Page 28 of Tangled with the Tight End

His eyes widen. “Were you there?”

“Yes. You ruined my date. My date pouted the rest of the night, and I went home early.”

“Good,” he growls, sending a shiver of heat straight to my core. I’m in dangerous territory here, but I don’t seem to care.

My mouth widens into a smile. “He didn’t like that I cheered when you scored.”

“You just made my day.” His eyes dance with humor and unmistakable desire as Eden opens the door.

“Come inside, guys, before you freeze to death. I wouldn’t want you to use body heat to revive each other.” She winks and swings the door wider for us to enter.

thirteen

GABRIEL

Norah’s arm brushes mine,causing a host of alarm bells to go off. I’m attracted to her. There’s no denying that. It doesn’t seem to matter to my libido that it’s a fool’s errand. Each time I talk to her, the pull grows stronger.

She glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

The small smile she gives me, has the hairs standing on my arms. The second she said she’s seen me play, and in person, my heart skipped a beat. If I would’ve known….

What? What would you have done? Nothing. She was on a date with another man. Probably this Sawyer guy.

Anger fills my veins as images of her and another man floods my brain. It’s stupid, and nothing can come of it. She belongs here. And I don’t. At best, I’ll visit a few times a year. And what? She’s supposed to stay virginally pure while I’m gone, putting her life on hold only to hook-up when I show up?

That’s selfish. I need to walk away and let whatever this is go. That’s what a man would do. A responsible man. An honorable man. The man I want to be for my son. I straighten and shift my chair away from her to give us more room.

“There. Now you have more space.”

“Right.” She nods curtly and shifts her seat as everyone continues to eat and chatter around us. “This should give you more room. I wouldn’t want to invade your space.”

“Norah, that’s….” I trail off as she shifts to face Marco and asks him about work as a fitness coach in a nearby town.

Well, that went smoothly. Now, we’re back to the beginning when she couldn’t stand me. Remember, it’s better this way. You’re done with random hook-ups. You’re a responsible adult who makes sound decisions.

Twenty Minutes Later

My stomach groans as I push the plate away. I’ve never had pies this good. “Eden, the food was delicious. Especially the tiramisu. I haven’t had tiramisu this good since Grandma Lilliana cooked for us. And the apple pie…. I probably gained 10 pounds today.”

“Thank you.” Eden’s cheeks pinken as she lays her napkin on the table. “But I had little to do with the apple pie. Norah helped cook the pies.”

“Well done, Norah.” My mother looks at Norah expectantly. “You’ll have to show me how to make them.”

When is she going to have time to do that? They leave Sunday morning for their cruise.

“Thank you.” Norah beams at her. “I appreciate it, and I’d love to teach you sometime.”

“Perfect.” My mom’s eyes glow with excitement. “Gabriel’s right, Eden, the dinner was amazing.”

Eden smiles as she lays a hand on Marco’s forearm. “Thank you, but Marco helped as well. He did most of the authentic Italian foods, which were all delicious, and Norah helped with some of the traditional side dishes. It was a group effort.”

“Thanks, love.” Marco’s face flames with heat.

“Dude, where did you learn to cook like this?” My brother in the kitchen? Who would’ve thought?

“It’s my retirement hobby. When I’m not working at the gym, I’m attempting to recreate Grandma Lilliana’s favorite dishes.”

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