Why Not Now? (The Blue Vista Crew #2)

15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Ava

H e’s lying to me. I search his eyes, but he doesn’t give anything away. I don’t think the phone call was from another woman, though I didn’t see the screen before he ignored it.

“Derek, is everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah. Fine. Everything is fine. Let’s go. Adalie’s waiting for us.”

He gets out of the car and I watch as he comes around, taking off his cap and turning it so it’s forward instead of backward, then opening my door for me. I could have just gotten out, but I’m thrown off by his behaviour. He’s usually open with me. There was only ever one thing he didn’t like to talk about.

I get out and wrap my arms around him, holding him tightly. His arms encircle me as well and he leans into the hug.

“What’s this for?” he asks.

“Just in case you need a hug. Figured I’d offer one.”

His arms tighten before he whispers, “You’re not supposed to still know me this well, sweetheart.”

“Neither are you,” I whisper back. We don’t say another word, like it’s a secret. We separate and, after Derek grabs his rain shell from his trunk again, we start toward Adalie’s apartment. I hold his hand, but neither of us remark on it.

When we’re in the elevator, he leans against the wall, letting me go so he can shove his hands in his pockets.

“He called the first time about a week ago,” he says without prompting.

“We don’t have to talk about this, Derek. I know how much you hate talking about him.”

“Adalie knows. When I get there, she’s going to ask what’s wrong. I’m not great at hiding my emotions around my friends.”

“You told Adalie about your dad?”

He shrugs. “I told all of them. They’re my best friends.”

The elevator doors open and he leads me down the hall. Sure enough, when Adalie answers the door, she takes one look at Derek with his hands in his pockets and no smile on his face and immediately asks, “What’s wrong?”

He turns to me with an expression that says, you see? “I just got another call.”

“Did you answer?” she asks, stepping away from the door, letting us in.

“No.”

She nods decisively. “Then let’s forget it for now. We’re going to have fun tonight. Hi Ava. It’s nice to see you again. I was looking for my jacket, then we can go. Is it raining yet?”

“Hi,” I say. “It is a bit.”

Derek sighs. “Ad. Isn’t that your jacket on the back of the couch?”

She looks where it’s draped next to a purple blanket and grins. “Yes. Perfect. I figured we’d walk to Granville Street and take a bus from there.”

She pulls on the purple winter coat and zips it up, grabbing her wallet and keys.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“You haven’t told her yet?”

Derek shakes his head. I can tell he’s still thrown off by the call, not smiling the way he usually does.

Adalie makes up for his withdrawn demeanour by being supremely bubbly, leading us back out of her apartment and to the elevator. She links her arms with Derek on one side and me on the other and begins an effusive explanation on her latest art piece.

“I really think the mixed media is going to make a statement,” she says.

“I’m excited to see it,” Derek says, and he’s sincere. “Do you want to wait until it’s done?”

“I think so. You’ll see the whole effect.”

He nods and we come to a stop to wait for a bus. I’m incredibly curious about where we’re going, but neither of them will answer.

Then, very casually, Derek says, “Hey, Adalie, how are you getting to work this week?”

“I’m taking transit, like usual,” she answers, sounding confused. “Why?”

“Can I borrow your car?”

I feel very uncomfortable for a moment, like my skin is too tight. “Derek,” I say, and shake my head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Adalie looks between us. “Is something wrong with your car?” she asks him.

“Not mine. Ava’s.” He pins me with a look. “She’s already agreed to borrow mine. But she’s worried about how I’ll get back and forth to work.”

“Take transit,” Adalie says. “Or you could borrow my car.” She pauses. “Probably Lis’ or Vic’s as well.”

She rattles off all the same things Derek had mentioned he could do, like none of them are a huge inconvenience. The bus arrives and we get on. Adalie pulls me into a seat and Derek stands next to us.

“You would really loan him your car because he’s loaning me his?” I ask.

Adalie shrugs. “Of course. Ooh! If you take transit, you could come over the bridge and we can take the bus together from my place.”

Derek’s smile has finally returned at Adalie’s suggestion. “Sounds like a plan.”

“How long until your car is fixed?” Adalie asks me.

“I’m not fixing it. Derek’s mechanic said it wasn’t worth it, so he’s going to try to find me a new one.”

“If Carter says it’s not worth it, I would trust him,” Adalie says with a nod.

“You know Derek’s mechanic?”

“He’s my mechanic, too. Vic goes to the dealership. Apparently, when you buy a brand new Mercedes, that’s the preferred place to take it.” She rolls her eyes. “I think Lis goes to Carter as well.”

