Page 87 of Eleven of a Kind

“I feel sick.”

“Why? Because of your father?” I asked.

“Yeah. I think so.” She looked down. “Since I realized he was never coming back, I had this scenario in my head about what I’d say if I ever saw him again.”

“Then say it.”

“Well, I was a kid then. The scenario has now changed. It’s much more graphic.” A small smile fell upon her lips.

I stood up, turned on some music, and held out my hand.

“Dance with me.”

“Gabriel, I—”

“It’s just a dance, Piper.”

She placed her hand in mine and stood up. Wrapping my arm around her waist, we slowly danced.

“You say to him exactly how you feel. Don’t hold back. He deserves to know what he did to you,” I said.

“Trust me. I will. Are you sure you want to come with me?” she asked. “You might see a side of me you won’t like.”

I let out a laugh. “Trust me. All of your sides are beautiful, no matter what.”

My eyes stared at her lips, and her phone rang as I leaned in to kiss her.

“I better see who that is.” She grabbed her phone from the table. “It’s a Facetime call from Raj.”

“Girl, you were supposed to call us when you landed,” Raj said.

“I’m sorry. I got distracted. Look who I found on the plane.” She held up her phone to me.

“Say what!” Raj said.

“Give me that phone.” Tara grabbed it from his hands. “Are you keeping secrets from us, Piper?”

“No.” She laughed. “He’s here for a medical conference. Weird, right?”

“Hi, Tara. Hi, Raj,” I said.

“Hi, Gabriel.” They both smiled. “Just so you know, we’re on Team Gabriel,” Raj said.

“Thank you.” I chuckled.

“Ugh, don’t listen to them. I have to go. I’ll call you later.” Piper ended the call.

“What did he mean they’re on ‘Team Gabriel?’” I asked.

“Nothing.” Piper shook her head. “They’re dumb.” She looked at her watch. “We should call a cab.”

“I was thinking about that, but the hotel has a car rental service. I’ll just rent a car,” I said.

“Are you sure, Gabriel? A cab is fine.”

“I’m positive. Let’s go down to the lobby and get one.”

CHAPTER31

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