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“Do you ever talk to your father?” I ask.
“Only when he showboats and tries to pull some crazy stunt like he just did with you and that fake lawsuit.”
“Did you talk to him about that?”
“You don’t talk to my father and get anywhere. You take action.”
“What action, Gabe?”
“Depends on the situation.”
“This one?”
“There are things I can do to cause him pain. He knows it. That’s why he wants me out of this. That’s why he wants you to push me out of this.” He shuts the donut box. “Which is why you can’t make assumptions about me. If you doubt me, talk to me. Give me the chance to speak for myself.”
“Of course, I will. I should have. It was just a shock and you have to understand,” I shove aside half an uneaten donut, “I’ve seen a lot of really dirty play through my ex. Often I saw things he didn’t know I saw.” My stomach knots because sometimes I was more involved than I wanted to be in my ex’s nightmare tactics. “I’m programmed to expect the worst.”
His eyes narrow and then soften right along with my voice. “As am I.” His hand covers mine. “Let’s make a pact. You and I are together. We don’t let others divide us. We don’t let our past history dictate the present.”
“You know my past history,” I say, because it’s mostly true. “I don’t know yours, aside from an extreme distaste for having children.”
His lashes lower, a muscle in his jaw ticking before he looks at me. “It’s not that simple.”
“It doesn’t sound simple at all to me, but for the record, I’m not looking to be a mom, Gabe. I’m not emotionally equipped to be a mom.”
“What does that mean?”
“There’s no simple answer to that question either.”
He sits there, his eyes shifting and probing, and I can almost feel how much he wants to push me for more, but I know he won’t. Because if I tell him my secrets, he’ll have to tell mehis secrets. “We better get to the ranch,” Gabe says, eyeing his watch. “We have a chopper back to the city in a few hours.”
“Well then,” I say softly. “Now that we’ve established we’re together but with boundaries, I agree. We should go.” I stand up and start to move away.
He lets me and this bothers me more than it should. We barely know each other. I have things I’m not willing to share. He gets his secrets, too, but if I’m honest with myself, some part of me wanted him to stop me. Some part of me wants him to give me a reason to tell him everything. Then maybe, just maybe, he’d stop me from being a fool and doing something I can’t take back.
Chapter forty-two
Gabe
Secrets.
I have them.
I believe Abbie has them.
I watch her walk toward the door and yes, I let her move ahead. I go so far as to turn my back on her to pick up the donut box. I can feel the divide between us widening every second I let her go, that comment she made about boundaries cutting and twisting inside me. I pause right there at the table, press my fist to the surface and shut my eyes. Damn it to hell. What am I doing with this woman?
My lashes lift and I find a pretty blonde staring at me like she wants me for breakfast. A woman and an invitation I’d have welcomed a week ago, but not now. Now, there’s Abbie, andonlyAbbie, and I don’t know what the fuck to do with that. I just don’t know and I’m not losing the chance to figure it out.
I grab the box and turn to find Abbie exiting the donut shop. In a few long strides, I’m at the door and outside. She’s charging quickly toward my car, her ass a perfect heart shape in her jeans. I’m hard for her that easily. I want her. Every way I can get her.I catch up to her in a few more steps and shackle her arm. She whirls on me. “I saw you and that blonde looking at each other. I saw, Gabe, and I don’t need to be that other girl again. Not now. Not ever.”
I pull her to me, flush against my body and I hope like hell she can feel how aroused I am. “Do you know what I was thinking when I was looking at her?”
“I don’t care,” she hisses, shoving against me.
“I’m going to tell you anyway. I was thinking about you. I was thinking that before you, I’d have taken her invitation. Now, there’s just you. I only want you, Abbie. And I don’t want you to be with anyone else either.”
“I don’t believe you.”
