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“Careful of what?”
“To not cause yourself too much stress right now.”
“Oh yes, of course,” I said. “I’m not stressed in the slightest.”
“Right now, no, but this opens up a whole can of worms, Bella.”
“I’m thinking of calling and talking to him, not telling him my theory just yet, but to ask more questions,” I said. “Do you think that would be okay?”
Gabe pondered my question for a second or two. “I can’t really tell you what you can and can’t do, Bella. You’re an adult.”
“I know, but until these babies are born, I need to be careful, and want to make sure we’re on the same page about these sorts of things.”
“I appreciate that,” he said softly. “But I also don’t want to keep you from finding out the truth.”
“I plan on taking things slowly.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear that. And I trust you, Bella. I know you love these babies and would never do anything to harm them. So, if you’d like to call Charles and talk to him, pretending you're still doing an interview, then I can support you on that.”
“Thank you, Gabe,” I said. My stomach twisted and turned, and it wasn’t just the babies growing in my belly. I was excited, truly excited. My mind was spinning from everything going on.
It was legitimately spinning. I felt lightheaded and grabbed a hold of Gabe’s arm. “How can the world spin when I’m not even moving?” I asked him.
Gabe jumped up. “Should we call the doctor? An ambulance? Have you had anything to eat yet today?” I normally ate around nine in the morning, but I had woken up earlier and with all the excitement, it had slipped my mind to request my breakfast that morning. Christine usually waited to hear from me.
“I haven’t had breakfast yet, actually.” I let out a sheepish laugh as the dizziness faded. “I probably need to eat.”
Gabe studied me closely, as if unsure.
“I promise you, my stomach is grumbling and I’m starving, I’m pretty sure that’s it.”
“Alright, I’ll get you some breakfast,” he said.
Gabe called the kitchen staff and didn’t leave my side. He kept a close eye on me until the food arrived. I’d gotten rather used to breakfast in bed every day. They always brought in a nice tray and gave me plenty of options to choose from. It was like staying in a fancy hotel.
As I bit into a croissant, I looked over at Gabe, sipping his black coffee as usual.
“Did you have a chance to think about the conversation we had the other night?”
He looked down at his coffee, swirling the cup around. I knew he knew what conversation I was referring to, but he took a long drink from the mug and remained quiet.
Not wanting to push the issue, I let the subject drop. However, as I tried to finish my breakfast, the silence began to get to me, along with the hormones, and tears began falling from my eyes.
“Bella,” he said, his voice as gentle as always. He stood from the chair and joined me on the bed, stroking my arm as he stared into my eyes. “What’s wrong? Have I hurt you? The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
“No, you haven’t hurt me,” I said, doing my best to wipe away the tears. “It’s just hormones, I think.”
His face softened. The way he looked at me, the way his eyes seemed to sparkle when he caught sight of me coming into a room... all of it made me feel so cared for and loved. I knew Gabe felt the same way I did, even if he struggled to find the words to express it.
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, his lips soft against my skin. I closed my eyes and cherished the sensation, unsure of how many more sweet moments we would have like that. Once the babies were born and I went to school, he would not need to take care of me anymore. He might even find himself a wife. Thinking about that caused a lump to form in my throat and the tears started falling again.
“Sheesh, I’m pathetic,” I said with a dry laugh, trying to make fun of myself.
“You’re not pathetic, far from it. You’re pregnant and emotional, and you’re going through a lot right now—I don’t want to add to that. You never have to feel ashamed of crying in front of me, Bella.”
God, I wanted him to be mine so freaking badly.
Why couldn’t we just stop pretending and be together already? Why did everything have to be so damn complicated?
