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producers called me, and he said that he’d seen photos of the exhibit before it opened up to the public, and the studio heads thought it was a little boring. He said that we needed something big to draw in the crowds, and that he’d heard about the dagger from Gopher and had gotten the okay from him to ask M.J. about it.”
    My brow furrowed. “No producer ever called me about the dagger,” I snapped.
    â€œYeah, I know,” Gil said. “And that’s because, before you left on your trip, you told me not to give out your location or phone numbers to
anyone
. And you told me not to call you unless somebody was on fire or dead. So, I made the executive decision to handle it myself.”
    I shook my head. “Oh, cut the crap, Gil! You didn’t call us because you knew I’d say no!”
    Gilley picked at a thread on the seam of his jeans. “Well that may have had something to do with it,” he admitted.
    I shook my head, so angry I could have actually punched him. “Why?!” I demanded.
    Gilley sighed and he seemed full of regret. “The studio threw a lot of money at me and I caved,” he admitted. Looking up at me, he added, “Seriously, M.J., the money was too good to turn down.”
    â€œYou don’t need any more money!” I yelled. “Gil, you were already paid handsomely for the movie, and there are more box office royalties to come!”
    Gil’s expression shifted to something a little closer to petulance. “First of all, Michel and I received a
lot
less than you and Heath. You guys got the biggest piece of the pie by far. And before you start yelling at me again, yes, that still meant that we got a really nice check,
but
weddings are expensive, M.J.! Between the caterer, the venue, the photographer, and the DJ, it’s a ridiculous amount of money! And that’s before the down payment on the new apartment in Manhat—” Gilley suddenly covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head as if he’d just let out a huge secret. Which, of course he had.
    â€œNew apartment?” I said, jumping on the admission. “New
Manhattan
apartment, Gil?”
    Gil dropped his hand and went back to staring at his lap. “We were going to tell you when Michel got back from the shoot in New York,” he said.
    A lump formed in my throat. Even though Heath and I were heading to Santa Fe sometime in the next few months, somehow, having Gilley announce his move first both stunned and deeply hurt me. “Ah,” I said, blinking hard to fight back tears. “I see.”
    Gilley shook his head sadly, and when he spoke his voice hitched with emotion. “It’s Michel’s job,” he said.“All the best-paying photography gigs are in New York, and he’s starting to be requested by some of the top magazines. We just feel he’ll get a real shot at having his career take off if he’s closer to their offices.”
    To hear Gilley tell me that he was leaving me—it went right to my heart. I’d never lived farther than ten minutes from him since I was eleven years old. And as frustrating, aggravating, annoying, and infuriating as Gil could be, he was still family to me. It hit me all of a sudden that I could never simply just walk down the stairs to have breakfast with him again. Or watch old movies with him on Sunday. Or be wined and dined at one of his fabulous dinner parties. I’d have to fly clear across the country to see him, and we’d probably do that quite a bit for a few years, fly back and forth to see each other, but then our lives would go in different directions and we’d see less and less of each other.
    I realized that the first step in having Gilley mostly out of my life had already been taken, and it upset me more than I could say.
    â€œEm?” Heath said, moving to my side. “Are you crying?”
    I buried my face in my hands and tried to choke back the