Page 28 of The Unforgiven
Monica walked out without replying, her back ramrod straight and her head held high. Gabe hadn’t actually seen Mark, but rumors were rampant among the faculty. Archeologists liked digging up dirt on each other almost as much as they liked digging up the past. Perhaps even more. Monica’s marriage wasn’t as secure as she liked to believe. Mark might not have been at a London hotel last night, but he had been somewhere, and he probably hadn’t been there alone.
Gabe shut the office door and walked out of the building. He wasn’t proud of himself for stooping to Monica’s level. He’d made that comment just to hurt her, but she’d hit a nerve and he’d reacted without thinking. Gabe had loved Quinn for years, but she had been devoted to Luke and planned to spend her life with him. Luke had walked out on her without a backward glance and accepted a teaching position in Massachusetts to be with his new American girlfriend, who’d been one of his students at the institute. Gabe needed to believe that Quinn hadn’t come to him on the rebound and that she’d accepted his marriage proposal because her feelings for him were genuine and not just as a petty response to Luke’s betrayal.
As he strode along the street, his anger mounting, Gabe wondered if it was possible she’d used him as an instrument of revenge. He shook his head to chase away the dark thoughts. He was sure of Quinn’s love, but Monica had managed to stoke his insecurities, exactly as she’d hoped she would. Monica hated Quinn and would like nothing better than to cause trouble for her in any way she could. She’d attempted to discredit Quinn as a historian, but failed, so now she was going after her personal life, using Gabe as her tool.
He stopped walking as he caught sight of himself in a storefront window. He looked angry and bitter. Monica’sinsinuations had shaken him to the core because no other woman had ever made him feel as vulnerable as Quinn did; but no other woman had ever made him as happy. He would be lost and broken without her, and the magnitude of that realization left him reeling and helpless.
Snap out of it, you eejit, Gabe berated himself with disgust.If you have no faith in Quinn, then you deserve to be kicked to the curb. He let out a slow breath and counted to ten, letting go of his anger and insecurity. He would be with Quinn tomorrow, and he couldn’t wait.
SIXTEEN
Gabe glanced at his watch and quickened his pace. He was running late. He normally collected Emma from the nursery school around five, but it was close to six, and she would be cross with him. She couldn’t tell time yet but knew exactly when to expect him based on the order the other children got picked up in. Most parents arrived at exactly the same time, so Emma knew when it was her turn and packed her belongings in anticipation.
Gabe cursed himself for an irresponsible fool when he saw Emma’s nose pressed to the nursery school’s window, her expression like a sad-face emoji. She always waved, but today she just stared at him through the glass, her gaze full of accusation.
“Darling, I’m sorry. I got held up at work,” Gabe tried to explain as they left the building. Emma wore her Disney Princesses backpack that matched her pink coat. She threw him a look of pure disdain.
“I was the last one there,” she said. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“Why would you think that?” Gabe had never given Emma any reason to doubt him. This was the first time he’d been late, and all thanks to the conversation with Monica, which he should have avoided like the Black Death.
“My mum was supposed to come, but she didn’t,” Emma replied, her voice turning tearful.
“Sweetheart, Mum was in a terrible accident. She would have come otherwise. You know that.”
“You could be in an accident,” Emma pointed out, making Gabe feel even worse. She was too young to think such morbid thoughts, but life had dealt her a terrible blow, and now she would always worry when someone failed to show up on time, fearing they might be dead.
“Emma, I got delayed at work,” Gabe explained patiently. “But I’m here now. What would you like for tea?” he asked to change the subject.
“Can you make me chips and egg?”
“I can manage the egg, but we’ll have to get takeaway chips. I’m not that talented.”
“Quinn makes good chips.”
“I know. She’ll be back soon.”
“Let’s go get her,” Emma suggested. “Is New Orleans close to Disney World? We can collect Quinn and go to the park together. Quinn would like that,” Emma said, giving Gabe her most winning smile.
“Only four years old, but already a ruthless negotiator,” Gabe said, smiling.
“What’s a negotiator?”
“Someone who gets what they want. Like you.”
“Are we going then?” Emma asked, her earlier pique forgotten.
“Someday, sweetheart, but not next week.”
“You suck!”
“Pardon me?” Gabe gaped at her. She’d never said anything like that before, and it came as a shock.
Emma instantly looked contrite. She was probably testing the waters to see how much she could get away with and quickly realized that this kind of behavior wouldn’t get her far.
“You will never speak to me like that again. Is that understood?” Gabe sounded sterner than he’d intended, but he wouldn’t take this kind of guff from a four-year-old.
“Sorry, Daddy. I heard one of the teachers say it.”
