Chapter 26
Tori
The words on the page blurred as my mind slipped again to the events from earlier in the day. I closed my book and stood up from the couch, stretching out my back. It was no use trying to focus.
Seeing Carl Bradman had left me rattled, and Gabe had noticed.
He knew me too well not to read my reaction.
But I couldn’t tell him why or give him any reasons for my icy reception.
Nor could I tell him Carl had threatened me again, using the ruse of a friendly visit to ensure I didn’t tell anyone his dirty secrets.
I rubbed my wrist, the scalding sensation of his hand still present from the night he’d grabbed it.
He hadn’t touched me this time, but that didn’t mean I wanted him in my space ever again.
I was certain if Gabe knew the truth I’d see his darker side, but the NDA gagged me, and then there was the pesky fact that he had his own secrets he refused to tell me. It was nice to have leverage for once.
I carried the book to my room and tossed it on my bed before checking on Reid.
Hands clutching the car Gabe had gotten him, he slept soundly.
I pulled the blanket over his shoulder and kissed his head.
Out of everything I had gone through, he was the bonus.
The piece that made it all worth it. I would relive the heartache repeatedly if it meant I had him.
Closing the door behind me, I walked back into the main part of our suite.
Sharp raps at my door had me checking the time.
It was nine o’clock, and I hadn’t ordered room service.
A flash of fear charged through me at the thought that it might be Carl.
I didn’t trust the man, and if he found out where I lived…
I couldn’t stop the horrifying images that crept into my mind until I remembered that there was no access to this floor.
The front desk would have called me. Calming, I pushed a strand of hair back and pulled my sweatshirt down further.
The door had only opened a fraction when Liv pushed it open, barging in with Gabe following.
“Make yourself comfortable,” I said as she sat on the couch and took a fashion magazine from my coffee table.
“Is this all you have?” she said, waving it in the air. “This isn’t fashion. It’s fashion knock-off, like those off-the-rack blouses you wear.”
Gabe gave me a shrug, and I frowned at him before I snapped, “I do not buy off-brand clothes, and not all of us have billions to spend on our wardrobes like you do.”
“True,” she said, dropping the magazine and throwing me a smile.
“What are you two doing here?” I asked, rubbing my temple.
“I have an offer,” Gabe said, and my eyes shot to his. “A secret for a secret.”
Tipping my head, I squinted as I tried to figure out what he was saying.
“I want to show you something,” he continued, holding his hand out to me.
I looked down at it, remembering all the times his hand had encompassed mine.
“Please, Tori. I’ll tell you everything. An exchange of secrets, so there are no more between us.”
“There is no us, Gabe.” The light in his eyes dimmed, and the cavern in my chest twisted in rebellion.
“Just go with him,” Liv said.
My sight remained on Gabe. “I can’t leave. Reid is sleeping, and I’m not waking him up this late.”
“You don’t have to. Auntie Liv is here, and I’ll make sure he’s safe.”
My head swiveled toward her. “I am not leaving my son with you.”
She looked offended, her hand coming to her chest. “I’m hurt, Victoria.”
“Have you ever been around children?”
“No, but I’m sure it’s not difficult.”
I snorted, but before I could respond, Gabe said, “Please come with me, Tori. And I promise, no more secrets, no more lies. That’s what you wanted, and it’s what you deserve.”
Hazel with amber hues pleaded for me to take his hand that remained outstretched. I glanced back at Liv, who was flicking through television channels and ignoring us.
“Let me make it up to you.”
I met his eyes again. “You never can,” I said, my voice quivering.
“I can try.”
There was so much hope in his eyes that I put aside the past for just that moment and took his hand. Sparks flickered through me.
“You two have fun. I’ll watch over Rick.”
My sight snapped back to her as I corrected, “It’s Reid.”
She gave me a devious grin, but Gabe tugged me out the door.
“She’s just playing with you,” he said, pushing the elevator button.
“I don’t have my coat or my wallet.” I tried pulling away, but he kept my hand firmly in his.
“You don’t need either.”
“But…” I gave up as he pulled me into the elevator.
