Page 26 of Embracing Love

“But when it was good, Gabriel, it was really, really good." Another pause followed and he was sure she was starting to sniff. It was the first ever sign of her vulnerability he’d witnessed. Ordinarily, Vanessa had balls made of steel. His stomach lurched as the reality of a crying, whimpering Vanessa —so different from the side she usually displayed.

“Don't do this.”

He steeled himself, felt his muscles harden.

“Can’t we just meet for one last time?” She begged.

He thought about it. No, he most definitely didn’t want to see her face-to-face. He knew her motivations and he knew her way of thinking. This would end her way if he let her.

"Trust me on this. You don't need a man like me. You're young enough to find someone who means something to you.”

“You mean something to me.”

“That’s not the kind of relationship we started.”

“It’s the kind of relationship I want now, Gabriel.”

“That’s not fair. Besides, I'm almost twice your age,” he reminded her gently.

“My age was never a problem before. I thought that's what you liked about me—the fact that I was so young.”

“It’s not your age that’s the problem. It’s mine.” He wanted different things but he wasn’t sure exactly what. He thought he knew, he thought he had an idea about the kind of man he wanted to be except that the idea of what he wanted to be had not yet fully taken shape. He knew only that he didn't want to go on sleeping and screwing his way, treating women with less than the respect that they deserved.

Vanessa, for all her upset, had known exactly the type of relationship they’d gone into. She was a flirt and a woman with a healthy sexual appetite. She was ambitious and ruthless for a girl of her young years—she was not unlike him.

They’d both known it was a temporary relationship and neither of them had any inclination or desire to have something permanent. So why was she so unhappy all of a sudden?

And why had things suddenly changed for him?

It was all tied up into the upheaval in his life at the moment, what with Sébastien leaving. A part of him felt as though his heart was being ripped out and there was nothing he could do to restore it, yet he craved stability. He wanted something more meaningful—he just didn't know what that would look like because he hadn't found it yet. But ditching Vanessa was a start.

“You bastard,” she said, and hung up on him.

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