Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
G enevieve shot up out of bed. A loud boom rattled the house. What in the world was that? She ran to the window with Gabe trailing behind her.
“What is it?” he asked.
She put a hand to her chest. She took a big, deep breath, trying to slow her racing heart. “It’s a tree. It just barely missed the house.” She ran her hands up and down her arms, trying to warm herself. “I’m freezing.” She glanced at the fireplace. The fire burned low. She piled on more logs before using the fire poker to stoke the flames. “That could have been really bad. Sometimes the ice and snow get so heavy on the trees that they just can’t take it anymore.” She grimaced at the thought. What if that tree had fallen on top of us?
Gabe nodded. “That was close.” He glanced at the old clock on the wall. “It’s almost dawn. Want me to get some of those packets of apple cider? We could heat it up over the fire.”
She looked down at her trembling hands and laced her fingers together. Calm down. It’s all right. “Yeah, sure. I don’t think I’ll go back to sleep.”
Gabe returned from the kitchen with a kettle that he held over the fire with the fire poker. Once the water started boiling, he poured steaming water over into the mugs and mixed in the powdered mix.
She sipped slowly. “Not too shabby for a mix.” Gabe held up his mug, and they clinked glasses. His cider sloshed up out of the mug and splashed on his shirt. He jumped back.
“I’m such a klutz.” He smiled sheepishly. “Guess I better change my shirt.”
“I guess you better.” He walked over to his dresser and pulled out another shirt. He peeled the wet shirt off. She tried not to stare but couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away. Look at those muscles . She licked her lips. He glanced over at her and grinned.
“Sorry about that,” he said, as he pulled the clean white T-shirt back down over the top of his pajama pants.
Say something, Gen. And quit staring . “No problem.” She smoothed a hand over her hair. “I guess I need to change clothes too and get out of my pajamas.”
“Why? We aren’t going anywhere.” He glanced toward the window. “I think we’ll be stuck here with no power for a while. Might as well be comfortable.”
She laughed. “True.” She sipped her cider. “I need to at least brush my hair and wash my face.” She grabbed her bag and walked toward the bathroom. “Thanks for the cider.” Once she was in the bathroom, she assessed the damage. Bedhead and morning breath. Sexy. She ran a brush through her long hair and pulled it into a tidy bun. She brushed her teeth and swiped on a little lip gloss, the only makeup she had in her bag. Thank goodness she’d never unpacked her bag from visiting Aunt Tracey.
She opened the bathroom door to see Gabe sitting on the floor in front of the fire wrapped up in a fuzzy blue blanket. His smile sent little shivers through her. She smiled back and flopped down on the floor beside him. He handed her a corner of the blanket, which she gratefully wrapped around her. She scooted closer to him in order for the blanket to cover them both.
“So... what now?” he asked.
“Well, we’ve got nothing but time on our hands.” She rubbed her hands together and warmed them by the fire. He refilled her cider. “Do you have any games or cards?”
“I have a deck of cards that I picked up in case I wanted to play solitaire. I’ll go get them.” He went into the living room and returned holding up the cards triumphantly. “So what’ll it be?”
She thought for a moment. “Gin rummy? Do you know how to play that one?”
He nodded. “Yep. Granny and I used to play it all the time.”
She smiled. “That’s sweet. My grandma and I play dominoes all the time. Sometimes Phase Ten.”
“So, your grandmother is still living?”
“Yes, she’s eighty-one and healthy as a horse.” Genevieve chuckled. “She is a real estate mogul. Owns several properties here and in the surrounding towns.”
“That’s wonderful. I miss my Granny so much.” He looked down at his hands. “She’s been gone two years this summer, and it’s still hard. I still have Gram, though, and we are very close. ”
Her heart ached for him. “I’m so sorry. I lost my grandpa to leukemia a few years ago, and I still tear up all the time thinking about him.” She touched his arm. “We all went to church together, and he had the most amazing voice. I can still hear him singing if I close my eyes and think about it really hard.” She bit her lip. “I still can’t sing his favorite hymn without crying.”
He touched her shoulder. “It’s so hard, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “It really is.” She paused. “I try not to think about the day when Nana will be gone.” She shook her head. “Enough of this.” She smiled. “You deal.”
As evening fell, Gabe got up from his position on the floor where they had played several card games. Gabe stretched and yawned. “I can’t believe it’s this late.” He glanced out the window. “Looks like the snow has slacked up a lot. How about I go fix us something to eat?”
Not wanting to be waited on, Genevieve hopped up from the floor. “I’ll come help.”
They walked out of the bedroom into the kitchen. Genevieve shivered. It’s freezing in here. She had a much better view out the large windows to see the storm. Wow. It’s beautiful. The snow still fell but was more a cheerful sprinkling than the raging blizzard from the night before. It’ll probably stop soon.
Genevieve held a hand to her stomach. “I’m starving.”
“Me too.” Gabe opened the pantry. “What are you in the mood for?”
