Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Remember
how your people used to set up fake dates with actresses like me so
the girls would go crazier for you once they found out you were
still single? You should’ve skipped those stunts and just told
everyone that you’re the kind of guy who’ll sit with his ex’s
obnoxious best friend and give her a free therapy session on love
and happiness.” Glancing at her phone, Zoe rose from her chair,
laughing with disbelief. “You were good enough that I turned this
thing on silent at some point and now I’m realizing that I’m late
for an interview.”
    “ Oh shit,
sorry.”
    “ No, don’t apologize,” Zoe
said, still laughing. “I’m late for hair and makeup, not the actual
interview,” she explained as they headed out the doors of the
coffee bar together, Tyler walking Zoe to her car. “But thank you.
For catching up with me and picking my brain.”
    “ Anytime.”
    Tyler opened the driver side door for Zoe,
closing it once she was seated behind the wheel. She rolled her
window down before pulling out of her space, grinning at Tyler as
he watched her, his hands in his pockets. “What’s that face?” she
asked.
    “ Try it tonight,” he said.
“No quick fix.”
    “ Ugh.”
    “ Seriously.”
    “ Alright, dad.” Zoe rolled
her eyes with mock attitude before pulling slowly out of her spot.
But just before she drove off, she slowed the car, blowing a kiss
out the window at a waving Tyler, letting him take the brunt of the
paparazzi flashes as he stood there seeing her off.
    ~
    Sitting on her hotel bed with a movie picked
out for the night, Zoe held onto her cell phone. She stared down at
it, wondering if she really wanted to turn it off or not. That was
kind of extreme. What if one of her friends had an emergency?
Neither Gemma nor Harper was prone to dramatic episodes anymore but
still.
    I’m keeping it on. Whatever. I just won’t
touch it.
    And she kept her promise to herself – at
least for the first half of the movie. The temptation to pick up
her phone only happened when she realized that she hadn’t processed
a single minute of the film in front of her. She barely remembered
what she had even chosen to watch.
    She was too busy thinking about Gavin.
    It was hard to imagine that they could go
wrong anywhere down the line when a night like the last one at the
lake existed in their history. They were supposed to work. She’d
never been with someone for more than a year and they were
approaching a year-and-a-half. And she loved him.
    But she’d been shooting. And he’d been
having trouble landing that internship at Klein Sports since he
refused to let his aunt intervene and tell her friend, Aiden Klein,
to let his hiring manager know that the resume titled “Gavin
Hunter” belonged to someone important. Or at least related to
someone important. She knew that the unemployment was wearing on
him. It couldn’t be easy surrounded by so much success. His sister
had begun her foray into fashion with Armand Jadot. His best
friend’s basketball prowess was being featured on SportsCenter
nightly. There was Harper, his step-cousin and friend, who at the
time, had been in talks with investors to open her own raw vegan
restaurant.
    And finally, herself. She was shooting what
would likely be her second blockbuster and the schedule didn’t
permit for the best communication with Gavin during a time when
he’d been frustrated, more stressed about his future and prospects
than ever.
    I screwed
up , Zoe realized, gazing over at her
phone. I should’ve been there for
him .
    She stared for only a second longer before
grabbing it, dialing Gavin’s number before she could convince
herself not to. On speaker, she stared at its screen, her heart
slamming against her chest with every ring. She wanted to hear his
voice again. It’d been awhile. She used to hear it every night
around this hour. More than ever, she wanted to hear his laugh.
    But once she heard the beginning of his
voicemail, she hung up.
    Okay.