Her Best Match: A Romantic Comedy (The Best Girls Book 1) (38 page)

“Nice try, Mom, but I asked you first,” said Emily.

“Oh, we kind of had a scene before Charlie called, because he didn’t want me to go to Paris to see Henri.”

“What kind of scene? Like a yelling scene? Somehow I don’t see Mr. Gherring as the type of guy who’d yell at a girl,” said Charlie.

“No, he didn’t yell, he just asked me not to go. And I insisted I was going, because I’d promised Henri. Besides Henri really needed me. I feel terrible he’s going to be alone, when he thought I was coming. He’s so upset about Anna-Laure.”

Emily crooked her head at her mom. “You know, somehow I don’t think you’ve ever been entirely honest about Mr. Gherring. Even from the beginning, your interview story was kind of fishy…”

“No, we really did have a scene. And then Charlie called, and I came here instead of going to Paris. And Mr. Gherring flew me here. It’s all kind of awkward. I don’t know what he wants.”

“Maybe he just wants to talk to you, like he said. Did he hurt your feelings or something? He really sounded kind of pitiful to me.” Emily tossed her a pillow.

“You kind of owe him, Mom. You probably wouldn’t have been able to get a regular flight at the last minute. You might not even be here yet, if it weren’t for Mr. Gherring,” Charlie reasoned.

“I know I owe him. But I don’t owe him
that
much.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked. “Did he ask you to pay him?”

“No, of course not. I’m just talking about… I don’t know. I don’t want to feel obligated to him.”

“But he seems so generous,” Emily argued. “I don’t think he expects anything in return. You worry too much, Mom.”

“Okay, I’ll call him tomorrow. Now about those phone calls with Spencer…”

“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. Right after you call Mr. Gherring.”

Anne’s phone rang as they were driving to the hospital in the morning. She held her breath until she checked the caller ID.

“Hi, Gram.”

“Anne, dear. How is your father? Steven says he’s in CCU.”

“Well, he’s got a broken arm and broken ribs, a punctured lung and he lost part of his spleen. But we feel pretty lucky he’s alive. Hopefully today we’ll get to talk to him. He was unconscious yesterday. We’re on our way to the hospital now.”

“I’m so glad, dear. I know you must’ve been pretty frightened.”

“Yes, I barely remember most of what happened yesterday.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she recalled her encounter with Steven in the apartment. She labored to breathe.

“I thought I’d give you a report on our little project,” said Gram. “My little ploy worked like a charm. Thanks to my ‘chest pains’, Steven’s been very distracted. And Michelle is supposed to fly out tonight. So I think we’re safe for now.”

“That’s great, Gram.” She still wondered if it might be better if Steven reunited with Michelle. Then he wouldn’t approach Anne again when she returned. What would she do if he tried to kiss her again? She’d barely kept her wits about her the last time. Too late now, since Michelle was leaving New York.

“So what do you think our next step should be?” asked Gram. “I was still thinking you could be a bit of a distraction yourself. You wouldn’t have to actually flirt with him, but perhaps if you spent some time with him outside the office—”

“No, I think that’s a terrible idea.”

“Why is that?”

“Uhmm, well… Because he… uhmm… he knows about me and Henri. And he might… uhmm… he might decide to go back with Michelle. Yeah, seeing me outside work would remind him of Henri, which would remind him of Michelle. And there you go—Steven’s marrying Michelle.”

“Well, I’m not sure I agree with you. Steven doesn’t ever make rash decisions.”

“Oh, yes he does. Maybe he used to never make rash decisions, but I
saw
him make a rash decision recently.” Anne swallowed hard. “We can’t be too careful.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“You should keep him distracted until Monday. I mean,
really
distracted. You probably shouldn’t even give him enough time to call me. You know, so I won’t remind him of Henri and he won’t call Michelle and beg her to come back.”

“Or, you could break up with Henri, and then you wouldn’t remind Steven of Henri all the time,” suggested Gram.

“I can’t break up with Henri—we’re not even really together. It’s not like he’s professed love to me or anything. We’re only friends.”

“Humph! What happens on Monday?”

“That’s when I’m gonna introduce Steven to my friend, Ellen, the actress. Remember?”

“Humph! I don’t know this girl. I may not like her.”

“We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. I’ll call you on Monday, okay?”

“Okay. Hope your father recovers quickly.”

“Thanks, Gram. Bye now.”

Anne hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. Charlie was staring with her mouth wide open. Emily was frowning as she drove.

Charlie started in. “What the heck was that, Mom? You want Gram to keep Mr. Gherring from calling you?”

Emily added, “And you suddenly think if Steven Gherring talks to you, he’s going to marry this Michelle girl? That’s a bunch of cr—”

“Emily!” Anne scolded, eliciting a chuckled from the back seat.

“Out with it,” said Emily.

Her phone began to ring again. Spying Steven's name on the caller ID, she rejected the call.

“Why didn’t you take the call, Mom?” questioned Charlie.

“It was no one important. I’ll call them back later. We’re almost to the hospital.”

“Mom, we’re on your side, you know. If you can’t talk to us, who can you talk to?” Charlie leaned forward, her face earnest.

“Yeah, Mom. I’ll start, okay? I’ve talked to Spencer on the phone a couple of times and on Skype a couple of times.”

Charlie started to squeal, but Emily silenced her with a look.

“The jury is still out. I don’t know if I like him or if I even trust him. But I’ll tell y’all as soon as I decide. Okay?” She glanced at her mother. “Now it’s your turn. Why don’t you want to talk to Mr. Gherring?”

Anne contemplated. Charlie was right—if she couldn’t talk to her girls, who could she talk to? No one. She couldn’t tell her girls what had happened. She didn’t even know herself what had happened or what it meant. And she had no one she could talk to.

