “I
don’t know what to say except thank you. I owe you a drink. Actually, I owe you
a lot of drinks.”

“I’m going to take you up on those,” Eva laughed then her
eyes fixed on someone in the crowded coffeehouse. She gave whoever it was a coy
little wave. Sabrina glanced behind her and spotted a table where a man with
sandy hair and a killer smile was waiting.

“Is that your—”

“—Boyfriend?” Eva filled in. “No, that’s just Pete Carlyle’s
nephew, Cash. We’ve been hanging out for the past couple of weeks.”

“Pete has a nephew?” Sabrina asked, surprised.

“Who knew, right? Cash teaches astronomy at the university,
and he’s deliciously Scottish. He’s a great guy, but we both know and agree
that we’re not in this for the long haul. We’re sort of, um…”

“Friends with benefits,” Sabrina supplied.

“You got it. And I must say, the ‘benefits’ are mighty
fine.” Eva grinned lasciviously. Sabrina tried to think back to a time when she
too was so savoir faire about sex. When her physical desire for Jackson and all
of the men just like him was on par with snacking on last night’s leftover
takeout to dull her appetite. If nothing else, Gage had taught her what it was
like to be ravenous for physical intimacy. Mild fondness was no longer in her
emotional repertoire. She didn’t know why any woman would settle for anything
less, but Eva was … well,
Eva
.

The two women gathered up their orders from the barista and
then exchanged cell phone numbers, promising to get together soon. Sabrina
walked back to her car, which was now toasty warm inside. Once she finally
reached the office, she sat behind her desk with her coffee and indulged
herself with a quiet moment of self-pity. Time was supposed to heal all wounds.
But instead of missing Gage less, she missed him more as each day passed. More
fiercely, more irrationally and more desperately.

Time had only made her feel like an even bigger fool.  

She was still deep in thought when Carlton slid his slim,
Prada-clad rump onto the edge of her desk.

“So how badly did you mess things up?” he asked with a sigh.

“What are you talking about?” She gave him a distracted
glance.

“Gage Fitzgerald. Did you totally blow it?”

“Oh, god. Who ratted me out?” Sabrina blew her bangs out of
her eyes wearily.

“It’s not my sister, if that’s what you’re thinking. I hear
things through the grapevine, too. What I’ve heard is that Sabrina March, Chief
of Staff and usual purveyor of stuffed shirts, finally got laid by a real man.”

“That’s just wonderful,” she moaned. “So what makes you
think
I
blew it?”

“Because you’ve been on what seems like one long PMS rampage
for the past month.” Carlton gave her a suspicious look. “You flip out over
little things, like that time when Moira forgot to load the paper tray in the
copier. When we went through the cafeteria line on Chili Dog Monday, you
started to
cry
, and no, I’m not buying your, ‘It’s just the chopped
onions, Carlton’ excuse either.

“Hmm, let’s see. What else?” He drummed his fingers across
the desk. “Oh, you’ve ditched the Factory Waif look and your normal hair is
back — to its natural color, I presume?” He squinted and picked up a
chocolate-colored lock. “You’ve also lost a lot of weight. That’s not flattery,
Sabrina. Your collarbones could shear diamonds.”

Sabrina snuck a glance at her cleavage. She had dropped
several pounds.

“You’re obviously going to park yourself here until I come
clean,” she said. “I had my first real love affair. I had my heart broken for
the first time ever. It wasn’t pretty. I don’t want to go into details.”

“That is an incredibly tragic story. And so very unique.”
She couldn’t tell if the look of empathy on Carlton’s face was genuine or if he
was being sarcastic in his low-key way.

“I’m over it,” she assured him in what she hoped was a
convincing voice. “Big girls don’t cry and all that.”

“Superb!” Carlton said cheerfully. “Then a little background
noise probably won’t bother you. I was listening to the most hilarious talk
show earlier as I drove to work. You should check it out.”

Before she could protest, he leaned over and snapped on the
radio. Gage’s voice boomed through the air.

“—so someone needs to shut me up before I turn into one of
those dudes who tell all the other dudes that relationships suck. It’s
Valentine’s Day, man. That makes it even worse.”

Sabrina checked the date on her wall calendar. He was right.
It was indeed Valentine’s Day.

“Naw, dude. I’m not gonna let that happen to you,” Giggles
coached. “Some hot wings, a few beers, and some man time with your buds and
you’ll be good to go. Gotta get back into the scene, hombre. Gotta make it
happen with another special lady.”

“Sure.” Gage gave a half-hearted laugh. “Just give me a
little more quiet time to stare into my Wheaties.” He sighed. “Damn, I miss
her. I miss the SHB.”

What was that? An acronym for “short-lived, heartless
betrayer?” Sabrina rubbed her forehead and wondered if she really wanted to
find out. This time she really did deserve the verbal slings and arrows.
Carlton slid his butt off the desk, his mission complete. He gave Sabrina a
sympathetic look, blew her a kiss and headed back to the front office. Sabrina
continued to listen. 

“I guess I didn’t know her as well as I thought I did,” Gage
went on. “I like to think that maybe I had a part of her that she didn’t give
to any other man. I dunno if that’s true, man. All I know is that when she was
mine, she was one
sweet, hot babe
.”

“Sweet, hot babe, huh? You gotta feel used,” Giggles said
sympathetically.

“The sex was totally off the hook. It was ethereal. I’m a
man,” Gage mused. “Can I use that word, ‘ethereal’?”

“Naw, dude. I wouldn’t,” Giggles replied with a flat
chortle.

“She was worth it. It was all worth it.” A long moment of
radio silence followed. It could have been part of his act, Sabrina reasoned.
But Gage could never be anything less than genuine.

For that matter, neither could Fitz.

**

Calls began to flood the radio station during the commercial
break.

Gage tore off his headphones and ran a hand through his
hair. What was happening to him? He’d let his personal life seep into his professional
life. Fitz didn’t bare his soul to his listeners.

Not like this.

Coming back to Austin had an unnerving effect. That morning
when he’d driven by the Driskill Hotel on his way to work, the memories that he
was trying to put behind him had resurfaced in sharp-focused detail. All he
could see was the dreamy-eyed expression on Sabrina’s face as he held her on
the dance floor. She’d been dizzy with love for him then. He was absolutely
sure of it. What had changed her mind? Surely he had to have said or done
something …

“You okay, man?” Gideon squinted at him carefully.

“Do I sound like I’m okay?” Gage grumbled. Seeing the
worried look on his coworker’s face, he quickly added, “Don’t sweat it, Gideon.
It’s my first day back. I’ll get back into the swing.”

The last commercial was about to end. Gideon took a gulp of
his energy drink. Gage slipped his headphones back on.

“So here’s the pressing question of the day: Do any of you
single dudes out there have a place where I can crash?” Gage said into the microphone.
“Give me a call if you do — or if you just wanna tell me about your very
worst heartbreak.”

“Whoa, man! Looks like we’ve got a call coming in,” Gideon
said with a nervous chuckle. He turned to Gage with a warning look and mouthed,
“
SHB.
”