She looked over his shoulder. “I think I’ll take a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
Gabe grimaced. “Peanut butter and jelly?” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you Americans do it.”
Genevieve’s mouth dropped. “You don’t eat peanut butter and jelly?”
Gabe shook his head. “Goodness, no. If I want a sandwich, I eat it with the proper fillings. Meat and cheese.”
Genevieve rolled her eyes. “Have you at least ever tried peanut butter and jelly?”
Gabe looked away. “No, and I don’t intend to.”
She punched him lightly on the arm. “Oh, come on! You’ve got to at least try it. Please?” She smiled. “I’ll make one that is just perfect for you.”
He grimaced. “I... uhhh... I don’t know.”
“Don’t be a baby.” She grabbed the peanut butter that she’d brought with her groceries out of the pantry. “You are trying it and that’s that.”
Gabe watched as she spread a layer of peanut butter then grape jelly on white bread. Genevieve then cut the sandwich into two triangles. Gabe eyed the sandwich suspiciously. “I feel like I’m back in primary school.”
Genevieve frowned as she handed him his plate. “Primary school?”
“You know, when you are little. Primary school.”
Genevieve laughed. “Oh, we call that elementary school.” She took a big bite of her sandwich, chewed, and swallowed. She grinned at him. “Your turn.”
He took a small bite of the sandwich and swallowed reluctantly. He took another bite. He couldn’t help but grin. “It’s not so bad, I guess.”
“You guess?” She laughed. “That’s American cuisine at its finest.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Genevieve cleared her throat and looked at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing.” She grinned. “Just thinking these sandwiches are a long way from our risotto but just as good.”
He chuckled. “Definitely not risotto, but not too bad.”
“So, tell me more about you. Your life in England, your family.”
Gabe walked to the window and looked out. “Well, not too much to tell. I have a brother and a sister...”
“And you are the oldest? Youngest?”
“Oldest.”
She nodded. “Me too. I have a sister and two brothers.”
“Do you believe all that birth order stuff? Like that it affects your personality?”
She nodded. “Absolutely. Type-A overachiever right here.”
He shook his head. “I don’t really see myself like that. Although I like to boss my siblings around.” He laughed. “When we were kids, I used to make my brother be my butler for the day.”
Genevieve laughed. “I used to make my sister be my personal assistant.” She paused. “See, we’re cut from the same cloth.” She lightly touched his arm, feeling the muscles under his shirt. Her stomach danced at the thought of him without his shirt on.
Gabe looked at her hand then up at her with his caramel eyes. She withdrew her hand quickly. Gabe cleared his throat. “Umm, yeah, so I’m the oldest. My parents have been married for forever, happily married if I do say so. We have our family business, and that’s really it.”
“No girlfriend waiting for you at home?”
He smirked. “Why? Jealous?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, just curious.”
“No, no girlfriend. I mainly spend time with my family. We’re a tight-knit bunch. My cousin Daniel and I are around the same age. We shared a flat after university for some time and still spend a lot of time together.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. I’ve read that college roommates have a seventy percent chance of staying lifelong friends. I’m sure even more so if you are related.”
Gabe grinned. “I like a woman who can spout off a random fact now and again.”
She giggled. “Then, you need a librarian.” Heat warmed her face. “I mean... a librarian knows a lot of facts so...that would be an ideal woman for you.” She threw her hands up. “I’m not really digging myself out of this hole, am I?” I am terrible at flirting.
He smiled. “Nope. Admit it. You’re subconsciously trying to make me attracted to you. I know your tricks.”
This time Genevieve hit him hard on the arm. “I am not! How could you say that?”
Gabe laughed. “It’s just a joke, Gen. Simmer down.”
She cut her eyes at him. “You simmer down.”
Gabe held up his hands in mock surrender. “So, you told me some about you, but I want to know more.”
She eyed him warily. “Like what?” Like how my family thinks I will die single and I can’t choose good men.
“Well, for starters, is there a boyfriend in the picture?”
Here we go. “No boyfriend.”
“Why?” She has to have men knocking down her door.
Genevieve looked away. “What do you mean, why?” She chewed on the nail of her right pinky finger.
“I mean, you’re beautiful, smart, kind. So, what’s wrong with the men in Forest Grove?”
She could feel heat rising in her cheeks. “You are just buttering me up for more cooking lessons.”
He reached for her hand. Butterflies formed in her stomach as he stroked the top of her hand with his thumb. “Come on, Gen. I’m not trying to butter you up. Really, what’s the deal?”
She looked away for a moment, trying to decide how much to tell him. What will he think of me? “There have been some boyfriends.” She tried to smile. “You don’t get to be unmarried in your thirties and not have a few broken hearts.”
He leaned closer, giving her his full attention. “Well, tell me about it.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Well, I had a pretty normal high school and college experience. Some dates but nothing too serious. Lots of hanging out in groups with friends, going to parties...until the summer after my senior year of college. I met a guy from the University of Kentucky who came here to visit his aunt. I didn’t know it at the time, but Nathan was a star basketball player. We started dating long-distance. He joined the NBA, so of course, he traveled all the time.”
