AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gabe sighed, then looked over at me. “It’s getting easier. Did I tell you I ran into Mrs. Kepner the other day when I went to get my bloodwork done?”
“I haven’t thought about her in forever! How is she?”
“Fine, I guess. Maybe a little lonely? She asked me to write to her.” He shook his head and looked away. “Guess I’ll need to get better at that once I’m back with my team.”
“Right.”
I knew he’d be leaving once this whole mess was over, but hearing it felt like an electric shock, jarring and uncomfortable. Truth was, I’d gotten used to having Gabe around, even though it had only been a little over a week.
It was nice, knowing I could depend on him. I wasn’t used to that from a man. My dad left when I was eight and never returned. It left scars. Now, I doubted I could make the whole stable relationship thing work with anyone, even someone who seemed as wonderful as Gabe. Not that I was even considering anything with him. So I did what I always did. Sucked it up and stuffed my emotions down deep. “When do you have to go back?”
“Not sure yet.” He rested his elbows on the railing and clasped his hands, head lowered. “My CO is doing everything he can to keep me here until the paternity test results come back and they hold the custody hearing. I have sixty leave days banked, so hopefully that will be enough.” He sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to leave the rest of my team in the lurch like this, but I know they’ll understand.”
“Sounds like you guys are close,” I said. Then, after a brief hesitation, I added, “Like a family.”
He gave a curt nod in response, that stoic shield dropping back into place, letting me know I’d gotten too close.
We started back toward the house, and despite Gabe shutting me out when I tried to go deep with him, our walk did make me feel better. The combination of fresh air, cooing baby and strong, silent bodyguard helped.
Once we got home, after Gabe did a walk-through to make sure the house was safe while I put Savannah down for a nap. When I walked back into the family room he was staring out the window like he was doing surveillance.
“Hey, thanks for taking me outside. I feel a lot better now.”
“You’re welcome,” he answered. “Getting outside always helps me clear my mind too.”
I was brought back to everything he’d admitted to me during the walk. He’d shut down when I tried to talk about it but I wasn’t about to let it go.
“You know, you can always talk to me when you feel like the black hole is coming back. I’m a good listener.”
I’d walked up behind him and he spun around suddenly, as if I’d startled him, so that we were just a few inches apart. It was closer than we’d ever been.
We stood there and it felt like there was some invisible cord tying us together, keeping us from moving, from talking, from breathing. His gaze flicked from my eyes down to my lips, then back again, and a sudden burst of warmth ignited inside me like fireworks.
This close, I could see the hint of dark stubble along the skin of his tight jaw, hear the catch of his breath, feel the heat of him surrounding me, drawing me closer. Even afterward, I couldn’t say which one of us moved first. All I knew was that one second we were looking at each other, and the next we were kissing.
His strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. I placed my hands against his chest to brace myself as his lips found mine, half shocked that it was happening and half dizzy from the sensations. Gabe wasn’t tentative. He seemed to want the kiss as much as I did, and when I arched into him, pressing my breasts against his chest, he made a gruff noise.
Which is why it made absolutely no sense when he broke off the kiss and moved away from me.
And damn. If I’d felt awkward before, it was nothing compared to now.
What. The. Hell. Had I been thinking?
I hadn’t been. And neither had he, that much was clear by the way he walked out of the room without even looking at me.
How were we going to play off this change of events? Pretend that it didn’t happen? I couldn’t imagine how that would be possible, considering the fact that my lips were still tingling from his, and I could still taste him.
And worse yet, I wanted to do it again.
NINE
Iwoke up the next morning at eight. Eight a.m. I couldn’t tell you the last time that happened. At first I panicked, thinking I was late to the bar and I’d miss the delivery guy with the early supplies and then I’d be short for the weekend. But then I remembered I was home, with Gabe and Savannah, and I relaxed a bit, staring at the ceiling. It was nice, I realized, having them here. The house didn’t seem quite so big or cold with other heartbeats down the hallway.
Finally, after a yawn and a stretch, I slipped on my robe and headed for the kitchen as Savannah’s happy squeals echoed down the hall. I couldn’t help smiling myself in response.
I found Gabe sitting at the table trying to feed her Savannah. It looked like there was more banana puree on him than in Savannah’s mouth, but hey, I had to give him credit for trying.
“Morning,” I said as naturally as I could considering I couldn’t stop thinking about our kiss.
