34. Lily #2
I tilt my head to the side. “What did he tell you?”
“Before a man gets the noose put around his neck, he’s allowed to look as long as he doesn’t touch.”
“That’s a horrible way of looking at a bachelor party. And marriage.”
He shrugs. “That’s what I thought. Judson might not have been touching those women, but he was undressing them with his eyes. ”
“Did you tell your mom?”
“I did. She parroted a line similar to Judson’s best friend.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” His lips twist in disdain. “Judson and Mom’s first year of marriage went by without much fanfare, and life continued.
During that year, Hartley Stewart and I were hooking up.
She was the third assistant producer of an up-and-coming daytime talk show.
It was casual. Therefore, at no point did I intend on introducing her to my mom.
The universe laughed in my face about that last one?—”
“In what sense?”
“Mom didn’t need to work, but to keep herself busy, I hired her as a receptionist.”
“She was working, but nothing too demanding.”
He nods. “I was going full steam ahead, opening offices around the globe. I was out of the country for two weeks. Upon my return, Hartley and I were going out for dinner, and I was supposed to pick her up at her place, but she couldn’t wait to see me.
She complained about my long absence. Since she had a dermatologist appointment, she swung by my office once she was done. ”
“That’s how Hartley met your mom?”
“That day marked the beginning of the end for my family.”
My heart breaks for him.
“It so happened Judson decided to surprise Mom on the same day by dropping by at the office to take her out for drinks. I was in a meeting, and when I got back to the office, there was Hartley and Judson, enjoying coffee and desserts in the reception area, laughing their heads off like they were long-lost friends.”
“They hit it off?”
“Did they ever. Flash forward four months,” he says. “StreamTunes was experiencing rapid growth. I was constantly boarding a plane. I expected Hartley to bitch about my prolonged absence, but she didn’t. It was a mistake on my part for not questioning her reaction. Or lack thereof.”
I frown my confusion.
“She wasn’t complaining because she was sleeping with someone else.”
I flinch. “Did you catch her cheating on you?”
“No.” He inhales a deep breath and exhales.
I can’t read his expression, but I brace myself for whatever he’s about to say.
“Mom was attending a friend’s vow renewal ceremony in Napa Valley. Judson stayed behind, citing he had an important casting call for a supporting role in a movie directed by a blockbuster director?—”
“He lied?”
“If that was his only sin,” Gage says. “Mom left for Napa Valley early morning on a Thursday for her extended weekend. I was flying to Australia the next day for a week. I was burning the candle at both the ends, so when I arrived in Sydney, I crashed. I slept for twelve hours straight. When I woke up—midday Sydney time—it felt like I’d slept for a week.
I was invigorated. Since it was the weekend, I made the decision to step out of the CEO role for half a day.
Instead of checking different entertainment or music industry sites to catch up on the latest news, I went for a swim.
An hour later, I was starved. Without a care in the world, I headed to a little eatery that served all day breakfast. Afterwards, I decided to walk around. That was a mistake.”
“How so?”
“Sara was trying to get a hold of me, but she couldn’t because I didn’t bother checking if my battery was running low—or if it was dead.
” The guilt in his voice is unmistakable.
“When I returned to the hotel, the concierge who had helped me when I arrived was on duty. He flagged me down and told me there was an emergency at home and I needed to call my sister in LA.”
I place a hand on my chest.
“He guided me to an office where I was able to plug my phone and charge it. The second I could access my voicemail, I did. I listened to message after message of my sister begging me to call her. Sara was crying when I called her back. I thought something had happened to her husband.”
“Oh my God, your mom?”
He holds my gaze for a beat. “Mom had to cut her trip short. Her and her friends took a road trip on the Friday and stopped at a Mexican restaurant to eat. The ceviche didn’t agree with Mom, and she ended up sick as a dog.
She was so ill, she couldn’t even conceive making it through her friends’ vow renewal ceremony. ”
“Poor thing.”
“She spent most of the night hugging the toilet. The next day, she visited the drugstore for something to settle her stomach, and then flew home. She didn’t call Judson to let him know. All she wanted was to curl up in her own bed.”
“There’s nothing worse than being sick in a strange bed.”
He nods. “When she entered her home, there was a pair of women’s shoes in the foyer that weren’t hers.
As she was kicking off her shoes, she heard people laughing somewhere in the house.
Mom made her way barefoot through the house, following the sounds of laughter to the kitchen.
When she got to the threshold, she froze.
