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Iknockedonthedoor to the spare room. “Gabe?”
No reply.
I tried again. “Gabe?”
Carefully, I inched the door open. The small bed was made and the room was empty. I showered and headed down to the kitchen expecting Gabe to be downstairs. Reece sat alone at the table.
“Where’s Gabe?”
Reece shrugged. “Maybe he slept in.”
“He’s not in the spare room.”
“He must have gone home.”
“In pajamas?”
He hadn’t said goodbye. A heavy ball tightened in my chest. Was that it? He’d got me out of his system? Why would he leave in the middle of the night? I pulled out my phone to text and then hesitated. What if this was his way of breaking off whatever this weird thing was between us? Our time together last night had been different from the first time. It wasn’t just raw and wild. We’d had to be quiet and slow. It had been tender and deliberate. Still, Gabe had only ever wanted sex. He’d made that abundantly clear. Maybe this was the sign he was done with me.
“Oh my God, Miri.” Frankie’s shout traveled up the stairs. “Have you seen the news?”
Frankie came crashing into the kitchen, still in her leopard print pajamas. “Put the TV on. He’s on there.”
Reece reached for the remote and the TV on the kitchen wall came to life. We watched the screen as Gabe shielded his face with his hand and walked up the steps to the Beaufort Hotel. The story flicked back to four women around a panel gossiping.
I could hardly believe my ears. Micky Rivers had been having an affair with Emma Cousins? What nonsense. Gabe never spoke about his ex, but it was ridiculous.
Reece looked up from his stack of books on the kitchen island. “Poor Gabe. Why do people even give such junk the time of day? Any idiot can say anything and it counts as news.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Emma leaked it.” Frankie grabbed a handful of raspberries from a bowl on the counter and shoved them into her mouth. “Her past few films have bombed. She’s desperate for publicity.”
“It can’t be true. The press make up lies about Gabe all the time. Turn it off. I can’t watch it,” I said.
Frankie flicked the screen off.
Reece tapped his pen against his page. “Do you want to talk?”
“With you?”
“Yeah.”
“Nope.”
“Nice try, Reece.” Frankie laughed and switched her attention to me. “What does Gabe say?”
“He’s gone.” I picked at the chipping paint on the door frame. “This thing between me and Gabe is casual. We aren’t even supposed to be together. I wanted to keep things professional.”
Reece turned his full attention on me. “Are you okay with casual?”
“It’s not like I could get involved with a man like this. The cameras follow him everywhere. His life is a circus. I hate all that.”
I looked up to find them both watching me.
“But you like him?” Frankie asked.
I fixed my gaze on the steam dancing above the cup of hot tea in Reece’s hands. “Yes. I like him, and I don’t want to like him. Not after Jed. I don’t know how to switch these feelings off. For him this is all … I don’t know … I knew it would go like this and still I went along with it. He’s not what people say about him. He’s kind. As odd as it sounds, I think he’s lonely.”
“Give him the time he needs to deal with this and then talk to him,” Reece said.
