Page 42 of It's Always Been You
Gabe grins at me. “You’ve been my favorite person since I found you cursing at a mini-fridge in the lobby of our dorm room when we were eighteen.”
This time, I smile for real, warmth filling me at the memory of eighteen-year-old Gabe asking me what the fridge ever did to me to deserve such awful treatment and then hoisting it up and carrying it to my room for me.
“Well, I’d like to be all, I am woman hear me roar, I can do anything all by myself, but the truth is, I hate any kind of home improvement project with the fire of a thousand suns unless it involves decorating and picking a new paint color for my walls. Cleaning is at the top of my list of least enjoyable activities, so Iappreciate it. Just have your assistant send me all the invoices or whatever.”
Gabe makes a noncommittal sound, and I eye him warily, making a mental note to make sure I get those invoices. He may have kissed me in the pouring rain like some kind of romcom hero and has more money than god, but I can pay for my own damn roof. And ceiling. And HVAC system. And water remediation. Fucking Christ.
“Molly, you home?” Emma’s voice from downstairs interrupts my brief flirtation with catastrophizing.
“Up here,” I call. “Come join the chaos.”
“She lives next door,” I explain to Gabe. “I’m sure she saw the tree from her window.”
I hear two sets of footsteps, and a few seconds later, both Emma and Jeremy join us in my bedroom doorway. Jeremy lets out a low whistle.
“Sorry, Mol. What a fucking mess. How can we help? I have a tree guy who took some trees down for me at my old house. I can give him a call.”
I give his arm a squeeze. “Thanks, Jeremy. I appreciate it, but captain of industry over here and his virtual assistant seem to have it handled. Where’s Maddy?”
“With the Parkers. Rachel wanted a sleepover so we’re solo tonight. Now, tell me more about how Gabe has everything handled,” says Emma, sly expression on her face as she studies Gabe.
“My assistant doesn’t get that much work from me, so he’s going to handle all of this. Good to see you both.” Gabe grins and slides his arm back around my waist, tugging me closer to him.
I’m not sure how I feel about him being all claimy like this in front of my friends, but Emma and Jeremy are both clearly enjoying it because they look at us with twin grins spread over their faces. Then Emma’s gaze slides to me, and she cocks herhead, studying me. I don’t have to have her weird mind-reading skills to hear what she’s saying.
You kissed him.
I stare back at her. So what if I did?
Her smile turns wicked. Was it good?
I sigh. So fucking good.
“Uh, what is happening right now?” Gabe asks, his gaze ping-ponging between Emma and me.
Jeremy snorts out a laugh. “They’re having a whole conversation. They do this. My girl especially. She’s spooky sometimes.” He swings an arm around Emma’s shoulders. His voice is soaked in love, and he’s looking at Emma like she is the reason he exists. “If I had to guess, you kissed Molly tonight before all hell broke loose up here, and that’s what they’re talking about.”
I splutter out some words, but none of them make any sense. Gabe just laughs and pulls me closer to him while I try to ignore the swooping in my stomach at his proximity—and the way I feel safe and cared for even though I no longer have a house I can live in for who even knows how long.
Emma looks at Jeremy, and I’m surprised hearts don’t actually shoot out of her eyes. “You’re getting good at that.”
“I know you, Ems.” He leans down and kisses her, and if my ceiling wasn’t caved in and it wasn’t raining in my bedroom, I’d probably think it was sweet.
“Okay, okay, enough of that. Help me get my stuff together. It’s late and I need to find a hotel for a night or two while I look for a rental or something until this is all taken care of.”
Gabe tenses next to me and I see his mouth open, but Emma beats him to it. “You’re not staying in a hotel. You can stay with us.”
“I love you, Em, but you and Jeremy have a kid-free night tonight, and I’m not getting in the middle of that. I know what you guys get up to when Maddy isn’t home.”
“And when she is. Bless kid bedtimes.” Jeremy’s grin makes him look every inch the playboy athlete he once was.
“Yeah, no. That’s a hard pass. And don’t even suggest I call Jules or Hallie. I love you all, but that is way too much coupledom for me.”
“You’re staying with me, Rory.” It’s a command, rather than a question. Later, when I’m alone, I’ll examine why my first response isn’t to chafe at being told what to do, but rather to feel my stomach flutter and my clit throb at his deep raspy voice and the way his hand tightens on my hip when he says it, and at the idea of being in a house alone with him late at night, with only a wall between us.
“Gabe, it’s fine. I’ll get a hotel.” I’m not in the habit of lying to myself, so I’m woman enough to admit that my argument is mostly for form. I’m suddenly exhausted, and the only thing I hate more than the idea of shacking up with any of my happily coupled and sexed up friends is being alone in a cold, soulless hotel room.
I don’t know what’s happening with Gabe, exactly, or what the future looks like for us. But what I do know is that our date tonight healed a part of me, and our kiss melted my soul. I think what I want more than anything right now is time. Time with him to figure all this out. And if that time comes in the form of a night or two in his house, then so be it.
