Page 113 of It's Always Been You
Molly
Ten minutes later, I walk down the stairs and freeze at the door to the kitchen, my entire body lighting up. One day, I might get used to the view of Gabe, shirtless, all smooth skin stretched over well-defined muscles, in glasses and low-slung sweatpants, curls tousled from sleep as he works the coffee machine. I look him up and down again and on second thought, I probably will never get used to this view. Who could? This is the hottest, best man in the world.
“If you’re done ogling me, coffee’s ready.”
I sidle up to him, sliding my arms around his naked torso, tracing my fingers over his abs. “I will never be done ogling you, Gabriel. You are the most gorgeous man alive, and you’re making me coffee.”
He grins and spins, dropping a kiss on my forehead. “Not just a coffee. Peppermint mocha.”
He hands me an oversize mug and I study it. “You know how to make these?”
We’ve had peppermint mochas here a million times, but they always come from somewhere else. When we make coffee at home, it’s always just regular coffee. And caffeine is caffeine, but it’s always a better day when I can start it with the peppermint goodness that really should be less seasonal and more mainstream.
He lifts his own mug. “Sure do. I even bought all the same stuff the Coffee Tree uses to make theirs. It’s more authentic that way.”
I take a sip and it’s obviously perfect. There is nothing this man can’t do well. “Literally, you are the perfect man. I love it here, Gabe. I know we already talked about how I’m selling myhouse and all that, but I don’t think I told you enough about how much I love it here. Having coffee with you here in the morning and staying up late and watching Marvel movies with you at night. Our books intermingled on the shelves and the pictures of our life together that we’re starting to put everywhere. The Lego sets we built in college and all of our stuff mixed together. This is a really happy house, and I love making it into a home with you.”
Gabe’s eyes swirl with emotion and he doesn’t say anything, just puts his coffee down and takes mine from me. Then he wraps me up in his arms, holding me tightly. I can feel his heart pounding in his chest, and there’s something different about the way he’s holding me, but I can’t quite pinpoint it. When we break apart, he cups my cheek with one hand, looking into my eyes with an intensity that’s unusual for early morning coffee in the kitchen. “I want to show you something.”
I study him, a little confused but willing to go with it. “Okay.”
“It’s outside. Let me just grab a shirt.” He sets his coffee down on the counter and kisses my cheek before jogging upstairs. Thirty seconds later he’s back, pulling a Captain America T-shirt over his head. He takes my mug from me and puts it down, and I’m immediately surrounded by his scent as he tugs a sweatshirt over my sleep shorts and tank. He pulls it down and lifts my hair out of a collar as I put my arms into the sleeves.
“Perfect,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Let’s go.”
Gabe takes my other hand, leading me out the sliding glass doors off the kitchen to the backyard. The late-April air is still chilly, making me grateful for the sweatshirt. As we cross the big yard, I glance around, imagining the pretty space filled with comfortable furniture, a fire pit, and colorful flower beds. Our friends scattered everywhere. I can’t wait to make my mark on it.
When we come to a stop in front of the side door of the giant detached garage, Gabe looks at me and grins. “I have a surprise for you.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I knew you didn’t suddenly decide to put new windows in a detached garage for the hell of it. You’ve been up to something.”
Gabe bounces on his feet a little like a kid excited for Christmas morning. “I have. I’ve been dying to show you, but it took a little longer than I expected, and I was waiting for the perfect time. But then I realized there is no perfect time. There’s just now, and I really, really want you to see it, so today is the day.”
I chuckle, because his enthusiasm is freaking adorable. Then I let go of Gabe’s hand to push my hair back behind my ear, my bracelets jingling against each other. Gabe tracks the movement and his grin widens.
“What?” I ask.
He points to my wrist. “I love the sound your bracelets make. For all the years we were apart, every time I heard someone’s bracelets jingling, it reminded me of you. The other day at Allie’s funeral, you only wore one bracelet and that’s one of the ways I knew you were hurting so badly. They’re one of your signature things, and they make me happy.”
Gabe shrugs and looks a little sheepish at this admission. Even as grief twists my stomach, warmth rushes through me at the thought of something as simple as the bracelets I’ve worn for almost twenty years making Gabe happy. Grief and happiness. Two opposing forces that, for the next while, are going to live in me side-by-side. I know Gabe understands because he takes my hand again, gaze boring in to mine, deep understanding in his eyes.
“It’s okay to be sad and to miss your friend. It’ll be like that for a while. It’s okay to be happy too. Either. Both. Neither. Feelhowever you need to feel. I’ve got you, no matter what. If you would rather, we can do this later.”
I feel a rush of gratitude for him. He has felt so much grief in his life but has turned into such a good man. My man. “Nope. Let’s be happy today, Gabe. I love a surprise, so lay it on me.”
He squeezes my hand, his smile spreading. “Okay, I kind of want to be dramatic and tell you to close your eyes and everything, but mostly, I’m just really excited to show you.” He pushes open the door and waves me in. “You go first.”
I take a step into the large space. It’s almost pitch black, but before my eyes have a chance to adjust to the dark, Gabe hits a switch that floods the room with light.
I gasp, my eyes roving the space, trying to make my brain make sense of what my eyes are seeing. Because I’m not standing in a garage. I’m standing in a brightly lit room with glossy light wood floors and a wall of mirrors. A barre in the same shade of wood as the floor stretches the entire length of the mirrors. Shelves mounted to the wall hold what looks like an expensive sound system, and the windows that line the opposite wall are covered in paper, but I know as soon as they’re uncovered the entire space will fill with natural light. I walk to the center of the room, turning in a circle. There is an entrance to another, smaller room along the far wall, but I can’t make my feet move. All I can do is gawk at the space.
“Do you like it?” Gabe murmurs to me.
I spin at the sound of his voice. “You made me a dance studio?” My voice is thick and filled with disbelief.
Gabe frames my face with his hands. “You are so beautiful when you dance, Rory. When you mentioned wanting to try and dance again, I wanted you to have a space to do it. Dancing used to make you so happy, and I hope that it can make you happy again.”
I give a little watery laugh, my eyes filling with tears. “I could have just found a studio to go to, you know. I didn’t need one in my backyard.”
