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She nodded. He helped her off his desk and she walked out of his office past a stunned Hunter and a smiling Mrs. Tillman.
Eight
Driving from Kingsley’s coastal mansion into Carmel wasn’t a burden. The day was beautiful and she felt so good and happy.
Kingsley was back in town.
So different from how she’d felt when he’d walked in her door. A part of her was afraid to trust the way she felt about him. This was Kingsley Buchanan and he lived life on his own terms. Even before he’d been arrested he’d been his own man.
But this time...she couldn’t help it. She was falling in love with him again. She knew it.
There was nothing else to explain why she kept grinning. And when she gathered her notes to go into the meeting with the community leaders, she couldn’t help the feeling of pride that Kingsley was the man who was making this new playground possible.
Her phone rang as she was about to get out of the car. A glance at the caller ID showed it was her mom.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Gabi, hello. You haven’t called me in days. I was worried about you.”
“Why were you worried?” she asked. “I told you I was working as a nanny in a client’s home and that I would check in when I could. And I did text you last night.”
“Texting doesn’t put my mind at ease. Someone else could have your phone and send that.” Gabi laughed and her mom started laughing, too. “Okay, so maybe I worry too much.”
“You do,” Gabi told her. “Why are you calling?”
“Are you free for brunch on Sunday? Your brother is in town and wants us to meet his girlfriend.”
“Definitely. I want to meet her. Alejandro has been too secretive about her. I’m curious,” Gabi said. “I might bring a date.”
“Really? Both of my kids with a date. I won’t be able to eat from all the excitement.”
“Is that sarcasm? You’d think someone who was worried I might be in danger would be a bit nicer,” Gabi said.
“Ha. Who’s your mystery man?” her mom asked.
Gabi bit her lip. “Kingsley Buchanan.”
“Kingsley? The boy from college? Gabi, now I really am worried.”
“Mom, don’t be. It’s not like I thought.”
“What about how I thought? That we were lucky you weren’t dead, too.”
“Mom! He was cleared of any charges.”
“But no one knows what really happened.”
“Kingsley does and he said he didn’t do it,” Gabi said.
Then she realized how that sounded. As though she was grasping at straws to convince her mom of Kingsley’s innocence. But she did believe him and she always had. But if her mom was this hard to convince, her father would be even harder. “Never mind. I’ll come alone.”
“Gabi, I’m sorry, but I just want what’s best for you,” her mom said.
“I know that. I have a meeting, so I better let you go,” Gabi said.
“Not yet. Tell me why you like this—why you like Kingsley.”
Why did she like him? It was always hard to put feelings into words and she worried that she’d sound like an idiot. But she closed her eyes and thought of Kingsley. Of how he’d looked when he came home from being on the road doing business.
“He makes me laugh, Mom. And he’s smart and a good dad. His little boy is sweet and charming—a mini version of Kingsley.”
“He has a son?”
“Yes. Mom, everyone knows he has a son. He also is a famous sports agent now that he’s quit playing football.”
“Oh, I didn’t follow him after he left your life.”
Gabi understood that. Her mom didn’t dwell on the past—she was more of a shake-it-off-and-move-on type of person. “He’s trying to move on for his son. And there are a lot of things about that night that make no sense. I think that’s why the DA dropped the charges.”
“Okay. I will talk to your father, but we’d love to have you and Kingsley and his son for brunch on Sunday.”
She realized that her mom was going to be fair and give Kingsley a chance. For her. That meant a lot. “I’ll have to ask Kingsley.”
“Okay. Let me know. Call me later and I’ll tell you what I’ve found out about Alejandro’s girlfriend.”
“I will,” she said.
She hung up the phone and fiddled with her notes one more time before texting Kingsley.
