“You sure I can’t convince you to come on tour with Wanks and Janks?” I asked Gabe. We were at the airport, shuffling in line to the check-in desk. We’d scheduled our flights to depart on the same day around the same time, so we could get in a final few hours of hang time.
Earlier we’d dropped Lily off at the bus station with a teary goodbye. The past two weeks had passed in a haze. It had been like we were in high school again. I was going to miss Lily. There was no way she would come visit me this summer if Wild Minds was within two miles, so I was facing a long two months without my BFF.
I nudged Gabe and teased, “You can pretend to be a rock star. Sleep on a bus, pick up random groupies, all the truck-stop greasy food you can eat.”
Gabe shook his head, shifting the duffel bags in his hands. He was carrying mine. Such a gentleman. “As tempting as that sounds, I have to spend some time with mom and dad. They’re already pissed I ditched them to come see you first.” Even though I had asked, I knew Gabe wouldn’t come on the tour with me. It wasn’t his scene. And for once, I was glad. I wasn’t sure what Gabe would do if he saw Warren. Those were two people I never wanted to see in the same room.
Gabe was headed to Oregon to spend the rest of the summer with his parents. I’d be a state away, in Seattle, the first stop on the Wanks and Janks farewell tour.
We made it to the front of the line. “They’re not really pissed,” I said on a laugh. Hurting Pete and Mel hurt me.
“No, you know they love you,” Gabe said. He grew serious. I knew that look on his handsome face.
Dread inched up my spine.
I’d avoided being alone with him. We hadn’t kissed again. And we hadn’t discussed our kiss. Lily had been an excellent barrier, my own personal cock block. But I could feel Gabe working up the courage to ask about “us.” He was just waiting for an opening. “Listen, Addy, there’s something I want to talk to you—”
“I.D., miss?” The desk attendant called us forward. I gave a silent thanks for the interruption. Pasting a scarily bright smile on my face, I dug my license out of my backpack and handed it over. The attendant looked at the picture and then at me. He looked at the picture again then at me. “You look familiar,” he said. “Like somebody famous.” He wore a paisley scarf around his neck and his lips were glossed.
I shrugged. “I get that a lot. I have one of those faces.”
The attendant cocked his head and pursed his lips. “No.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, my God! I have it. You’re Billy Wanks’ kid!” He tapped something out on his computer then turned the monitor so I could see. On the screen was a picture of my dad and me when I was seventeen. It was nighttime and we were in Texas. I remember the hotel and the relentless paparazzi outside. It was a week after Wild Minds was booted from the tour, the day I got sent to Oregon to live with Mel and Pete. In the picture, Billy was wearing sunglasses and my hair was a little longer, my face a little rounder, but there was no doubt it was me.
Gabe’s huge palm covered the screen. “Easy there, guy. She’s trying to keep a low profile.”
The attendant nodded sheepishly. “Oh. Right. Of course, Ms. Wanks. Apologies.” He turned the monitor back toward himself and squinted at my I.D. His nose wrinkled. “Hey, if you’re Billy Wanks’ kid, why is your last name Price?”
A thousand butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Gabe’s eyes flew to my face, which felt as if it had gone very white. “I thought you were going to take care of that,” Gabe said.
My voice was small. It felt like a rock had lodged in my throat. “I tried to. He keeps sending the papers back.”
“Addy.” There it was, my name on his lips, and the way he said it, so disappointed.
“What do you want me to do? I’m trying, Gabe. I’m really trying. The asshole keeps sending the papers back. Plus lawyers aren’t cheap. I can only afford the fees to send couriers every couple of months,” I whisper-hissed.
“If you’d just tell Billy—”
“Can we talk about this another time?” I asked, sending a meaningful look toward the check-in attendant. His eyes had gotten big, and he had a look on his face as if he was watching an Oscar-worthy film.
Gabe wiped a hand down his face. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Sorry.”
“I’m checking one bag,” I spoke to the attendant.
He blinked once then got it together. In no time my bag was collected and my ticket printed. “Here’s your one-way economy ticket to Seattle, Washington,” the attendant said, handing over the ticket. It was clear he no longer believed I was Billy Wanks’ daughter. Fine by me.
Gabe and I didn’t talk all the way through security. His face was tight. He was still mad, still shaken up about the recent revelation. But because he was a gentleman and his mama raised him right, he wouldn’t just storm off. He walked me to my gate. My flight was just starting to board. Gabe touched my arm. “Can we talk?”
“Yeah.” I moved to the window, away from the crowd. Gabe followed. Outside the day was clear, not a cloud in the sky.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lose it back there. But if you just told Billy, you know he’d be able to help.”
A knot grew in my belly. He was right. Billy would have my mess cleaned up in no time. But that wasn’t the kind of girl I wanted to be. Running to her daddy for help? I didn’t think so. More so, I was terrified of telling him. The last time I’d done something he deeply disapproved of, he’d sent me away. This time it was worse. Way worse. “You know I can’t tell him. Please don’t ask me to.”
Gabe made a disgruntled noise.
“It doesn’t matter, anyway.” I tried to soothe him. “It doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a piece of paper.” Lie. Big lie. It was a huge fucking problem. It was why I had been denied financial aid. It was why I wouldn’t let Billy book any of my plane tickets. It was why I hadn’t let another man touch me in three years.
“It matters, Addy. It matters a lot. I thought… all this was behind you. I thought you took care of it. It was the last thing. Jesus, Addy, I want us to be together again. I never would have kissed you if I knew you were still married to Warren.”