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“Oh, my God. I’ve put you and the baby in danger.”
Cole walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Gabi, look at me.”
My eyes lifted to his, but I could hardly see through my tears welling up in them.
“I have to leave, Cole. Now.”
“Let me call, Nic.”
“NO!” I screamed, causing Charity to jump.
Shaking my head, I looked at him with pleading eyes. “You can’t tell him, Cole. Please you can’t tell him. If you do, he’ll come searching for me and Dante will have him followed. He probably already knows of my relationship with Nic. Please don’t put his life in danger.”
“You want him to think you’re really cheating? Gabi, it will destroy him.”
Reaching for Charity’s hands, I tried to smile. “I’ll make sure my brother has someone watching the place. You and the baby will be safe. I promise.”
Glancing back to Cole, I added, “You can’t tell him the truth, Cole. He’ll try to find me!”
The look on Charity’s face was utter confusion. “Wait. Gabi, what in the hell is going on? You’re in hiding?”
“Yes. I have been for six years.”
“Oh my God. Why?”
My chest stuttered. “I want to tell you everything, but I can’t. I have to leave. Now!”
Charity and Cole stood there and watched me frantically pack. I took only the things I needed. Rushing back to the closet, I reached up and found the bag I had stashed up there.
“What’s in that bag?” Charity asked.
Without looking at her, I simply said, “Money to start over somewhere else.”
“Jesus Christ! Gabi! This is insane,” Charity said. “Stop for five minutes and talk to me. It’s the least you could do.”
Zipping up my bag, I inhaled a deep breath while brushing my tears to the side.
Slowly turning to face Charity and Cole, I said, “I can’t tell you. The less you know the better. Please just know I’m so sorry I put your life in danger. I got careless and slipped up. I should have never have gone out with Nic, or did that stupid cooking competition, or went back to Italy.” Rubbing my hands over my arms, I added in a whispered voice, “I should have known Dante would never stop looking.”
“What about the bakery?” Charity asked.
“In the office safe is an envelope marked with the words secret recipes. It’s paperwork that states the bakery is yours should anything like this ever happen. I had planned on writing you a note if I ever had to leave.”
She laughed. “A note? A note that said what exactly?”
“That I had to leave and that the bakery was now yours.”
Tears filled her eyes. “So you would have left without saying goodbye or telling me any of this?”
I slowly nodded. My eyes pierced hers and I would have done anything to take the hurt away.
When I looked over at Cole, I forced a smile. “Will you please let Nic at least know that I wasn’t cheating on him? That it was my brother he saw me with. But please don’t’ tell him anything else.”
He shook his head. “If you think I’m not going to tell Nic about this, you’re insane. I already sent him a text. If anyone can keep you safe, it’s Nic.”
Horror spread over my face. “What?”
“He loves you, Gabi. He’ll do whatever he can to protect you.”
My body started to tremble. “I have to leave.”
“No, Gabi please don’t leave,” Charity begged.
“Gabi, wait,” Cole said with a panicked look on his face.
If he sent Nic a text, that was another life in danger because of me.
Pushing past both of them, I rushed to the door. “Please let me go! You have to for your own safety,” I cried out as I threw the door open and rushed into the hall with the small bag I had packed. “It’s for the best that I leave now.”
The air surrounding me suddenly changed. I came to a stop when I saw him standing there.
I dropped everything and covered my mouth with my hands.
He stood there looking directly into my eyes. All I could see in them was love. How could I have ever doubted him? Not trusted him? Before I had a chance to move, he was in front of me, pulling me into his arms.
“You’re not going anywhere, Gabi.”
Hope fluttered inside of me. Burying my face into his chest, I sobbed uncontrollably as Nic’s love covered me in a protective blanket.
MOMENTS EARLIER . . .
MY MOTHER WALKED silently next to me after I told her about me and Gabi.
“I thought you would be happy,” I mumbled.
“What! Why would you think I would be happy, Nicholaus?”
I laughed. “Oh, let me see what reasons I can come up with. One, she isn’t Greek.”
My mother held up her hand. “That’s not true. She is three percent Greek.”
“What? How do you know that?”
She grinned. “Don’t be mad, but I had a DNA test done.”