“Her car is pretty new,” Derek says. “They just bought one when she moved in to Spencer’s place. But I think she was planning to take it to him for oil changes and stuff.”

We get off the bus and start walking toward the waterfront and Canada Place.

“Are we going to the Christmas Market?” I ask.

I haven’t been to the outdoor market in years, but I can hear the Christmas music even before I see it.

Derek grins at me. “Figured it out, did you?”

“This is another thing with an admission,” I say.

“Yes. But, to be fair, I already have a season pass. This is my third time this year. The four of us get season passes every year.” He looks at Adalie. “Five now, I guess.”

She nods. “Spencer, Lis, Vic, and I are coming back Thursday.”

“Why are you going back so soon?” I ask. “And why isn’t Derek invited?”

“We need to get a present for someone,” she says, casting a glance at Derek. “Be aware, I am paying attention tonight.”

He laughs. “I promise to point out a few things.”

I shiver from the cold and Derek pauses to put up the hood on my coat, then settles his arm around my shoulders.

We get into the season pass holder line and I turn to him. “Can I be in this lane?”

“You have a season pass, so yes. I’ll email it to you so you can come without me if you want.”

“Derek,” I whisper-shout. “Why did you pay the extra for a season pass for me?”

“I had a regular one before, but when I realized we’d have to stop at Carter’s shop, I switched it. The regular one, you have to choose your time, and I wasn’t sure how long it would take.”

“It’s a waste of money. I’m not going to go again.”

He shrugs. “Maybe you will. Maybe I’ll take you and Lacey.”

“Who’s Lacey?” Adalie asks, cutting off my argument.

I take a breath. The money is spent already. There’s nothing I can do about it now. But I’m uncomfortable again. I tell Adalie about my sister and we pass into the Christmas Market. I trail off as I notice the carousel right in front.

Derek squeezes my shoulder. “Wanna go for a ride?” he asks suggestively.

“No. I don’t need to ride on a carousel.”

“Come on, Ava. Who are you trying to fool?”

I arch an eyebrow at him. “I’ll go on it if you go on it.”

Adalie snorts. “I guess you guys are going for a ride. I’ll get a cider. See you back here when you’re done.”

Derek tugs my arm and we get in line.

“This is ridiculous,” I say. “Carousels are for little kids.”

He points to a couple of women on the horses as the ride spins slowly. “They look like they’re having fun. Besides. What better way to remind you how much you love Christmas than to do something that’s for kids ?”

I admit, everyone is smiling and laughing. I haven’t been on any kind of amusement ride since… the summer before Derek and I broke up. He’d taken me to the summer fair, and we’d stayed from open until close. We’d ridden every ride, and he’d won me a green teddy bear.

The carousel slows and people get off. Derek guides me forward in the line and when we get through the gate, he takes me right to a horse and tells me to get on it.

“Were you watching for the green one?” I ask, pausing to take a picture of it before climbing up, a close up of the horse’s face like a portrait.

He gets on the yellow one next to me. “Green is your favourite colour. You have to ride the green one.”

I cast a look over at him as we start to spin. “How do you remember that?” I ask.

He reaches over and touches the scarf and the neckline of my dress. “You don’t make it difficult, sweetheart.”

The ride blurs as we go round and round, the horses going up and down. I’m paying closer attention to the man next to me.

When we get off, we meet Adalie at the exit gate and she has a steaming cup of spiced hot apple cider.

Derek steers me toward the hut with the cider and buys us each one, even though I protest I don’t need it. He even gets me the commemorative cup.

“Why do I need this?” I ask.

“Because it’s part of the experience. Just like the carousel.”

“You didn’t force Adalie to get one. And you didn’t get one.”

He smiles and sips his drink. “We both got ours when we came a couple weeks ago.”

“You have an answer for everything.”

He just winks.

The three of us start a circuit of the vendors, checking out the blown glass ornaments, the knitted items, and the food. There are so many neat things that I find two presents for Lacey—a really cute set of dangling earrings that will match her eyes and a fuzzy scarf and toque set in her favourite colour, pink.

There’s a couple things I like for myself, though I don’t have the money to buy any. I point out a few pretty ornaments and gush with Adalie over some artisan jewellery that is simply gorgeous. Then I refuse when Derek offers to buy me something, pulling him away when he pretends like he’s going to, anyway.

I concentrate instead on taking pictures. Lots of them. Some are of the items for sale, some are of the decorations. There’s a huge tree made from lights that you can walk inside and a large frame where I tell Adalie and Derek to stand so I can take their picture. Then Adalie forces me to switch places.

