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We shared a laugh as Ava opened the door. As I started to peel myself up from the bed, Gabe rushed to my side and offered me a hand. I thanked him as I stared up into his gorgeous eyes.
Gabe and I, alone for dinner. There were definitely worse ways to spend an evening.
4
Gabe
“Do you like the steak?”
“Oh yes, something has to seriously be wrong with a person to not like filet mignon,” she said with a laugh. “And this has to be one of the best steaks I’ve had in my life.”
“Good,” I said with a smile, taking a bite of my own steak. “You never got around to telling me what you like, and don’t like, so I could have Christine adjust the menu.”
“I’m not a picky eater,” she said. “Especially now—I’m just hungry all the time.”
“You are eating for five, so it makes sense,” I said, taking a bite of potatoes.
We both ate in silence for a few moments. I poured myself another glass of wine. Bella was drinking Sprite as she said that it helped with some of the nausea she was dealing with.
I wasn’t really sure what to talk about, or what was okay to talk about. I’d known Bella for years, but our relationship had changed when she had agreed to carry my children.
“So, um, I ordered the wallpaper for the nursery today. It has little monkeys, just like you suggested,” I said.
She smiled. “Oh really? I can’t wait to see it.”
“Me too. I want you to be involved.”
Her smile fell a bit and she stared down at the mashed potatoes, moving them around on the plate.
“I know you’re worried about letting the babies go, Bella. But we talked about this, I want you in their lives.”
“I know, but I’m not their mother, Gabe. I mean, I am, but I’m not. It’s just a weird situation, and I’m trying to figure out where I fit in.”
Suddenly, I made a snap decision.
“I want them to know that you’re their mother, Bella. We can tell them as soon as they are old enough to understand. Even if we aren’t together romantically, it doesn’t mean that they can’t know about you and about where they came from.”
Bella’s eyes filled with tears, and I rushed over to her side, fearing I had hurt her feelings.
“It’s fine, I’m fine, I’m not sad. I’m just emotional. Damn hormones,” she said. “I love that you want them to know about me, Gabe. Hearing those words means so much to me, you have no idea.”
“I know it’s complicated, but I think we can find a way where we can all live in harmony,” I said.
She stared back at me with hope in her eyes. I would do anything to stop those tears from falling.
Knowing that this beautiful, ambitious, amazing woman was carrying my children also blurred some lines in my own head, and I realized I was starting to see Bella differently than I had before.
I cared for her, and not just because she was giving me an incredible gift and not even because she was my sister’s best friend. I cared about her as a person aside from those things. Hell, I wasn’t sure I was thinking clearly anymore, the wine certainly didn’t help matters.
Knowing that she was fine, and with her tears drying up, I went back to my seat at the table.
“Ugh, these hormones are driving me crazy,” she said with a little laugh, wiping away the rest of the tears from her eyes. “My emotions are all over the place. I’m either crying over an ad I saw on Facebook, or so horny I can’t even see straight.” Her words began to trail off and she stared at me with a panicked look in her eyes.
“Horny, huh?” I said, trying to turn it into a joke, but Bella’s eyes only got larger.
“I’m so sorry, I’m not sure why that slipped out of my mouth,” she said.
“It’s fine, you have nothing to be sorry about,” I said, though there was a tightness in my jeans. She wasn’t the only horny one. I adjusted myself and tried to go back to my meal, focusing on the mashed potatoes and gravy instead of the beautiful woman sitting across from me.