“Can we just say I’m afraid to talk to him right now and leave it at that?”

“Hmmm,” said Charlie. “I don’t know. Sister, what do you think? Could we leave it at that?”

“No. Probably not. That doesn’t really sound like us.”

“If you’re afraid to talk to him now, and you don’t talk to him during the Thanksgiving holidays, what’s gonna happen when you go back to work on Monday?”

“I’ll act like nothing ever happened and go to work.”

“Which means, of course, something
did
happen,” smirked Emily. “And what would that something be?”

Her phone rang again. Her heart hammered until she realized Henri was calling. Grateful for the reprieve, she answered quickly.

“Henri… I’m so sorry I couldn’t come. How’s Anna-Laure?”

“She is okay. But I am calling for you. What happened? Gherring told me that there was a car accident. Your father? What happened?”

“He’s alive, but in intensive care. And I’m so sorry. The timing was awful, and you wasted all that money on a plane ticket for me.”

“The money is nothing. I am so glad your father is okay. And you? Are you okay? You must have been very afraid. If I were there I would give you a hug. Like you gave me a hug. You give very good hugs.” She could almost picture his smile over the phone.

“Yes, I was terrified, but I’m okay now. We’re on the way to the hospital, me and the girls. But tell me about Anna-Laure. Has she started chemotherapy?”

“She had a treatment today. She was
très courageux
. Brave, she was brave. And it did not make her sick. Tomorrow may be worse.”

“I’m praying for her every day.”

“Me, too,” said Charlie.

“And me,” said Emily.

Anne smiled. “Charlie and Emily want you to know they’re praying, too.”

“We need all those prayers—every one. When will you go back to New York?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. But if Dad is doing well, I guess I’ll go back on Sunday night. I really have a lot of work to do, especially with my new job and still having to do the other stuff. And I’ve got to work out the final details for the company Christmas party.”

“I think I will still come to New York. I have a ticket already for that weekend. If I think that Anna-Laure will be okay without me, then I will come. I would like to come. I would like to see you.”

“That’d be great Henri. I’d love to see you, but I’ll understand if you can’t come because of Anna-Laure.”

“I hope I can come. I hope I can see you. I need you,
mon bel ange
.”

“My gosh, Mom,” said Charlie as they walked into the hospital. “Henri’s voice is so sexy, with that French accent. I don’t know how you can resist him.”

“A problem made easier by the fact there’s an ocean between us. But you may be right. Who knows what would’ve happened if I were in Paris right now?”

“You see, I told you we needed to have ‘The Talk.’” Emily waggled her eyebrows.

“Really though Mom, you’re so strong. You’ve never even dated anyone since Dad died. You must be amazing at resisting temptation.”

“Or maybe she’s terrible at it, and that’s why she never dated.” Both girls chuckled at Emily’s comment. But Anne cringed at how close to the truth Emily had come.

“I’ve never really been tempted, but I’m sure I could resist.” She rushed to change the subject, hoping to cover up her lie. “I’m so worried about Grandpa—I’ll feel so much better when he’s awake and we can talk to him.”

“He’s awake, and he doesn’t like the tube in his nose. I hope you can help him calm down a bit.” The attending nurse frowned in obvious disapproval of his antics.

“Daddy?”

“Annie, baby,” he croaked. “I’m sorry baby. I didn’t make it to the airport to get Charlie.”

“I’m here, Grandpa.” Charlie arrived on the other side of the bed.

“And me,” said Emily.

“Do you know what happened, Dad?”

“I uhmm… I remember the car sliding sideways, but nothing after that. What about Gandalf?”

“He’s at the animal hospital. He had surgery, too,” said Charlie.

“Dr. Stephenson said it’s a miracle a Wolfhound his age survived the trauma. We’re gonna visit him later today,” said Emily.

“I think I really messed up Thanksgiving for everyone. I don’t suppose my car survived?”

“I don’t know, Dad, but it was probably totaled. That was a huge accident. It started to rain, and the bridge iced over. Ten cars or maybe even more were involved. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“Does it hurt much?” asked Emily.

“I feel kind of like I got tossed into a dryer with some rocks and knives.” He chuckled. “Ow! It even hurts to laugh.”

“You had surgery. I bet your stomach is going to hurt for a while,” said Anne.

“Yep. Nurse Brume Hilda over there told me all about what they did to me.”

“Dad, be nice. She’s just trying to do her job and keep you alive. I heard you were fussing about that tube.”

“Oh, and she’s a tattle-tale, too.”

Charlie giggled. “Grandpa’s grouchy—he’s back to normal.”

The girls sat in the room with Grandpa and chatted until the nurse came in again. “He needs to rest now. You can come back this afternoon.”

“I don’t feel like resting,” he gruffed.

“You’re not going to give me any more trouble for a while.” She smiled as she injected into his IV tube. Before he could even protest, the medicine began to take effect.

“That does feel better.” He winked at the nurse before he fell asleep.

Anne asked, “Do we know when he’ll get to move to a room? Are we going to talk to a doctor?”

“The surgeon was in earlier to check his stats. He’s in surgery now, but he’ll be back to talk to the family this afternoon. I’m guessing your dad will be out of CCU by Thursday.”

On the way to see Gandalf, Anne noticed Steven had called twice while she was in the hospital. She listened to her messages.

“Anne, I hope you’ll call soon. I’m worried about you. I hope your dad is okay and… and I hope you’ll call me.”

Then the second message. “Anne, I guess you can’t talk because you’re in the hospital. Please call me as soon as you can.”

Just as Anne was tucking her phone away, he called again. Her heart started pounding, she turned the ringer off and stashed her phone in her purse.

Charlie raised her eyebrows. “Who was that?”

“I don’t know. Probably a wrong number.”