Gabrielle cleared her throat. “Fine. If you insist on going to the Wave tomorrow with five thousand dollars, you aren’t going alone. But we still need to go to Boston today because I don’t have any clubbing clothes with me here.” Gabrielle restarted the car.
Sharon blew out a relieved breath of air. “Thank you. You’re the best. Now, just promise me you won’t tell Richard about any of this.”
Gabrielle frowned. She wasn’t a fan of keeping secrets, but it wasn’t her choice. “I won’t tell him if you insist, but—”
“I do. So you promise?”
“Fine.” She put both hands on the wheel. “I don’t like it, but I promise not to tell Richard.”
But that didn’t mean she had to keep it to herself. Just like in the old days, when something serious happened, there was just one person Gabrielle wanted to turn to. One person she trusted with anything, one who she knew in her heart would help her with any problem.
Derek.
And not just because he’d been back in town long enough to know someone who could quietly help her find Tony. If she and Sharon were meeting a crazy man who’d drugged a number of women, taken nude photos of them and gone to prison for his actions, they weren’t going alone.
She wanted a man by her side that she trusted.
She wanted Derek.
CHAPTER SIX
DEREK BURNED THE PANCAKES he’d made Holly for breakfast. He really couldn’t cook and should have known better than to try. Back in the city, he’d lived on takeout.
Scraping the destroyed remains into Fred’s dish, he glanced at his daughter. “Want me to try again?”
She shook her head and made a disgusted face. “Can I have cold cereal, Dad?”
He laughed. “Smart move.”
“Yeah, I know. Even you can’t ruin corn flakes.” She climbed onto the counter and pulled out a cereal bowl. “Dad?”
“Hmm?” He poured the flakes from the box, then added milk and handed her a spoon.
“You promised to tell me about you and Gabrielle. That man said you dumped her. You said you didn’t. So what’s the real story?” she asked between slurping cereal and milk from a spoon.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how to explain adult behavior to a preteen. “We dated in high school and broke up before going away to college,” he said, proud of his
concise summary.
“Who broke up with who?”
“I broke up with her.”
“Why?”
“I had my reasons. Finish your cereal. Grandpa’s coming by to take you to feed the ducks at the pond. You want to be ready.”
She glanced down and focused on eating what was left. “There. I finished my cereal. I’m just working on the milk.” She picked up the bowl, clearly intending to drink it down in one gulp.
He shot her a warning look.
“Okay, okay.” She retrieved the spoon and slowly sipped at the milk.
“That’s better.”
“Can Fred come with us to feed the ducks?” she asked.
“I don’t see why not. Just talk to your grandfather.”