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While I would have preferred to have her tell me to toss the guy out on his ass, her solution was fair. I’d come into this knowing he was on the sidelines and would come back into play at some point. I just didn’t expect it to be today, that was for sure. But I respected Georgia’s decision, and I also hated that she looked like she was going to break if I did anything but agree.
So I nodded and opened my arms to her. “Okay. Come here.”
She melted into me. I held her tightly for as long as I could, then kissed the top of her head. “Call me if you want to talk, okay?”
She forced a smile and nodded. “Thank you, Max.”
“I’m going to walk out first. But I’m going to wait downstairs to make sure he doesn’t give you a hard time before I leave.”
“He won’t. But I know that will make you feel better. Thank you for being so protective of me.”
Georgia took a deep breath before we walked out of the bedroom. I waited until I got to the door before turning back and pointing to Gabriel. “Don’t make me regret walking out this door first. Be respectful.”
My heart pounded as I left. I knew leaving without a scene was the right thing to do, but that didn’t make it suck any less. Outside, I told the driver we needed to stay a little while, and then I leaned against the car and waited. Not quite five minutes had passed before the door to her building opened again, and Gabriel walked out, wheeling his bag. He took a few steps and faltered, finding me leaning against the car. Our eyes locked, and we continued to stare until he reached the sidewalk. Then he turned without a word and walked on down the block. Guess he was smarter than he looked.
CHAPTER 20
* * *
Georgia
Nervous was sort of a pass-through stage for me.
I hated the churning that happened in my stomach whenever I was anxious about something. I hated not being able to focus on anything other than whatever was freaking me out, and most of all, I hated that no matter how hard I analyzed things, I couldn’t come up with a solution. All of this made me angry—and that was the stage I’d just entered as I sat in the restaurant at eleven fifty-eight the next day and watched Gabriel walk to the table for our noon lunch.
He smiled, but I didn’t reciprocate.
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long,” he said, pulling out the chair across from me. “I walked out of my room without my wallet and then realized the key was in my wallet, and the front desk didn’t want to give me a new one because I didn’t have any ID.”
“It’s fine.”
Gabriel sat and folded his hands. “You look nice. The lighting in here makes your hair have a red highlight to it.”
“It is red. I dyed it. I finally decided to try it.”
“I didn’t realize that was something you’d wanted to do.”
I sighed. “What are you doing here, Gabriel?”
He lifted the napkin from the table and laid it across his lap. “I came to talk to you.”
“You should have told me you were coming. And you definitely shouldn’t have let yourself into my apartment last night.”
“I know.” He looked down. “I’ve handled this all wrong, and I’m very sorry.”
The waitress came over and poured us waters, then asked if we were ready to order. I hadn’t even looked at the menu, nor did I have much of an appetite. “Do you have Caesar salad?”
She nodded. “We do. Would you like blackened chicken in that? It’s really good. I eat it all the time.”
I held out the menu to her. “Sure. Thank you.”
She looked to Gabriel, who handed her his menu, too. “I’ll have the same.”
Once she was gone, Gabriel shook his head. “I practiced what I was going to say to you a dozen times on the flight over. But I can’t seem to remember where to start now.”
“How about starting with what you’re doing here? I thought you weren’t planning on coming back until after your sabbatical.”
“I wasn’t. I came back to talk to you.” He picked up his water and gulped. Then he took a deep breath. “I made such a big mistake, Georgia.”
“Coming here?”
He shook his head. “No, not at all. I made a mistake leaving.”
I had on a long-sleeve, fitted shirt, and suddenly the arms felt too tight. It was like my clothes had shrunk two sizes and were trying to suffocate me. When I said nothing, Gabriel reached across the table and covered my hand with his.
I pulled mine away.
He frowned. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Georgia. And I ran away when things got tough. I love you, and I was a complete idiot. I made a mistake, and I’m here to try to fix it.”
