“See you soon, then.” With an encouraging smile, she turned and followed Bryce and Mr. Thatcher out the door.
Once they were all in the elevator, Bryce glanced at all the wooden surfaces. “Is this thing bugged?”
“Not that I know of,” Mr. Thatcher said. “But I advise you to refrain from any conversation for now.”
Bryce nodded.
Giselle looked from one to the other. “Are we going where I think we are?”
Mr. Thatcher put a finger to his lips.
Giselle didn’t need any more of a hint than that, but she was worried. Even if Benedict was somewhere nearby with the remote, they couldn’t chance using it now. She trusted Mr. Thatcher to use the utmost caution when going into the playground, but this didn’t feel like caution. It felt downright reckless.
Chapter 22
“You really like Giselle, don’t you?” Cynthia kicked off her designer shoes and curled her feet under her.
“I do, but it’s not going anywhere.” Luke remained standing and began to pace.
“Why not?”
He glanced over at his sister lounging on the sectional, her blond hair loose around her shoulders. Even dressed casually in jeans and a navy hoodie, she was beautiful. She’d always had catlike grace, but he’d refused to see that a dancing career fit her perfectly.
Thank God she wanted to dance here and not on Broadway. Then he caught himself. If she decided to try to make it in New York, he’d be supportive. He was through standing in the way of what was obviously her destiny, at least for now.
Her blue eyes, so like his, focused intently on him. “You don’t want to tell me about her, do you?”
“Not particularly, since she’ll go back to San Francisco tomorrow and that’ll be that. What’s the point in discussing her?”
“It’s just that I’ve never seen you so . . . absorbed in a woman before. And you just met her, right?”
“Yeah.” He massaged the back of his neck. “That’s the crazy part, how fast we connected. I feel as if I’ve known her a hell of a lot longer.”
“Luke, I realize you think of me as a kid who doesn’t know anything, but—”
“No, I don’t.” He stopped pacing to gaze at her. “You’re a hundred times smarter than I am.”
“You’re talking about academics, but you don’t think I’m smart about people.”
She had him there. “I’ll admit I used to feel that way, but my opinion on that score is changing. Tell me about Landry.”
“He’s just a friend.”
“Is he gay?”
She laughed. “No! Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re gorgeous! You’ve had guys running after you since second grade. Why should Bryce Landry be any different?”
“He just is. If you must know, I think he’s still in love with his ex-fiancée, and I hope they get back together. Is that your issue with Giselle? She has someone else back in San Francisco?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so. She said she didn’t, and I can’t imagine that she does, considering . . .” He stopped himself before he revealed more than he’d intended.
“Are you referring to the chocolate-covered sex orgy? Is that what convinced you she was unattached?”
He gulped. Damn it, he was blushing. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck. A quick glance at Cynthia confirmed that she was enjoying the hell out of his embarrassment. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say that wouldn’t make the situation even worse, so he kept quiet.
“We arrived minutes before the cleaning crew.” Sisterly triumph rang through every word. “You almost got away with it, but I just knew you two were headed for bedroom games. That scene in the gondola was the clincher. That’s why Bryce and I decided to make the leaky water bed our grand finale.”
“It was quite a finale, all right.” Luke sighed. He’d go through the water bed incident a hundred times if it could be followed by the kind of afternoon he’d spent with Giselle.
“So you’re going to just let her go?”
“I suggested coming up to San Francisco for a visit, and she said that wasn’t a good idea.”
“Hm.” Cynthia tapped her finger against her mouth. “So she’s a bit of a mystery woman. That intrigues me.”
“Look, I don’t want you to—”
“Interfere in your life? That’s funny, Luke. Makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Now you know how I felt.”
He blew out a breath. “I was wrong, okay? I’m sorry. And I’m not just saying it. I really am sorry that I treated you that way, as if you didn’t know what was good for you.”
“I believe you, but I wish I had a recording of that.”
“In case I backslide?”
“Exactly.” She gestured to the curved part of the sectional that faced her. “Have a seat and stop pacing. I need to think about this Giselle problem, and I can’t do it while you’re roaming around like a caged lion.”
“I’ll come over and sit down, but I don’t want you delving into Giselle’s situation. She’s told me to back off and I’ll honor that.” He walked to the sectional and sank down.
“How noble of you. Did it occur to you that I have a source who might tell me what’s going on with her?”
“Uh, you mean Bryce?”
“He’s her brother, after all. I could mention that she’s throwing up roadblocks and see what he says about that.”
“No.” The concept made him cringe inside. “It sounds like junior high all over again.”
“So you’re willing to let her go and never find out why the two of you can’t be together? That would drive me crazy.”
“I’ll deal with it.” He didn’t know how, but he’d have to. He had no choice.
“I mean, it’s one thing if someone dumps you and tells you why. You’re upset, sure, but at least you understand the issue. You can get drunk, break a few dishes, and move on.”
Luke chuckled. “Is that what you do? Throw breakables?”
“Maybe.” She gave him a dimpled smile. “My point is, you won’t be able to move on. You’ll have that question nagging you forever. What was the problem? Why did she leave without giving me an explanation? I guarantee a mystery breakup is the worst kind.”
“You’ve had those?”
“No, but a girlfriend of mine did back at Yale. Some dude walked out on her and refused to tell her why. Two years later she found out he’d had a girlfriend back home with a baby. My friend was so relieved. Mad as hell, but relieved. She could finally forget about the creep once the mystery was solved.”
Luke couldn’t believe he was listening to relationship advice from his little sister, but what she’d said made sense. He was frustrated about not knowing the big secret that stood between him and Giselle. Although he’d vowed not to dwell on that, he probably would anyway. He was enough like Cynthia that the mystery would drive him crazy, just like it would her.
“Time is of the essence,” she said. “Bryce and Giselle will fly back to San Francisco tomorrow, and the opportunity to investigate will be lost.”
“So?”
“We could text them and ask them to come back up here, but I’d rather head on down to the Moon. We can say we finished our discussion and decided to join them for a drink. I’ll get Bryce alone, which will be easier at the bar than up here, and ambient noise can make conversations harder to overhear. I could challenge him to a game of pool and find out what’s up.”
“But we didn’t finish our discussion.”
She looked at him. “Nobody’s here but me, big brother. Tell me the truth. Are you thrilled about owning that bar?”
He met her gaze. Pretending seemed stupid at this point. “No. To be honest, I’ve considered bulldozing it.”