“Photography isn’t my medium,” she says, “but I know enough not to mess it up. Get in there.”

“I hate getting my picture taken,” I say as she pushes me toward Derek.

“Too bad,” she says.

He grabs my hand and pulls me beside him, wrapping his arms around me so I can’t escape.

“I’m going to get you for this,” I tell him under my breath.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

He drags me to the tunnel of white lights called lover’s lane. After I’ve taken some more pictures, he pulls me inside, stopping us under the mistletoe.

I shake my head as he holds me closer, my hands sliding up his chest. “Do you know where all the mistletoe is hung in Vancouver?”

“I make it a point to know,” he says seriously before capturing my lips.

For a quarter of a second, I wonder what Adalie is thinking, seeing us kiss beneath the mistletoe, but then I surrender to him and his embrace, leaning in and opening my mouth to meet his tongue with mine.

I sigh and let myself get swept away with him, the crowd fading around us. When Derek breaks the kiss, I don’t catch the whimper before it can escape. He chuckles and leans down to whisper in my ear. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. There’s more for you later.” Then he turns to Adalie who scrunches her nose at him.

“You guys need a no making out rule, too.”

He laughs and kisses her cheek. Then we make our way to the food vendors where Derek buys me a huge soft pretzel and another spiced cider. Adalie also gets a refill on her drink and a hurricane potato. We stand at a table with a big umbrella to eat, taking shelter from the drizzling rain.

I let the magic of the atmosphere wash over me, people laughing, the choir singing “Deck the Halls,” the lights strung up, and Derek, pressed against my side, keeping me warm in the cold night.

Adalie pulls out her purchases to examine them again, telling me all about her brother and sister and why she thinks these will make good gifts for them, when Derek interrupts.

“Sorry, Adalie, but I see someone I need to talk to,” Derek says, taking a drink of his cider and setting it down, his eyes tracking someone on the other side of the market square.

“Who?” Adalie asks the question I desperately want to.

“The chocolate vendor. He stopped returning my calls, and he’s right over there.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” I ask.

He looks at me with a soft smile. “No, sweetheart. I just have to wrangle him into calling me tomorrow. You stay here with Adalie. I’ll be back before you finish your cider.”

He kisses me on the corner of my mouth like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like we’re a couple and not friends-with-benefits. Then he’s gone to speak to the person and I’m left staring after him.

“So,” Adalie says, drawing my attention to her. “You and Derek.”

I blink, trying to think of what to say. “We’re… friends?”

She nods and smiles around the rim of her cup. Then she sets it down. “Friends who are fucking.”

“He told you?”

“We’re pretty open with each other. Especially if it could affect the business. And by we, I don’t mean me and him. I mean the five of us. I’d like to point something out. Something maybe you don’t want to hear.”

I brace myself for whatever she’s about to say next.

“I know another couple of people who are friends that fuck. Spencer and Lis.”

I shake my head. “That’s different. They’re so obviously in love with each other.”

She looks at me like I’m completely dense. “Yes, they are. Annoyingly, disgustingly, adorably in love.”

She doesn’t say anything else about it. I wonder what exactly she’s trying to tell me. Before I can answer, I hear my name and turn to see my neighbour Theresa coming toward us.

“Hey, Ava. I didn’t realize you’d be here,” she says when she reaches the table.

“Neither did I. I kind of got dragged.”

Theresa turns to Adalie. “Hi. I’m Theresa. I live next door to Ava.”

Adalie smiles and holds out her hand to shake. “Nice to meet you.”

Then Derek returns, his hand grazing the small of my back before he takes his place by my side.

Theresa’s eyes widen a fraction before she plasters on a smile. “Well. If it isn’t Derek. Long time.”

“Theresa,” he says. “How have you been?”

“Oh, you know. Keeping busy. You?”

He smiles. “Same.”

They’ve never really liked each other. Derek always thought she was judgmental, though he never suggested I stop talking to her.

Adalie changes the subject, cutting through the awkwardness, when she asks Derek if he managed to wrangle the chocolate vendor.

They chat about that while Theresa leans close to me.

“So, Derek is back?” she asks.

I shrug. “Yes.” Why am I so wary of what she’s going to say?

“Just be careful. I remember how hurt you were last time. Taking up with him again could be dangerous.”

She’s right, of course. This could go horribly wrong. But as I turn toward him, listening as he laughs at something Adalie has said, his arm still wrapped around me like he can’t quite bring himself to let go, I don’t feel worried at all. I just feel safe.