Page 41 of Angel Eyes

I rolled my eyes at the mention of our favorite childhood movie. “Yes, and before you ask, no, I did not go up into the bell tower. The cathedral is still closed after that fire a few years back, but I got some great photos of the exterior.”

“Ah, bummer.” She shifted as Bailey climbed onto her lap, his wet nose sniffing the screen. “So, what’s got you glowing then? Besides the almost-sighting of Quasimodo.” I flinched, and Ember’s eyes narrowed like a hound catching a scent. “Whatever it is, spill it.”

I yanked on a blade of grass, winding it between my fingers. “Um, I broke up with Kyle.”

Her scream detonated through the phone before I even finished getting the words out.

“Sorry,” she said, flapping her hands without looking the least bit sorry, “but this is the best news I’ve gotten all week.” She sucked in a breath. “Wait, we are happy about this, right?”

“That depends on who you ask. The Juliet from a month ago would have been torn up about it, but I realize now it was a long time coming. We wanted different things. Maybe even different … people.” Ember’s eyes widened, and my mouth lifted in a grin despite my efforts to suppress it. “I also might have invited Gabriel back to my place last night.” Another ear-splitting scream rent the air. “Ember, cut it out. People are going to think I’m committing murder in the bushes.”

“Sorry,” she said again, “but also, way to go, sister. I love this for you.”

“You love that I broke up with my boyfriend and then immediately invited a guy over?”

“No, but if that’s the way it went down, I’ll be the last person to judge you.” She tossed her hair over one shoulder. “What I love is you finally did what you wanted for a change. For the last few years, you’ve been all about making Kyle happy without ever stopping to consider yourself. Like the time you skipped out on front-row seats to the Beyoncé concert because Kyle wanted you to join him for dinner with some work colleagues. Or the time he asked you to drive to Philadelphia after you worked a fifteen-hour day because he wanted to go to the Eagles preseason game. Or the time—”

“Thanks, Em. Point taken.”

She leaned against the couch cushions, sporting a pleased look. “And as far as you and Gabriel, I saw that coming from a mile away. You two were already caught in each other’s orbit the day he came over to your apartment for a late lunch. By the way, is that what we’re calling the horizontal tango?” She nodded thoughtfully. “Subtle, very subtle. I’ll have to try that sometime.”

A blush burned my cheeks. “It’s not like that. We haven’t even hooked up.”

Her smile faltered. “But I thought you said you invited him back to your place?”

“I did, but he said he wanted to take things slow. That he wanted me, but he didn’t want me to wake up with any regrets.”

Her mouth popped open. “Wait, hold on. Does he have feelings for you?”

“What? No, he—”

“Oh, my God, he totally does. It all makes sense now. Taking you to the museum, bringing you coffee at the library, passing up on a perfectly good chance to score because he doesn’t want you to have any regrets—it all adds up.” Ember sighed, her expression taking on a dreamy quality. “I’m so happy for you. Now, let’s get down to the important details. What do you think about a spring wedding? We should still be able to secure an appointment at an atelier and find you a dress within that time frame. Oh, and for the bridesmaids’ dresses, can we please avoid pastels? It really washes me out—”

“Okay, seriously, stop.” She blinked, startled, and I blew out a breath. “He doesn’t do relationships, okay? He told me so himself.”

Her expression collapsed, her former excitement flickering out. “Oh, Jules …”

“I’m fine with it.” I looked away, focusing instead on a boat moving up the river. “I mean, I do like him, but I’m okay with being friends. Just because we had a good time last night doesn’t mean I have any expectations.”

“Uh, I hate to break it to you, but you’re a relationship girl, through and through. You’re the falling-in-love, his-and-hers bathrobes, perfect-family-of-four type of gal.”

“Yeah, well, I’m turning over a new leaf.”

Ember’s brows pulled together. “Really? Because I don’t think—”

“In fact, I’m going to text him right now and see if he wants to hang out.” As much as I understood my sister’s concern, she was worrying for nothing. It’s not like the attraction between Gabriel and me could go anywhere. What would we do after I returned to New York?

But all that was neither here nor there because Gabriel had already made his stance on relationships clear, and I had to respect that.

“There, done.”

Within seconds, three dots appeared as Gabriel typed out a reply.

Sounds good. Where do you want to meet?

Ember chewed on the corner of her mouth. “Look, Jules, about what I said, about you being a relationship type of girl, you know there’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

I waved a hand. “Of course, I do. But seriously, Gabriel and I are just friends.” My lips pressed into a firm line. “And I’m going to make sure he knows it.”

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