Page 79 of Eleven of a Kind

“I think your car in the parking lot says otherwise, darling,” Raj shouted.

I sat at my desk and placed my hands over my face. Why was he here?

“Piper?” I heard his voice.

I inhaled a deep breath and looked at him.

“Gabriel, what are you doing here?”

“You’re going through a thing, and I want to know what that thing is.” A smirk crossed his lips. “Regardless of what I said, you’re my friend, and friends are always there for each other during the good times and the bad.”

“I know you two are standing out there listening!” I yelled.

“Then maybe you two need to go talk somewhere private,” Raj said as he walked into the back room and handed me my purse. “Tara and I will close up. Run along.” He waved his hand.

“I know a place,” Gabriel said.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Gabriel and I walked out of the shop. I climbed into my car and followed him to South Beach Park.

“Why here?” I asked as he led me to a picnic table and sat on it.

“This is where I came after I left your apartment that night. Come on up.” He patted the table.

I climbed up and sat next to him. My heart felt happy being with him again.

“You can talk to me,” he said. “You freaked the fuck out when I told you that I loved you and said I ruined everything. What’s going on with you, Piper?”

“The last words my father said to me were, ‘I love you.’ Then he left and never came back.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who’s sorry. I don’t believe in love, Gabriel, and I need to work on that for myself. I have a lot of issues that need to be addressed. Issues I tucked away all these years and ignored because it was too painful to deal with them.”

“I can relate to that.” He reached over and grabbed my hand. I tried to pull it away, but his grip was tight. “Just relax and hold my hand. I questioned everything after that summer I spent with Ariana. It wasn’t fair that she was thrown into my life, and we couldn’t stay together. We were both so young, but I loved her.”

“Why didn’t you stay in contact with each other?” I asked.

“Because it would never have worked. She was still in high school, and I was going back to Harvard. There was no way we could see each other after that summer, and if we stayed in contact, it would only hurt more. It took a long time for me to get over her. That’s why I stayed away from relationships and only kept things casual with women. I didn’t want to feel that heartache again. But then I met you, and you brought out the one thing in me I avoided all these years.” A smile crossed his handsome face. “You’re a very special woman, Piper Primrose, and I’m not going anywhere whether you like it or not. I’ll be here for you when you decide to deal with your issues. I’ll hold you up and give you the strength to face them head on.”

Tears fell down my cheek as I sat there and listened to him. He brought his other hand up and gently wiped them away.

“You don’t need to cry, but if you want to, my shoulder is always available.”

I swallowed hard as I stared into his perfect eyes.

“I care about you, Gabriel, and I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.” I laid my head on his shoulder. “I need time to deal with my life. You made it such a mess.”

He breathed out a laugh. “Sorry about that.”

“You should be.” I lifted my head and looked at him. “Riley hates me.”

“No, she doesn’t. She loves you, and she misses you.”

“I need time, Gabriel.”

“I understand that, and like I said, I’m not going anywhere. Take all the time you need,” he said, bringing his hand up and placing it on my cheek.

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