Chapter 19 #2
They joined Mom and Grace around the counter and before long had dough spread across its surface. Mom monopolized Paige's attention, as she explained the art of making empanadas.
When she took Paige to the stove to show her the assortment of fillings—both sweet and savory—and to demonstrate how to fold a spoonful into the little pockets, Grace turned to him and whispered, "That was a pretty convincing show."
He didn't like the way that sounded. It made it sound like he was using Paige. Technically, he was, but that kiss had been purely for his selfish benefit. Which meant he was an even bigger heel than Grace intoned.
"It wasn't a show." The words ground out through his clenched jaw as his stomach tightened.
Grace's expression remained skeptical for a moment before her lips lifted in a grin. "Careful, Hermano, you keep that up, I'm going to think you're really in love with her." She smacked his shoulder then walked over to the stove to join Paige and Mom.
Grace had cornered him last Sunday while their mom rested and demanded to know how he'd talked Paige into going along with his ruse.
He hadn't intended to tell her how attracted he'd been to Paige since he first met her, but Grace saw right through his attempts to downplay his interest. She still thought Gabe was crazy for lying to their mom, but even she admitted Mom was much happier lately.
Gabe's chest expanded to a point of being almost painful as he watched the three women he cared deeply about laugh at Paige's attempts to pinch her empanada closed without pushing out the filling.
Grace was right. He was in love with Paige.
Gripping the table, he swore under his breath.
He’d tried to keep his attraction to her in check, because besides being beautiful, she had so many charming qualities that he knew he was at risk of falling for her.
But the moment she agreed to be his fake girlfriend, he started losing that battle, and somewhere along the way, he'd lost his footing on a slippery slope that had him careening out of control faster than a skier with no poles on a Black Diamond run.
The problem was he didn't know what to do about it.
He couldn't handle a repeat of what happened with Harper, who felt so neglected that she'd gone elsewhere looking for love. With everything going on with his mom, he feared he'd end up doing the same thing to Paige.
He didn't want to hurt her like that. Nor could he bear to have her dump him for someone else. He couldn't handle that kind of heartbreak again. Not when he was already losing his mom.
Which meant there was only one thing he could do. Fake or not, he needed to back off and keep their relationship platonic.
No more stealing kisses.
"I'm so full." Paige leaned back from the table and put her hand to her stomach. Even her sides hurt. Probably from all the laughing they'd done while they cooked and ate.
"Me too." Gabe and Grace said in unison.
Marisol hadn't eaten more than a few bites, but she seemed to enjoy herself as she kept them entertained with more stories from Gabe's and Grace's childhood mingled with many from her own.
No one made a move to get up from the table and start cleaning the kitchen, so Paige stayed put, content to keep visiting.
Marisol shifted topics as she looked at Gabe. "Evelyn says the physical therapy office in Pasco isn't the same without you there." Then she turned to Paige. "My good friend Evelyn broke her ankle and has been going to physical therapy for months."
"I'm still there two days a week," Gabe said.
"I know, but Evelyn works on Tuesdays and Thursdays." Marisol took a sip of water. "She says Dr. Stoker is great and all, but even he doesn’t spend the kind of time you do working on your patients.”
"Well, she's welcome to make the drive to Providence," Gabe said in a joking tone. Then he tensed beside Paige and shot her a brief wide-eyed look. Regret filled his face.
Was he worried Evelyn would actually show up in Providence? While Paige was at PT perhaps?
Marisol went on. "Those other guys they've had filling in—Toa and…Gary, I think it was—Evelyn didn't like those guys at all."
Paige leaned forward in her seat about to agree but caught herself. She shouldn't give away that she’d done PT with both men recently in case they hadn’t worked with Gabe a year ago when Paige had supposedly done PT.
"Few people do. Unfortunately, at PT school, they don't teach the people skills necessary to truly be a good physical therapist." Gabe grinned at her. "Paige had to work with Toa once, didn't you?"
She jumped at the opportunity to express her opinion of the obnoxious physical therapist. "Ugh. That man is so stuck on himself he can't see beyond the end of his nose. He has no idea what’s best for his patients."
Marisol nodded. "That's exactly what Evelyn said. He's always trying to change her exercises from what Dr. Stoker has set." Marisol tutted and shook her head. "And Gary…well it sounds like that man hardly talks."
