Page 120 of Dirty Pool

Well, there was that awkwardness again. Silence coated the table, because clearly, no one wanted to explain to Catherine the same things Michel had just gone through before she arrived. Gabbie looked to Michel, but he glanced his father’s way. Dante, to his benefit, was staring at his wife like she might like to be the one to explain.

“Well, you see …” Catrina started, making a face as though she couldn’t find the right words to use. Gabbie wished she could just shrink away into her chair, and be done with it.

“It was a surprise for us, too,” Dante finished for his wife.

Catherine seemed like she didn’t care at all as she turned to Gabbie with a wide smile. “Hi, I’m Catherine.”

She smiled back. “Gabbie.”

The first thing Gabbie thought about Catherine was that she didn’t look a lot like her brother. She shared her father’s green eyes, his dark hair, but her mother’s entire face, essentially. But the way she tilted her head to the side as she regarded her brother … Gabbie found familiarity there because Michel did the same thing when he was considering something.

“Holy shit,” Catherine said to Michel, “you brought home a girl.”

Michel relaxed next to Gabbie. “Yeah, I guess I did, Catty.”

Dante chuckled across the table. “Sort of.”

Heat rose to Gabbie’s cheeks at the implication in the man’s words.

“What did I miss?” Catherine asked.

The silence echoed.

Catherine, again, didn’t seem to care as she turned to her brother for an answer. “You didn’t, like … knock her up or something, right?”

Michel barked out a laugh.

Gabbie had the strangest urge to smack him for it, too.

“No,” he said.

Okay, this was grand, but Gabbie had just about enough of being the brunt of the joke. As if this wasn’t awkward enough, it was only being made worse. Maybe this hadn’t been the best time to do this.

She didn’t hide the roll of her eyes as she said to Michel, “Well, this has been fun, but maybe it’s time to go.”

Catrina quickly stood from her seat, and her gaze locked on Gabbie, then. “Please stay; this was just a bit of a shock, that’s all.”

Dante nodded. “Yes, stay.”

Gabbie looked to Michel.

She would … if he would.

He winked.

“Seriously, what did I miss?” Catherine asked louder.

Michel cleared his throat, gave Gabbie a small smile, and then lifted his hand for his sister to see the gold band on his ring finger. A new addition to his hand, but permanent. At least … if he wasn’t in a hospital working. They’d picked up matching bands that morning after breakfast because Michel didn’t want to wait. And frankly, neither did she.

“Meet my wife, Catherine.”

• • •

“Gabbie, would you like to help me make some bread?”

On the couch, Gabbie stiffened.

Beside her, Catherine let out a light laugh. Michel’s sister was nothing like him, and yet, Gabbie still felt herself drawn to the young woman. There was something haunting in her eyes, and yet, a strength, too. Like nothing she had ever seen before in someone else. Catherine was also easy to like.