Page 29 of Tangled in His Embrace

That wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but he couldn’t say he blamed her. It was his fault they were in this position, after all. If not for his leaving, they would most likely be married by now and Taylor might even have a brother or sister.

He glanced down at their naked bodies and back to her, raising one eyebrow. “So you’re saying you want to take it slow?”

“Not exactly.” She sighed. “I just don’t want to jump in where we left off.”

It was then he got it. “You don’t want me to move back in.”

Gabby hesitated. “I think we need to maybe test the waters first.”

“So you want to date.” It wasn’t really a question. Besides, if he was wrong, he knew she’d correct him.

She didn’t. “I think that would be the smart thing to do.”

As much as he didn’t want to take it slow, he understood where she was coming from. “Okay. We’ll date.”

A look of pure relief crossed her face and she sagged against him. “Thank you.”

He tucked her head beneath his chin and cuddled her close. “Whatever you need, Gabby. I’m just grateful you’re giving me another chance. I’ll make it up to you. I swear I will.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” she mumbled against his chest before she yawned.

“Tired?”

“Very. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

He turned onto his back, taking her with him. Gabby laid her head above his chest and rested her hand on his stomach. “Sleep. We can talk more later.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to functioning on little to no sleep.”

Jax pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you with Taylor.”

She let out a little hum. “You help now. I’ve gotten more writing done in the last month than I had the previous six.”

“Doesn’t make up for the times I wasn’t there.” He trailed his fingers up and down her arm, enjoying being able to touch her freely. “Did you ever get anything published?”

He felt her nod. “Two, actually. The one I’m working on now will be number three.”

“That’s amazing, Gabby.”

“Thanks.”

She yawned again and he knew he should let her sleep. There would be time later. If the news stations were to be believed, he wasn’t going anywhere until tomorrow.

“Jax?”

“Yes?” He hated to admit it, but his own lack of sleep was catching up to him. It was getting difficult to keep his eyes open.

“Did you—” She paused. “Did you date anyone when you were gone?”

That woke him up a little. He figured the topic would come up eventually, but he hadn’t been prepared for it so soon. “No. No one.”

She didn’t comment.

The longer he lay there, the more he wondered if she had dated anyone. He had been gone three years and she was a beautiful woman. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about, but given she’d brought it up... “What about you? Did you date anyone?”

He held his breath waiting for her to answer.

“I went on two dates with two different men.”

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