Gabe looked impressed by this. She’d learned the hard way that fame wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. “Did he live here in the off season?”
Genevieve looked down and sighed. “He did. We were together for three years before he decided it wasn’t going to work.”
“You were heartbroken?”
She nodded. “I thought we were going to get married.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“Well, it was a long time ago, and I’ve moved on from it. He married about a year after we broke up and now has two little girls. We still exchange Christmas cards.” She laughed. “It really was rather non-dramatic, just sad.”
“He broke your heart. And wrecked your plans. That is dramatic.”
Yes, he broke my heart. And wrecked my plans. “Sounds like you might have had your heart broken once or twice too?”
He smiled. “Like you said, you don’t get to be unmarried in your thirties and not have some broken hearts.” He paused. “So, anyone special since then?”
“That’s the thing. There wasn’t for a long time. Years, actually. I think it was a combination of me being heartbroken over Nathan and not many options in a small town. I didn’t go on a date for about a year, and the ones I went on were epic fails, in one way or another.”
Gabe nodded. “I’ve had a few epic fail dates myself.”
I can’t imagine you having a bad date . Who wouldn’t want to date you? “I finally let Tilly talk me into going on one of those online dating sites. I thought I’d hate it, but it actually made me feel like I was taking control of my dating life. Like I was actively pursuing love.”
She frowned. “Actively pursuing love. That sounds terrible. Like an online dating website advertisement.” She laughed. “You know what I mean, though. Anyway, I met this guy. Tim. We hit it off instantly. I really thought this was it. I’d found love again. He lived about three hours away and drove down here just about every other weekend. We talked about the whole nine yards... marriage, babies, growing old together. I should have seen the red flags, though.”
Gabe scooted closer to her. “What red flags?”
“He always wanted to come see me. He wouldn’t call me after about six o’clock at night—would only text. And sometimes, even then, it would be a long time between my texts and when he would respond.”
“I don’t like where I think this may be going.”
Genevieve looked down at her hands. “You apparently catch on faster than I do. I decided one weekend that I would surprise him. I searched for his home address online, you know, so I didn’t ruin the surprise.” She paused. “Imagine my surprise when his wife answered the door.”
Gabe winced. “Oh, Gen... are you serious?”
She blinked back tears. “Yeah, unfortunately I am.” She shrugged her shoulders. “So, basically my dream guy was a complete fraud. He had a wife and a kid.” She looked away. “And I had been looking at wedding dresses.” There’s the look. That pitying look everyone gives me. Genevieve hung her head. "Don't look at me like that."
"Look at you like what?”
"Like you feel sorry for me."
"I do feel sorry for you, and I really want to punch that guy in the face. Who does that to someone?"
"Apparently he does." She pursed her lips. “Of course, he had this long drawn out story about how his marriage was over, and he just didn’t have the means to leave his wife yet.” She rolled her eyes. “How stupid did he really think I was? Like I would be with him after that?” She paced the floor. “I'm over him. I'm just not over the shame and embarrassment of what happened. To top it off, I went around bragging to everyone in town about my sweet, loving boyfriend that I thought I would marry. I should have just taken out a notice in the paper rather than having to constantly explain to everyone what happened."
"I'm so sorry that happened to you. I think you win the crappiest relationship award." He frowned. "I guess the worst breakup I had was when my girlfriend of over a year dumped me because I said I might not want to take over the family business."
“Are you serious?”
"Yeah, pretty shallow. But she was a pretty shallow girl, and I was too stupid to see it.”
"You aren’t stupid. Love makes us blind sometimes."
He nodded in approval. “That’s the funny thing. I’m not even really sure I loved her. I think I just wanted to believe that she really loved me.”
“Everyone wants to feel loved and needed. I think that’s why we often settle for less." She placed her hand on his briefly. His fingers laced with hers.
"You have no reason to be ashamed. He should be ashamed of himself. I hope his wife kicked him to the curb.”
She laughed. “I hope so too.”
"If there's one thing I learned from my business, it's that today's headline is usually forgotten by tomorrow. Even though this was big news for the town, everyone will forget soon. I’m sure most people are more concerned about your feelings than the actual situation.”
"I hope you’re right. Sounds like you’ve had a lot of drama for a shipping company.”
He chuckled. "You wouldn't believe it."
The wind howled outside. Even with the fire burning, the outside chill was creeping in now that the power was off. She shivered.
Gabe smiled at her. “Do you think it would be okay if we sleep close?” He gave her a devilish look. “Don’t want us to get frostbite or something.”
She smirked. “I think that would be all right. Just for tonight.”
Gabe curled around her. She fit against him perfectly. She listened until his breathing was smooth and even, indicating that he’d fallen asleep. It was only then that she allowed herself to drift off. For the first time in a long time, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.