Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Voices fill the kitchen.
A lot like this morning in the bedroom. It’s the same feminine lilt and masculine boom that woke me up from the other side of the window. Gabe’s brother and his ex-wife. We can actually hear them talking about their plan to meet at the pub for a drink after work. Not for the first time today, I marvel over Gabe’s ability to live like this. So up close and personal with the two people who played fast and loose with his feelings. His life.
Tobias, Banks and I all look at Gabe.
He starts to glance away, embarrassed, but something changes in him. Maybe it’s the fact that we’re locked together, a literal united front. Or maybe we’re just witnessing a personal change in him, but he suddenly appears determined.
“Take up your space, Gabe,” I whisper in his ear, echoing what I told him the night of the gala. “Don’t apologize for it.”
Tobias and Banks clap him on the shoulder.
I hold my breath as he leaves our embrace and moves across the kitchen. An imposing figure with his chiseled back and tattoos, while on the inside, such a sensitive man. He hesitates with his hand on the doorknob, before pulling it open. “Hey,” he calls in a steady, no-nonsense tone. The conversation that had been taking place in the driveway cuts out abruptly.
Banks, Tobias and I exchange a look of shocked anticipation, then we run to the blinds to peek through the slats. Gabe’s brother is leaning against the hood of his car and he is visibly stunned by the sudden appearance of Gabe. “Yeah?” he says slowly.
Gabe steps out of the house, barefoot in the morning light and…oh my God.
For the first time this morning, I notice that he is covered in scratches from my nails and there are hickeys all over his neck. And nipples. And stomach.
Gabe’s brother rears back with wide eyes.
“Holy…” I breathe.
“Yeah,” Tobias drawls. “You’re a fucking wildcat. You should see my back.”
Banks clears his throat. “My ass looks like someone played tic-tac-toe on it.”
My face heats. “Wow. I guess I’ll trim my nails.”
“No,” they both say at the same time. “Leave them,” Banks says, kissing my hand.
“I’d get mine tattooed on if I could bear to mar this incredible skin of mine—”
“Looks like you had quite a night,” Gabe’s brother remarks.
“Yeah. I did. And it’s none of your business. Just like your romantic life is none of mine. But it seems like something you’re determined to share with me.”
“Hey, man. We’re just living our lives.”
“Right.” Gabe’s arms are crossed now. I’ve never seen him look more confident. “Is there some reason you’re parked on my lawn?”
His brother doesn’t bother to glance at the tires, which leads me to believe he’s well-aware of what he’s been doing. “It’s a small driveway. I like to leave room on both sides of the car, so we can get in easily.”
“That sounds like your problem, not mine,” Gabe says without hesitation. His brother snorts, but his amusement disappears quickly when Gabe remains stone-faced. “This is the last time. You park on my lawn again, you’ll wake up to flat tires.”
The other man gapes. “Are you threatening me?”
Gabe winks at his brother, turns on a heel and strides back toward the house. “You bet your ass I am.”
Candace has been silent up to this point, but she finally speaks. “Jesus, Gabe.” There’s a mystified smile on her face. “What has gotten into you?”
He points at the blinds where all three of us are watching the proceedings—and we’ve definitely been spotted. “They have.”
We hit the floor like children caught eavesdropping.
Gabe’s shadow darkens the door, but his brother calls to him, stopping him just short of entering the house. “Hold up, man. Wait.”
“What?” Gabe asks.
“Listen, uh…” A loud gust of breath. “It’s not about leaving room on both sides of the car. I was just trying to get a reaction out of you. This whole thing with the marriage and divorce…you have no idea how much I regret how it all went down. I hurt my brother. I hurt Candace, too, by letting her go in the first place, but she forgave me in due time. You…you didn’t even get fucking mad at me. You just accepted us getting back together without a fight. I wanted a fight. I wanted you to tell me I’m a prick and punch me in the face. I deserve it.”
Gabe is silent for a full ten seconds. “That’s why you’ve been parking on my lawn?”
“Yeah. What else am I supposed to do?” A chagrined laugh from Gabe’s brother. “Communicate with you like an adult?”
“That would have been nice.”
“You’re one to talk. Hiding in your house. Signing the divorce papers without so much as a middle finger for us. You wouldn’t believe the guilt I’ve been living with.”