Page 105 of Enchanting the CEO

"I can't believe this," I said. "I've never given you any reason not to trust me."

"You didn’t tell me you were still in contact with him."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not in contact. He just wrote a few times."

"A few times?" His voice thundered.

"To ask for his laptop back."

"That was just an excuse," Gabe replied, snorting.

"You say that because you don't know Chuck. He's cheap as shit. I didn't even let him inside the house. I met him in the yard because I didn't want him to linger."

Gabe said nothing. His nostrils flared.

"You don't believe me. Right," I said, looking down at my feet and then back up. "Um, I'm just going to go."

"Where?" he asked.

"Somewhere where I'm not around you because I'm seriously going to lose my shit."

I stormed out of the kitchen.

"Diane," Gabe called after me, but I didn't stop.

I seriously needed to do something to cool off, so I went up the spiral staircase two steps at a time. Even after months, I was still winded when I got to the top.

I paced the attic up and down, then sat down in my chair, picking up my Kindle. Then I remembered Gabe got me this chair and I got up, annoyed. How the hell did he dare accuse me of cheating? He hadn't come out and said it, but it was clearly what he was suspecting. Didn't he know me at all?

I opened a window, needing some fresh air. Coming up here was a bad idea. I should have just left the house. That's what people did when they stormed off, right? Not that I'd know. But I didn't have anything with me downstairs, like my bag or my wallet. If I tried to leave now, I’d run into Gabe.

Oh, screw it. I had to go out even though I was going to have to pass Gabe. Maybe I was lucky and he wasn't in the living room anymore.

I hurried downstairs and realized I was out of luck. He was at the entrance.

Damn it.

“Diane, I was about to come upstairs. Can we talk?”

“No.”

"Diane, please."

I wanted to stick to my guns, but I wasn't good at this. I hated fighting. His hair was completely disheveled, like he'd run his hand through it a million times since I saw him a few minutes ago.

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"About what? Jumping to conclusions, or talking to me like you don't even know me, or assuming I’m a cheater?"

"All of it. I overreacted."

I scoffed. "Of course you did."

He came closer to me, but I took a step back.

"I don't know what got into me." He ran a hand through his hair again. "I heard you say his name, and it triggered something inside me, though I'm not even sure why. And then I wasn't thinking anymore. I just acted on some fucked-up instinct."

I softened. He swallowed hard, stepping toward me again. This time, I didn't step back.

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