Page 124 of Your Soul to Keep

“No, Zoe. You were my friend. And sometimes we hooked up. But that’s all we ever were.”

“If Shae wasn’t here—”

He interrupted impatiently. “I cut things off with you long before Shae came back into my life. And if, God forbid, you were able to drive her off somehow, we still wouldn’t be together.”

“So, that’s it?”

He stood and stepped back, his hands on his hips. “No, that’s not it. If you try to fuck things up between Shae and me, I’ll cut you out of my life.”

She gasped and drew back. “You can’t do that.”

“Can and will.”

She stepped close to him, cajoling, “You have to think about what’s best of Dylan. You’re a good father, the best. But Gabe, Shae left you once before, what’s to say she won’t leave again?”

Gabe snorted and shook his head. Eyes narrowing to slits, he warned, “You’re trying my patience, Zoe, and I never had all that much to begin with.”

Undeterred, she beseeched him, “Dylan needs her mother.”

He leaned toward her, his face red. “You were the one who didn’t want her to ever know you were her mother. You were protecting your own interests. I knew it was a fucking mistake to lie to her.”

Her eyes widened. “We can fix it. Together, we could give Dylan a sibling. You told me yourself Shae can’t have children.”

I choked back a cry.

He told her about my greatest failure.

Slit open the tender underbelly I’d so hesitantly exposed.

Gabe’s head shot up, his eyes met mine, and his expression morphed from thunderous fury to guilt stricken.

I stepped back, my hand over my mouth.

Gabe turned to Zoe. “Leave. Now.”

Bounding across the porch, he swung the door open and stepped into the hallway. Eyes on me, he closed the door and turned the lock.

“Shae…” He held his palms out as if to calm a wild animal. “Don’t run.”

I wrapped my arms around my torso, my womb seemingly emptier than before. “You told her about me,” I accused quietly.

“Baby,” he whispered, dropping his hands. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. The lines bracketing his mouth deepened. “It’s not how you think.”

I raised my stricken eyes to his. “No?”

He shook his head, his eyes intent on my face. “No. She was concerned about Dylan being left out in the cold if we were to have our own children.” His face flushed. “I opened my mouth before I thought it through. I’m so sorry.”

I dropped my eyes and swallowed my pain.

And my shame swallowed me.

He hazarded another step toward me. “Shae,” he began hesitantly. “Would it be so bad if Dylan knew Zoe was her birthmother? It wouldn’t change anything between us, and it doesn’t mean you won’t be a huge part of Dylan’s life, too. Dylan could have both of you. Shae-baby,” he murmured, “as much as I wish it was you, Zoe is her birthmother.”

The world spun its stories, leaving me untouched at its center once again.

Gabe continued to speak, his eyes intent on my face, but his words didn’t reach me.

I saw my future, and it was bleak.

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