I stepped back and his face darkened further.
His lip curled. “Scared, Shae? You’re scared ofme?”
I shook my head. “No. Not like that.”
He stepped forward, leaning toward me, his eyes snapping with challenge. “Like what then?”
“Like I’ll screw this up and lose you,” I answered evenly.
The heat gradually faded from his eyes. Leaning back on his heals, he rubbed a rough hand over his face. “Fuck.”
I moved in and placed my hand on his waist.
He braced his hands on his hips, eyes on the asphalt. “I’m sorry.” He glanced up at me. “I was,” he blew out a breath, looking anywhere but at me, “embarrassed that you overheard them talking about me like that.”
“They’re the ones who should be embarrassed, Gabe,” I answered softly, curling my body into his.
His body softened against mine as he crossed his arms around my waist, his big hands resting on the top of my ass.
He shook his head. “I know that logically, but you don’t know what it’s like, all these years, struggling with simple things that come easy to everyone else.
“You don’t know what it feels like to feel less than everybody else.
“How it feels to know they pity you and blame you at the same time.”
I tilted my head back to look up at him. “Don’t I?” I whispered.
His gaze shot to mine as awareness washed over him. His hand shot up to cup the back of my head and he pulled me closer. His big chest rose and fell. “I guess you do.”
I nestled in. “I’m not sorry for what I said to them.”
His chest reverberated with his chuckle. “I didn’t figure you would be.”
I huffed out a laugh. “I guess not everything has changed.”
Having not heard from Zoe all day Monday, he shrugged and figured she’d headed back home with her tail between her legs due to her behavior.
I kissed them both goodbye thinking I was in the clear.
No such luck.
25
Offline
“Rudy,canwetalk?”
Like a great sleeping beast, the kitchen only came alive at night. And tonight? It vibrated with energy. We had a full house booked, only slightly unusual for a weekday, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to set my future in motion.
Rudy turned away from the counter where he was measuring out ingredients and grabbed a towel to wipe his hands. Walking toward me with a grin, he teased, “When Marlena starts a conversation like that, I’m usually in trouble.”
I laughed and wagged my head from side to side as I led the way back to my office. “Hm, depends how you look at it.”
Sitting behind the desk, I folded my hands on the desk I now knew had seen a lot more than just paperwork and settled my gaze on Rudy.
“How do you feel about us hiring a manager to take my place?”
He cocked his head to the side. “A manager?”