I told them about how the meeting went, Hal’s conditions, my list, Gabriel’s response. Eliza and Jules’s gasps, along with Wes’s mumbled swears, made my retelling rather theatrical. Had it not been me in this situation, I would’ve found it all entertaining, too.
“Did Hal say anything about when he’ll make up his mind or how long Gabriel has to work at the café?” Jules asked.
I shrugged. “Kind of? It all depends on finishing the list. He said he’d like to make his mind up in the new year. And get this.He said, and I quote,‘I have a feeling you’ll know before me.’How cryptic is that? I mean, it’s typical Hal.”
Hal had infinite wisdom and was always one step ahead, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what his agenda was this time.
“Okay…” Eliza said. “In the new year. That could mean next month…or it could mean in a few months. Either way, you need to find a way to survive working with Gabriel. It might not be theworstthing, right? You can have him do the things you don’t want to do. Have him help out with cleaning up for the day so you can leave work a little early. Then once you hire someone, you’ll have even more free time. You can finally take time for yourself to unwind and relax.”
“I know this sucks and is super frustrating, but Eliza’s right,” Jules added. “You were so excited to put that list together. Now, you’ll have time to actually do it.” Jules paused. “We’re…well, we might be a little worried about you. You’ve been workingsomuch lately.”
Next it was Wes. “You need to take care of yourself. This could be a good thing, Lily.”
“As long as you don’t kill Gabriel,” Eliza added.
I didn’t bother arguing with them, because they were right. Even if this did feel like a little bit of an intervention. Although, considering I was stress baking at midnight, maybe I needed it.
“Fine,” I accepted with a sigh. “I’ll spend some time over the weekend thinking about what he could help me with. I am excited to sign up for the online baking classes I’ve been eyeing. They’re justsoexpensive,” I groaned. “But anyways, yeah, I think there are ways to use this situation to my advantage.”
“So…” Jules said, drawing out the word. “Now that you’ve seen him in person…how hot was he?”
Wes groaned. “That’s my cue to leave.” He pressed a kiss to Jules’s cheek. “The sooner you hang up, the sooner you can joinme in bed, sweetheart,” he murmured, but unfortunately for me, the phone still picked up his words.
A blush formed on Jules’s cheeks, and I rolled my eyes. “Get a room!”
As Wes got up from the couch, he said, “What do you think I’m trying to do?”
Jules shook her head, watching him walk off before her attention was turned back to me.
“This does not leave this call,” I started, letting out a heavy exhale. “He’s the type of attractive that it hurts to look at. Like unfairly hot. Proof that the universe is clearly picking favorites. And his jaw line—” I cut myself off (even though I could’ve easily kept going) when I saw the smirks on Jules and Eliza’s faces. “But it doesn’t matter! Not to me, at least. I’m immune to his good looks. Plus, he’s arrogant and thinks he’s way too good for our small town. He wanted to throw money at the problem and get out of here. It doesn’t matter how attractive he is ifthat’shis personality.” I paused to finally take a breath. “There are cats and baked goods involved. Nothing and no one can stand in my way.”
9
GABRIEL
Turned out,I’d be in Golden Falls longer than a weekend.
Great.
I should’ve known it wouldn’t be easy.
Hopefully, I’d talk with residents over the next few weeks, help Lily with that goddamn wish list, pitch my idea to Hal, get the building, and be done with this strange small town.
In the meantime, I was back in Milwaukee for the weekend to grab more of my belongings for my extended stay. My first stop was the office to pick up documents, folders, and notes that I didn’t have stored on my work laptop. I intended for this to be a quick stop so I could get back to my apartment.
But those plans went out the window when I heard footsteps outside my door. It was a Saturday, so there was only one other person who’d be here.
I inhaled deeply, grabbing the stack of folders and sliding them in my backpack. “Dad,” I greeted simply.
He stood in the doorway, his overwhelming and intimidating presence filling the whole office, suffocating me. With one look, one raised brow, he was able to make me feel small. Make mesecond-guess everything.Why wasn’t I more successful? Why couldn’t I stand up to him? Why couldn’t I just walk away?
“Gabriel,” he said slowly, eyes moving to my cleaned-off desk. “I’m surprised to see you here, considering you’ve been slacking lately.”
“I’m not sure where you’re getting that from,” I responded. “I turned in my work ahead of leaving for the weekend. Which, speaking of, I’m going to be working remotely for the time being. Through the end of the month, at least, but maybe a little longer than that. I’ll let my clients know and make?—”
My father let out a humorless laugh. “You’re going to be working remotely?” he asked, disdain dripping from each word. “Consider yourself out of a fucking job, then.”
I clenched my jaw, my patience thin. “There’s a building. One that would be a good candidate for community development and getting the public involved on the project. I’m trying to close the deal. It’s…” I paused. “It’s in Golden Falls. That’s where I’ll be for the time being.”
