AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She bristled, her spine straight, her eyes fixed on the activity below. She wished she were down there, anonymous in the heaving crowd, unseen and alone.
“I got pissed off. Sure, I know they mean well, but my family just drive me crazy sometimes.” She felt him shift; her heart splintered. His voice grew low. “When Nico spoke to me, I was at breaking point.”
She kept her face averted, feeling that everything was at stake. She didn’t want him to know that she’d heard the way he spoke about her.
“I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
Her nerve endings went into overdrive. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied, looking at him before she could stop herself.
Sympathy softened his features; his voice was low. “Yes, you do. You were in the Morning Room, by the window. You must have heard everything we said.”
Her lips parted. “How did you know?”
“Your video.”
Her eyes squeezed shut. “You watched it?”
He didn’t answer her question. “I said whatever I could to make him shut up. I just wanted people to stop asking about us. I didn’t want to have to answer questions, I didn’t want to have to explain anything about you and me to another soul.”
“There was no ‘you and me’,” she said quietly.
He grimaced, reached out for her hand. She stepped away quickly; if he touched her, she’d explode.
“Don’t,” she shook her head quickly.
His sigh was laced with frustration. “I said you didn’t mean anything to me, but that was completely untrue.”
Her heart stammered.
“There was always a risk that things between us would become more complicated. I knew that from the outset.”
She angled her face back towards the window.
“You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known.”
A ghost of a smile, completely lacking in humour, marred her face. It was a sad smile, a haunted, aching expression. “You don’t have to do this.” She mustered all her strength, ready to say whatever she needed to make him disappear. She wouldn’t let him pity her more than he already did. “I did overhear your conversation, and I’m sorry for that. I wish I hadn’t, but at the same time, it was good for me to know how you feel.” She gnawed at her lower lip. “You’re right. It became complicated. It was easy for me to believe that things between us had changed, that we were more than just…a fling.” The last word wobbled with the heaviness of her heart.
“You fell in love with me.”
Her eyes were huge in her face. “What...?”
“Your video,” he reminded her.
She groaned softly. That damned video! She’d posted it in a completely different mindset, before she’d heard his pragmatic description of their relationship. She thought about denying it but that was anathema to her. So she stayed quiet, the air between them crackling with emotion.
“I told you not to do that.”
Her eyes sparked to his. “You think it’s that simple?”
“I told you it was a bad idea.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t really a choice, Gabe. It’s not like I rolled a dice to decide if I’d love you or not.”
His nostrils flared. “This isn’t –,” he shook his head. “I’m trying to explain…”
“You don’t need to explain,” she hissed, then realising belatedly that they weren’t alone, that the staff were clearing tables around them, she lowered her voice. “I heard how you feel about me. You think you were just getting rid of Nico? I disagree. I heard the conviction in your voice, the truth underlying it. You wanted me to leave. You wanted me out of your life.”
“Si.” And despite everything, the abruptness of his answer tore through her.
