“Did you have a good time in Miami?” Hailey asked.
“We did. It’s always a wonderful event. I’m just sorry you two weren’t there with us.”
“Yeah, me too.” Hailey made a face. “Gabriel probably would have been even more miserable there than he was here, though. All he talked about was how great his trip to Florida with Addy was, and how they’d planned to go back for Art Basel.” She sighed. “I don’t know. I guess it’s not been that long, but he seems to be getting worse, not better.”
Blythe sighed deeply. “I’m worried about him, too.” She drummed her fingers on the table, shaking her head. “I knew something like this was going to happen from the very beginning. It was inevitable. There had to come a time when her other life was revealed and she’d have to make a choice. That choice was never going to be Gabriel.”
They sat in silence for a while, sipping tea and thinking their own thoughts. Finally Blythe spoke. “I wonder if Gigi and Ed still hear from her. If she’s in touch with them and telling them that her life is going well and she’s happy, maybe Gabriel will stop believing she’s in some sort of grave danger.”
Hailey slid Blythe’s cell phone over to her. “Why don’t you call her now?”
“I will.” Blythe picked up the phone, scrolled down her contact list, and tapped on the number.
“Gigi. It’s Blythe. How are you?”
“Not too bad, just getting ready for the holidays over here. How are you doing?”
“I’m all right. I’m actually here with Hailey. We were wondering if you’d heard from Addison lately.”
There was a sigh on the other end. “I haven’t spoken to her in a few weeks,” Gigi said. “She’s stopped taking my calls, and her phone goes right to voice mail. I’ve tried texting her, and for a while she was answering, but a few weeks ago she wrote to say she was grateful to me and Ed for all we’d done for her and that she loved us, but she needed to give all her attention to her family for the time being. That maybe in the future we could be in touch again, but not right now.”
Blythe was shocked. She understood that Addison needed to find her own way, but how could she just cut off Ed and Gigi, after they’d saved her life and helped her rebuild one?
“I’m so sorry, Gigi. I know how hard this must be for you and Ed. How did things seem to you when you were in contact? Did she sound okay, like things were going well?”
“They did. She seemed apprehensive at first, but as time went on, she sounded like she was beginning to remember things. It even sounded like she was happy to be back.” She stopped again. “But then a few days ago Julian called me to tell me he’s worried about her.”
Blythe looked at Hailey and frowned. “Did he say why?”
“He didn’t go into a lot of detail, but apparently she’s back in therapy, and it’s taking a lot out of her.”
“I suppose that would be expected, given everything she’s been through. And continuing to go through,” Blythe said.
“Right. From what Julian says, she doesn’t have any close friends, and he’s been encouraging her to call me, but she won’t. He even suggested to Addy that she should ask me to visit, but she refuses.”
“Hmm. Strange,” Blythe said. “You don’t think he could be lying, do you?”
Gigi sighs again. “I don’t know what to think anymore, to tell you the truth. But doesn’t it seem like if things were bad, Addy would tell me and Ed? I know things are more complicated with Gabriel, but she’d have no reason to keep that from us, right? And Julian seems like he’s on the up-and-up. If he didn’t want to help her get better, why would he have bothered to find her and take her home?”
That was true, Blythe thought. “I haven’t told anyone but Hailey this, Gigi, but I hired a detective to look into Julian. He’s found nothing to indicate that he’s a liar or dangerous or, I don’t know, playing at some sort of crazy game. Maybe it’s just taking Addison time to adjust.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Well,” Blythe said, “if you hear anything that worries or alarms you, would you let us know?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Take care, Gigi.”
After she hung up, Blythe looked at Hailey and recounted the conversation to her. “What do you think?”
Before she could speak, the phone rang. Blythe’s brows knit together when she saw Gigi’s name. “Hello?”