Page 17 of Visions of You

Gabe wrenched his gaze away and met my eyes. His expression hardened, as if it was my fault he hadn’t known where Hailey was. My pulse raced, though I couldn’t decide if it was from attraction or irritation.

Then he slid his eyes back to Hailey and spoke softly. “Head on back to the Big House, angel. Lunch is ready. We’ll talk more later.”

She nodded, then glanced at me, demure now. “It was nice to meet you, April.”

“You too, Hailey.” The way Gabe had glared at me convinced me my reaction was irritation. Most definitely not attraction. Despite his dark, smoldering eyes. “Come back anytime. I enjoyed our chat.”

A small smile crossed her lovely face, and she trotted past her father and toward the sand path. Hemingway sat in the sunbeam watching.

Gabe and I stared at each other. As I got over the shock of discovering who he was, a hot ball of anger formed in my stomach at howhe’d treated me. From the beginning. “So you’re Gabe, huh? Guess I wasn’t worth the effort of an introduction yesterday?”

A red flush crept up his neck as he drew himself upright to his full glorious height. “I’m sorry. It’s been a rough few days. Yes, I’m Gabriel Markham.”

“April Desmond. But you know that already, don’t you?”

A muscle in his cheek moved as he ground his teeth. I don’t know why I was so pleased to get a reaction out of him.

Or maybe I did know.

Maybe because I wanted him to feel embarrassed and inadequate like he’d made me feel. Then I recalled what Hailey had said about my apartment. Was he hostile because I’d displaced him and his daughter?

Or was he just an asshole?

“Hailey told me she and you stayed here when you visited. I hope I didn’t kick you two out.”

Several expressions flitted across his face, surprise, calculation, even a brief flash of anger. Then he covered all of them, his face becoming completely neutral when he answered. “Not at all. We’re closer to my family, and you’re closer to the dive shop. This works for everyone.”

His voice had that deep, rich timbre I remembered. With a flash, I realized why Warren had looked so familiar. I was staring at a younger version of him right now. A version who had just made it crystal clear he was family, and I was an employee.

Anger widened my eyes. “Well, don’t let me keep you from lunch.”

With a stiff nod, he turned around and took a step. Then I nearly jumped when he whirled back around and strode across the deck of my patio. Stopping in front of Hemingway, he bent down and swooped up the cat. Hemingway settled in his folded arms as Gabe glared at me. “This is my cat. He comes with me.”

Then he spun around again and stalked back the way he’d come.

I stared at his retreating form, once again unable to dismiss histowering, muscular build. The way his shoulders moved with every stride. How could he be the man I’d been told of?

This sullen, dismissive, and cantankerous jerk.

Oh yeah. And the new dive manager.

“Now he’s my boss. Great.”

My head flopped back against the couch as I took a long pull of beer. I was stuck with Gabe whether I liked it or not. Dammit, I was here for a new start—to be the positive, happy person I’d once been.

You’re not going to stop me, Gabe.

Clearly, he wasn’tallbad. He’d certainly done a stellar job with his daughter, and Maia spoke fondly of him. Maybe I was going about this wrong. Instead of trying to get under his skin, maybe I needed to provide a ray of sunshine instead of a challenge. That was my natural inclination anyway. But something about Gabe got under my skin.

I stared at the ocean, my eyes unfocused. “A spoonful of sugar instead of vinegar? I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

Chapter Eight

Gabe

Hemingway purredin my arms as I stomped up the hill, either oblivious to my mood or trying to calm me down. I snorted and scratched him behind one ear.

Probably the latter.

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