My pulse thrummed like a beating drum in my head. My hand remained in his, and I looked down at it, hating how perfect it felt and how much I’d missed his touch. Being this close to him always left me jumbled, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle spilling from a box.
We passed the lobby level, and the doors opened into the garage.
“Come on,” he said, giving me no choice but to follow, his grip tight on my hand like he feared losing me again.
A private gate blocked this part of the garage off.
He pressed in his code and walked me through.
I had parked my car next to the Jaguar, whose lights flicked as Gabe unlocked it.
I frowned at the pattering in my chest when I realized I’d parked next to his car as if even then I’d been drawn to him.
There was only one other car in the vicinity with plenty of open spots, yet that’s where my body had led me.
Gabe opened the door for me, finally releasing my hand. I gazed into hazel eyes, the colors fractured with emotion.
“Where are we going, Gabe?”
“Just trust me, please. I promise you’ll get all the answers. No more secrets.” His features were softer, giving me a glimpse of the man I had loved and still loved despite how my mind protested.
After closing my door, he ran to the driver’s side and got in. The engine purred as he backed out, and I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “I see you upgraded.”
After a long pause, he said, “Yeah. I’ve always had Jags. I’ve had them since I could drive.” We exited the garage, and I stared out the window as the city passed by. “It didn’t go with the just out-of-school vibe when I moved, so I bought the other car to keep up pretenses.”
“Pretenses,” I repeated. “Is that all I was? A pretense?”
He slammed on the brakes to avoid running the red light, but the motion was more pronounced than it should have been. I bit my lip, thinking this had been a bad idea.
“You were never part of the pretense, Tori. Nothing about us was a lie.”
Turning to him, I said, “Everything was. You built our relationship on lies that corrupted every part of it.”
His eyes grew darker, the light from them fading before a horn had him looking away from me.
Silence fell over us and remained as we exited the city.
The miles continued with the quiet, and I felt myself nodding off.
Sleep had been coming in interrupted segments since taking the job.
Having Gabe back in my life disrupted it.
“Tori,” I heard as I fought to return to the waking world. I blinked my eyes open to see him leaning over my door, his face too close to mine not to send my chest into mini convulsions. “We’re here.”
I stretched, looking past him and seeing a magnificent beach house in front of us.
It stretched across a manicured lawn, lights forming a path up the walkway and along the front gardens.
The breeze brought the smell of salt water to my senses, and I looked back at Gabe, questioning him with my eyes.
He held a hand out for me, and I dropped my eyes to it, hesitating.
“Where are we?” I asked, placing my hand in his. The sparks returned, snapping at my skin and reminding me that my body still answered to him even after all this time.
“The Hamptons,” he answered, helping me out and closing the door behind me. A four-car garage faced me with one door already lifted. “This was my parents before my father had to sell it. I bought it under one of my companies so he wouldn’t know.”
“Why?” The garage door closed behind us, and he opened the inside door. An alarm sounded.
“Because my mother loved it here and because…” He punched in the code, silencing the alarm.
“Because what?” I asked as he lowered his head.
“I wanted to reclaim it, to erase the memories that haunt it and replace them with ones of you.”
My inhale plunged into my chest. “When did you buy it?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Two years ago.”
Before I had returned to his life, before he even thought we had a second chance.
With a sigh, he moved through the kitchen.
It was like something from a magazine, and I couldn’t help gaping at it as he flicked the lights on.
Gray cabinets with a blue tint lined the walls, some with glass doors.
An island took up the center, five stools against it.
Windows lined the seating area, the ocean barely visible in the dark beyond.
Gabe strolled into the attached living room that stretched the length of the bottom floor.
Windows formed the wall, long panes of glass that looked out onto a deck and beyond to the shore.
He turned on two dim lights that let me see the sheet-draped furniture.
A house that no one had used in far too long, like a museum of memories waiting for someone to bring it back to life.
And that someone for Gabe was me. I could barely stand, let alone follow him.
I stood in the threshold as he walked to a window and stared out.
He touched the glass, his fingers tracing an invisible fracture, and he didn’t have to tell me this was the pane his father had pushed him through. How many times had I traced the scar on his chest?