Page 7 of Tangled in His Embrace

“So what are you going to do?”

“I have no idea.” That was the crux of the issue. What her heart and body wanted weren’t in line with what her mind knew she should do. But this wasn’t the time to get into all the complexities of her relationship, or lack thereof, with Jax. Gabby could see their mom heading toward them and knew she needed to end the conversation. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Sorry I took so long,” their mother said. “I ran into Maggie as I was coming out of the bathroom. You remember Maggie, right? Her husband, Bret, used to work with your dad.”

“How’s she doing?” Grace asked.

“He retired last month and they’re moving to Arizona in the spring to be close to their grandchildren.” As quickly as she’d started the conversation, their mother switched gears. “Speaking of, I saw the cutest pair of shoes. I want to see if you girls like them. I think they’ll look adorable with the outfit I got for Taylor.”

With a new objective set, Gabby placed the shirt she’d been looking at back on the rack and they all headed over to the kids’ shoe section.

By the time they called it a day and arrived back at their mom’s house, Gabby’s feet and legs felt as if they were about ready to fall off. They’d hit twelve stores in less than five hours. It had been a long time since she’d been on her feet for that long. The good news was that she was officially done with her Christmas shopping. Now all she had to do was drag it home and wrap it all. The thought brought a new sense of dread.

Grace handed her the last of Gabby’s bags and she placed it in the trunk of her car before closing it. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Her sister shifted her weight and Gabby knew something was coming. Probably something she wasn’t going to like.

When Grace continued to hesitate, Gabby sighed. “Just spit it out already.”

“I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but you and Jax need to talk this out.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. We had sex. It was a mistake. End of story.”

“I don’t believe that and neither do you,” Grace said.

“It doesn’t matter.” Gabby walked to the other side of the car and opened the driver’s side door. “I’m not going there again.”

Grace nodded. “I understand. He hurt you.”

“I’m over it.”

“Are you?”

Maybe this new side of her sister wasn’t as great as Gabby first thought. Grace used to let things go. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Maybe it was more that Gabby really wanted her sister to forget about it. “I have to be. He’s Taylor’s father and she deserves to have him in her life. I won’t deny her that.”

“Okay. I get that you don’t want to talk about it. But if you change your mind, I’m here.”

“Thanks.” Before Grace could come up with another angle of questioning, Gabby said her goodbyes and ducked behind the wheel, waving to her sister as she drove away.

It was close to seven by the time she pulled into her driveway and Jax would be bringing Taylor home soon.

Gabby was placing the last of the shopping bags into the back of her closet when she heard the doorbell ring. She made sure everything was hidden, and then went to answer the door.

The cool outside air rushed into her home, followed quickly by a streak of red that was her daughter, who made a beeline for her bedroom with no more than a “Hi, Mommy” and left the sound of giggles in her wake.

Jax stepped inside, chuckling. “I think maybe she had a bit too much sugar this afternoon.”

Not wanting to keep the door open, Gabby had no choice but to close it, leaving her standing in her living room alone with Jax. “What all did you give her?”

“We made Christmas cookies today and I think she ate more than she made. Luckily Mom had an apron for her to wear or else her clothes would have been covered in cookie dough.” His face lit up as he talked about spending the day with his daughter. It tugged at Gabby’s heart strings, bringing up a bunch of feelings she didn’t want.

“I’m sure she’ll settle down in an hour or so.”

He smiled. “Probably.”

***

A lock of Gabby’s blond hair had fallen out of her ponytail, her loose curls tickling the side of her face every time she moved. The urge to brush it back out of the way was strong, but he resisted. Jax knew it wouldn’t stop there. He’d want more. Like he’d wanted more the last time he’d stepped into her personal space to pick a piece of lint from her jacket.

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