She had a prime view of Judson’s naked butt, his arms laced around a woman?—”
“Her husband was cheating on her?”
“From where Mom was standing, she couldn’t tell if the woman was naked or not, but her legs were bare and she was barefoot. As her mind scrambled to make sense of what she was witnessing, Judson said, ‘ I can’t wait to meet our baby’. ”
I gasp in horror. “The woman was Hartley?”
“Yes, it was fucking Hartley.”
“How could they go behind your back and your mom’s back like that?”
“I wasn’t emotionally invested with Hartley, so my heart wasn’t broken.” Gage levels me with a hard stare, curling his hands into fists. “Mom… loved Judson.”
“That must’ve been a shock for the idiot cheaters, since they assumed your mom was at that wedding.”
“Not as much of a shock as it was for Mom.”
“She must’ve seen red.”
“ What the fuck , dropped from Mom’s lips after she heard Judson’s devastating revelation. When they turned to face her, Hartley was as naked as the day she was born. Her messy blonde hair and Judson’s freshly fucked brown hair, telltale signs of what was as clear as day.”
What a horrible way for your marriage to explode in your face. Not that there’s ever a good way to find out you married a lowlife.
Gage rubs his hands over his face. The torment I read in his green eyes is heartbreaking.
I place my hand on his leg. “You don’t have to continue if this is too difficult.”
He places a hand on top of mine. “I want to answer your question.”
“Okay.”
“Mom, Judson, and Hartley got into a heated argument. It got nasty. In the end, Judson made his allegiance clear—Hartley and the baby.”
“Why didn’t Judson tell your mom he wanted a divorce, instead of crushing her heart? I mean, it would’ve avoided so much drama.” Why do people cheat? Why? Why? Why?
“He’s a spineless piece of shit.”
“And Hartley is a heartless cunt.”
“Well said.”
“Sorry. I interrupted you.”
He picks up where he left off. “Gutted, Mom stormed out of there. She got in her car and drove for a while until she was crying so hard, she couldn’t see in front of her.”
Sympathy floods my system.
“She parked her car and called Sara. Through a river of tears, she filled in my sister on the dramatic scene she witnessed. Sara said she was inconsolable?—”
“Which is understandable?—”
“She should’ve never been in that fragile state of mind to begin with.” Gage’s nostrils flare. “Asshole Judson should’ve kept his dick in his pants.”
I wince. “What I said, came out the wrong way.”
His hand squeezes mine. “I’m not upset at you, angel.”
“I get it. The emotions still consume you.”
He nods.
Several beats pass.
I don’t rush him.
“It took Sara a long time to calm Mom down. When our mother wasn’t as frantic, she told her to drive to her place and stay the rest of the weekend.” He pauses. “My sister lives in Rancho Palos Verdes?—”
“Where’s that?”
“Sara needs to live right by the ocean. It’s in her DNA, which is why she lives in a coastal city atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It’s located an hour away without traffic from Brentwood—where Mom lived. Since this is LA, there’s no such thing as no traffic.”
“Traffic must’ve been brutal on a Saturday night.”
“It was,” he says. “Mom called Sara at eight p.m., so she figured it would be a solid ninety minutes before she got to her place. By eleven p.m., Sara was getting worried. She texted Mom to find out if she was close. No answer. Her phone rang, but it wasn’t our mother.
It was Judson. The police had called him to inform him Mom had been in a fatal accident. ”
“Dear God.” Tears prickle my eyes.
“Mom was trying to change lanes on the freeway, probably to exit, when she got hit from the back, full force by a thief who was trying to evade the police in a stolen car. From the footage, Mom was trapped in a horrific scene right out of the show Cops .” He takes a deep breath.
“She lost control of her vehicle and veered into the path of a cargo truck. She had zero chance of survival. Mom died on impact.”
His revelation slays me, his pain becoming mine.
I close my eyes, as tears roll down my cheeks.
Gage wipes them with his thumb.
When I open my eyes, he’s crying.
Not giving a fuck who’s around us, I jump into his arms. He embraces me close to his body, his chest heaving.
There’s no comparison in size.
I want to hold and protect this strong man who’s been hurting for too long.
I hug the hell out of him for several breaths before I’m willing to break the embrace. When I do, he rummages through the bags for some paper napkins to wipe his face before handing me a wad of them.
I’m crying so much, I need a towel, but this will have to do.
“And you were in Australia when all this happened?” My voice cracks when I manage to speak. “You were so far way.”