AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I made my way back to the living room, my shoulders sagging in relief when I saw Gabriel wasn’t on the phone anymore.
His face lit up when I walked back inside, and the guilt and regret I felt every moment of every day tightened its hold on me.
He turned the movie back on. I wished he would still be the jerk I’d first met. Hatred I could channel into something useful, since I’d had plenty of practice. Actual feelings, on the other hand, made me a bumbling mess.
“Have you thought of what you want to do?”
Gabriel’s question surprised me. He’d never asked me about my plans, and I didn’t think he’d given my future much thought. Wives stayed at home. I hadn’t planned on telling him about college in case he didn’t want me to go, but his earnest expression made the words spill out.
“I signed up for a few college classes. They’re online, and I don’t even have to leave the house for them. They don’t cost much. It’s only basic courses. But if you don’t want me to take them, I’ll cancel. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first.”
Now would be a good time to shut up.
Gabriel watched me, a deep line forming between his brows. When I finished talking, he leaned forward. “If you want to go to college, go to college. If you want to shop all day, shop all day. If you want to take up golf, go for it. Whatever it is you want to do, do it. It’s your life. Live it the way you want to.”
I gaped at him. Nobody had ever let me decide what to do with my life. He’d already given me so much, yet he kept giving me more. And I deserved none of it.
Not thinking about it, I threw myself at him. He didn’t miss a beat, catching me and pulling me into his body. I buried my face in his neck. “Thank you.” My lips brushed his skin with each word, and his arms around me tightened.
I could have stayed like that forever, safe in his arms. But unless I wanted things to go further, I had to back up. Being this close to him made it easy to think we could be more.
Once I was safely back in my corner of the couch, I decided this was the perfect time to tell him about my guest.
“I talked to Caspar.”
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed at the mention of my old friend, his body going taut.
When he didn’t respond, I continued talking. “And he’s coming over for lunch next week.”
“One guard will be in here with you. And Cleo isn’t to leave your side.”
I’d expected more resistance, my body sitting tall, ready for a fight. But at his words I deflated. “That’s fine.”
We didn’t talk again and it didn’t take long for my eyes to close. I drifted off with thoughts of sparkling blue eyes.
Arms came around me, and then I felt myself being lifted. I tucked myself into Gabriel’s body, resting my head on his chest, a content sigh passing my lips.
He gently laid me into bed, and I drifted off again, but not before feeling the sheets sliding over my body, then a kiss on my forehead.
Memories like tonight would get me through what was to come. Because it was only a question of time until my husband found out about my betrayal.
13
GABRIEL
“And then Itold him he could just keep the money since we had enough anyway.”
My attention snapped back to my brother. “Please tell me you didn’t fucking say that.”
He threw a paper plane at me that didn’t even make it past the desk. “Of course not. But good to know you’re back. You’ve been staring at your computer screen for the past ten minutes, not listening to a word I’ve been saying.”
I spaced out more and more lately. And it was always because of my new obsession—my wife.
The last week with Vanna had been as frustrating as it had been the best of my life. I ate dinner with her every day. We went to bed together, and I’d woken up more than once during the night wrapped around her.
I was falling for my wife and had no idea if she felt the same. I’d been trying to make up for how I behaved when we’d first gotten married, and I hoped she could forgive me. I wanted nothing more than to make our marriage a real one.
But I’d caught her watching me more than once. Which meant I made sure to never take a change of clothes into the bathroom with me. I’d also delayed the delivery of the bed we’d ordered for the guest room.
