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She looks at me with a mix of doubt and longing in her eyes. "I want to believe you, Jacob. I really do. But it's hard when everything around us is so chaotic."
"I know it's not easy." I take a step closer to her again, the heat of the stove just a foot away from us. "But we can make this work."
"How?" Gabi nearly screeches. "How can we make this work when we're constantly in the spotlight? This fake relationship has gone too far. We're hurting people, Jacob. Veronica Corso already suspects that our engagement was a lie. And she's right." Her eyes glaze over with tears unshed—tears that I know she's been holding back for a long time. "We lied. About our fake relationship. About everything. You're a liar. I'm a liar."
I reach for her again, but this time she doesn't pull away. She lets me take her hand and I bring it to my lips, kissing the back of her hand softly.
"The only true lie, Gabi," I whisper, "is that we didn't fall in love."
Her eyes widen in surprise and then soften as she looks at me. I can see the conflict within her, the war between her head and heart.
"I don't know if I can trust this, Jacob."
I lean in closer to her until our noses are touching. "Then let me show you that you can." I brush my hand over her jaw. "I'm in love with you, Gabriella De Luca. No matter how many lies we've told, that will always be the truth."
Her lips part and I can feel her breath on my skin. "I'm in love with you too, Jacob Walker."
Her confession breaks the last wall inside me, the wall that's been keeping me focused on nothing but my hockey career all these years. The wall that's been telling me love, loyalty, devotion—and anything like it—isn't worth the risk.
My father choosing my stepmother over me, over my mother's memory, had scarred me in ways that, even as an adult, I don’t want to admit.
It convinced me that love is just an illusion and loyalty is nothing but a word people like to throw around without truly understanding its weight.
But here, with Gabi in my arms, I know all of that is wrong. Love and loyalty exist—true and powerful.
And for this woman, for our child inside her, for this love, I'm willing to risk everything for them.
Now knowing that, I take her face in my hands and press my lips to hers in a kiss that feels like coming home...and finally, finally, I know that this is where I belong.
Chapter 24
Gabi
Jacob’s lips crash into mine, and I lose myself in the warmth of his kiss. Our breaths tangle, the world narrowing down to just him and me. Every ounce of doubt evaporates like mist under the sun. I’m anchored here, as if his love is the gravity that holds me steady.
His hands slide to my waist, lifting me effortlessly. A soft gasp escapes my lips as he cradles me in his arms. That fractured wrist of his is still healing, but everything about him feels strong and solid.
He feels like a rock, a potential safe haven...
In one smooth motion, he starts carrying me up the staircase. My head nestles against his shoulder, and I let my gaze wander over the walls.
Pictures of Gio and me stare back—captured smiles that hide the loneliness beneath. Then there are our parents, grinning in snapshots from Paris, Cairo, Tokyo—places they’d ventured without a second thought about us.
To them, we were an afterthought, a footnote in the story of their glamorous lives.
But not to Jacob. Not a word he says, not a touch he offers, feels less than genuine.
It feels like with him...I could be a priority. If only I could just let go.
If only I were another woman, with another family, maybe I could.
Instead, I'm Gabriella De Luca—a woman with a PR career to look out for, a brother who loves her, a grandmother who spoils her, and a soon-to-be newborn child who will need her. Life is never simple.
But, in this moment, with Jacob's lips on mine, I let myself forget all of that.
I'm just Gabi. A woman in love.
And it feels like there's nothing else in the world.