Paige bit her tongue, waiting for an opening from Gabe. When he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, she said, "PT is torturous enough, having a therapist like that would make it even more so."
"Hey, I resent that." Gabe pressed a hand to his chest in feigned offense.
"Don't you give me that." Paige grinned as she nudged his shoulder with hers. "You admitted to being a tyrant and a ruthless taskmaster on my second day of PT."
Grace gave a soft snort across the table.
Gabe pointed as he returned Paige's grin. "A ruthless yet gentle taskmaster. But only with my favorite patients." He reached out as though to take her hand then paused and pulled back.
A sinking sensation swooped through Paige's chest and abdomen.
She shouldn't be so disappointed, but she was. She was also confused. Shortly after they arrived, he kissed her in front of his mom and sister, then as they prepared dinner, he’d gradually withdrawn.
Even though he sat less than a foot away, he'd hardly touched her all through dinner.
Was he upset she had exchanged phone numbers with his mom and sister? That's what a real girlfriend would do. Besides, Paige and Grace had hit it off.
Maybe the guilt of lying to his mom was getting to him. Would he break down and tell her the truth soon and end their fake relationship?
That thought depressed her more than it should.
"So, Paige, have you made any special plans for Gabe's birthday yet?" Marisol looked at her expectantly as she took a nibble off her half-eaten empanada.
A sense of panic seized Paige, making her hot and cold at the same time. She had no idea when Gabe's birthday was, so of course she hadn't made plans. She didn't even know how old he was.
Gabe cleared his throat. "I have to work next Friday, so we aren't really planning on celebrating."
She shot him a look of gratitude and forced a smile. "I thought we could do something fun on Saturday to celebrate." She took Gabe's hand. Thankfully, he didn't resist. "What would you like to do?"
"I don't want to make a big fuss. A quiet dinner at a restaurant would be nice."
"Oh, we're going to make a fuss alright," Grace said. "You only turn thirty-one once. Besides, this might be the last one you get to celebrate with Mo—" Her works choked off as tears flooded her eyes. She ducked her head.
Tears sprang to Paige's eyes as a somber mood settled over the table. Gabe squeezed her hand with an almost bruising force. She did her best to return the pressure, trying to comfort him.
Thanks to Grace, she now knew how old Gabe was, but her only thought was that he was too young to lose his mom.
"Come now. None of that." Marisol clasped Grace's hand.
"We're going to be grateful for the time I have left and make the most of it, remember?
" She turned her attention to Gabe. "So yes, we are going to make a big deal of your birthday.
Either you can decide what you'd like to do, or we can surprise you. "
Gabe studied his mom for a long moment before saying, "Fine. Then I want to spend the day with you all at the Arboretum in Yakima."
"No, let's do what you want to do, not what I would choose."
"That's what I want too, Mom." Gabe gave his mother an earnest look. "I want to spend my birthday at the botanical gardens with you."
Marisol's lips lifted as she nodded. "That's what we'll do then. Should we pack a picnic or—"
"No," Gabe cut her off. "I'll treat you guys to dinner at that steak house we all like."
"We should treat you on your birthday." Although Paige wasn't sure her dwindling savings could afford to pay for dinner for four at an expensive steak house, especially if she didn't get a new job lined up soon.
"You asked what I want to do, and there's my answer. I want to take the most important women in my life to dinner on my birthday." Gabe's gaze lingered on his mom before shifting to Grace.
Paige kept waiting for him to look at her, but he didn't. He simply gave her hand a slight squeeze before releasing it to pick up his water glass.
A cold chill swept over her as disappointment rained down on her.
Gabe had told her he couldn't make any promises, so why did she keep getting her hopes up?
"So, what are you giving Gabe for his birthday?" Grace asked a gleam in her eyes.
Another surge of panic hit Paige, tightening her full stomach. So much for thinking she and Grace were friends. A true friend would never put her on the spot like that.
Paige recalled the socks she bought that reminded her of Gabe when she was shopping for a new swimsuit. She could give them to him for his birthday, rather than save them until she finished PT. But socks were a lame gift to give to a boyfriend.
"Well…um…I'm still deciding. I bought a little something for him a couple weeks ago, but I was hoping you guys could give me some ideas of what else to get him."
"You already bought me something?" Surprise registered on Gabe's face and in his voice.
She grinned. "I did."