Through The Grapevine: A BWWM Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

problem.
     
    He decided to call her best friend, knowing full well, that he would probably get the run around from her because girls stuck together like that, but he thought it well worth the try, and he was swiftly running out of ideas.
     
    With a deep breath, he picked up the phone to call Shannon. He trusted her, more than all of Tiffany's other friends, but he didn't know if she would betray his trust to protect her friend. It was worth a shot to him.
     
    There was no answer the first time he called, and he let the phone ring until it went to voicemail.
     
    "Shannon, this is Colby, please call me when you get a chance; it's urgent,” 
    he said in a low voice. Then he waited five minutes and called her back again, letting it ring to voice mail and then he hung up.
     
    Colby frowned and stood up to walk away from his desk. Why would her friend ever tell him anything about her or what she was doing. He tried to remember what her response was when Tiffany was telling him about the trip, but it just hadn't stayed in his mind.
     
    He was pondering it deeply when his phone rang, giving him a start. He rushed to it and saw that it was Shannon calling him back.
     
    He answered right away and tried not to sound as desperate as he felt. "Shannon! Hi, thank you for calling me back. I hope I wasn't disturbing you."
     
    Her voice came through the phone clear and pleasant, although she sounded surprised to hear from him. "No, you weren't disturbing me,” she said lightly.
     
    Colby wanted to be as nonchalant about his call as possible, and he tried to curb the worry in his voice. "I... uh... I was just wondering if you had a minute... if you aren't busy. I had given some more thought to the wedding gift I was going to get for Tiffany and I thought I'd run it past you since you were so sweet to talk with me about it the other night."
     
    He prayed that it would work. He had to find out what she was up to somehow, without interfering with her.
     
    "Sure, no problem at all," Shannon said, sounding less than enthused to help him with his gift. He ignored her tone and continued.
     
    "Well... I was thinking that... oh wait, she's not there with you, is she?" He paused for a more natural sounding effect. "I wouldn't want to put you on the spot while we're trying to talk about it. That might be awkward"
     
    "No," Shannon said softly. "She's not here with me. She's out of town...," she said,  as if he ought to have remembered that. He heard her hesitation in her voice.
     
    "Yes, I uh... I knew she said she was going out of town, but she didn't tell me when she was leaving exactly, so I just wasn't sure if she had left yet." He tried not to sound like he was fumbling through his thoughts.
     
    There was a long pause on the other end of the line and he was sure he had gone too far with Shannon. "She actually left the day after your party, instead of two days as she had originally planned to go."
     
    Colby stopped pacing and stood staring out of the window of his office. She had left a day early and she didn't take her best friend with her. Her father couldn't have been right, then. She wouldn't have gone out of town on a girl's trip without Shannon. The realization of all of that left him even more confused than he was to begin with. He felt as if he knew nothing, but then one thought struck him, and he realized that Shannon knew.
     
    He hesitated only a moment before asking her, "So, Shannon, I was hoping we could go get some coffee, you and me, and then we can talk about her wedding gift. I could really use the help. Would you mind terribly, spending some time alone with me this afternoon? Please? It would mean so much to me."
     
    He was speaking in half truths and he hated it, but he was desperate to find his fiancé. It was quite possible that the only person who knew where she was, was her best friend who, as luck would have it, happened to be a friend of his as well.
     
    "Sure! Yes, I'd love to visit with you. Just tell