Chapter 29
Gabe
The lobby was quiet this early, so when the elevator doors opened, I knew exactly who it carried.
Tori walked out with Reid’s hand in hers.
She wore a long pink coat that came just above her knees, where her skirt ended.
The heels of her knee-high black boots clicked on the marble, and my eyes followed their path until I met her eyes.
Vibrant blue, they sparkled with the sunlight that filtered in through the hotel windows.
“Gabe!” Reid freed himself from his mother’s hand and ran toward me. I wanted to squat down and scoop him up, but I refrained, still tenuous with where Tori had set my boundaries. He stopped in front of me, his hazel eyes dusted with amber and excitement.
“Good morning, buddy. Did you have something sweet for breakfast?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “A donut. How did you know?”
I dusted the powder from his cheek and from where it landed on his navy coat. “Just a lucky guess.”
“Good morning,” Tori greeted me, and the air stuck in my lungs when I met her cerulean irises. She had her hair tucked behind her ears, a pink hat the match of her coat covering most of it.
“Morning.” Every part of me wanted to lean over and kiss her, but again, there were boundaries with Reid that she had set, and I didn’t want to test them.
“Thank you for offering to share the ride. Reid was very excited when he heard.”
Reid took my hand and led me toward the doors, immediately asking me about my opinion of the movie.
He continued to dominate the conversation during the ride, talking excitedly about his favorite characters and scenes.
All the while, I peeked over at Tori, savoring the smile that adorned her face.
When she would catch my eyes on her, a blush would climb her cheeks, and she would look away.
“Is there a second movie?” I asked Reid, looking for an excuse to see them again. “Maybe one we can watch this weekend?”
“Oh, there is. Can we, Mommy? Maybe we can make popcorn. I love popcorn.”
She frowned, shaking her head. “We can’t. Remember, we’re going to see Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. They want to give you your birthday present.”
My spirit dropped.
“Can Gabe come with us?”
Tori froze, as did I. “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I told him, knowing how her family felt about me. There was a high probability they would never talk to me again, even with Tori accepting me back into her life.
“Maybe another night,” she told him.
“When are you leaving?” I asked, trying to hide my disappointment.
“Tomorrow. I was planning to leave work early since the drive will be so long. Cash and his wife are leaving today with their daughter. Otherwise, I would have gotten a ride with them.”
Definitely not an event that would offer me welcome. “Take the company plane,” I blurted.
“Oh, no. I couldn’t. It’s nothing I haven’t driven before. We’ll be fine.”
Reid’s head was moving from Tori to me as we talked.
“I insist. I’ll have it fueled and ready with a car to take you to the house. It’s a perk of the job, take it.”
“Gabe, I couldn’t.” Her eyes creased as she chewed her lip.
“Take it. Otherwise, I’ll worry about you the entire time you’re on the road. Besides, I’m sure Reid hasn’t been on a private plane before. He’ll have fun.”
“Please, Mommy.”
She gave me a sour look that told me she didn’t like how I’d gotten Reid on my side, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want her driving for so many hours, and the weather was turning as winter moved in.
“Fine,” she relented.
I texted my pilot and gave him the details as I waited for Tori to drop Reid off.
The sound of her heels coincided with my last text.
She stayed quiet as we waited for the elevators, and I wasn’t sure if she was mad at me for my insistence or if it was something else.
Squeezing the bridge of my nose, I tried to calm the nerves that were drilling into me with the thought that I’d screwed this up.
She stepped into the elevator, and I followed, the silence remaining until the door closed.
“Tori, I…” I started, but she stopped my words with a kiss that seared away the doubt. Hands wrapping around her waist and bringing her further into me, I deepened the kiss.
The ring of the elevator informed me we’d arrived, and she untangled herself from my arms, smoothing her coat down just as the doors opened. With a glance back, she threw me a mischievous grin and walked off.
Shaking my head, I didn’t bother hiding my smile when I followed her.
She swiped us into the office space, giving Paula a bubbly hello before heading to her office.
I stopped to get my messages, saying good morning to Paula and attempting to get the heat of that kiss from my mind so I could function the rest of the morning.
Liv hadn’t arrived yet, but that wasn’t abnormal. She was usually the last one in, making her own hours. I honestly wasn’t sure if she’d worked more than two hours a day since my father had left.
Logging in, I stood over my desk, rolling out the tension in my neck. The sound of my door closing had me lifting my head to see Tori strolling into my office. I gave her a sheepish grin, still reeling from her kiss.
“Come with us,” she said, and my grin faltered.
“Where?”
She swallowed, and I followed the movement of her hand as it nervously brushed a hair from her cheek. A tremor, barely noticeable, accompanied it. “To my parents’ place.”
The floor dropped from under me like another nightmare stretching to engulf me.
I was certain her family hated me. Fully expected her brother would punch me if he could get a good hit off before I countered it.
There was no prospect that me going with her would have a good outcome.
But she was there, asking me, nervously awaiting my response, and I didn’t want to let her down again. Not ever again.
I walked around the desk and over to her. Taking her hands in mine and seeing the shake in them, I asked, “Is it important to you that I be there?”
She nodded, her eyes tinged with emotion.
“Then I’ll go.” And suffer the consequences of my decisions…again. I didn’t think I would ever stop facing them. It was my punishment for leaving her, and if accepting it kept her by my side, then I would gladly welcome it.
Relief splashed across her features. “Are you sure?”
“Isn’t that what I should ask you?” I smoothed my finger over her thumb. “I’m sure I’m the last person your family wants to see.”
“I want you there. And I want you to tell them what you told me. All of it.”
My hold tightened on her hand. “Tori, I can’t.”
“You can, because they need to know, just like I did. Then they can judge you themselves.”
“And if they still hate me?”
She shrugged. “It won’t matter because I don’t.”
“You really don’t?”
“Not anymore. I did. For a very long time, but the love was still there, like an annoying gnat I couldn’t kill.”
Narrowing my eyes at her, I said, “That’s not very nice.”
“But it’s the truth. I tried not to love you, Gabe, but I couldn’t. You embedded yourself too far into my soul, and I couldn’t free myself of you.”
“And now?”
“Now…I don’t know. I still love you. The hate is gone, but the hurt isn’t, and that’s why we need to take this in steps.”
I nodded, understanding and knowing I’d give her as much time as she needed. “With kisses like the one you gave me in the elevator, slow is going to be tough,” I teased.
“I never said it would be easy to win me back.”
“It shouldn’t be,” I admitted. “I left too much damage in my wake.”
She took my hand, and as I dropped my eyes to it, I saw the ring on her finger. A sign that she had faith in where this was going. Faith again in me. I rubbed my thumb over it, looking forward to the day I could move it to the correct finger and add a band to it.
“I suppose we were both damaged,” she mumbled, and my eyes jumped to hers. “And now we can heal together.”
Lush strands of ebony encased my fingers as I drew her to me.
Our mouths met in a kiss that had a torrent of wings flapping in my stomach.
Her hands on my chest sent them rising so that it almost felt like this was our first kiss, a sensation I experienced every time I kissed Tori.
Like we were young and in love, experiencing all our firsts and treasuring each one.
A knock on my door had us jumping apart, and I hated that we had to keep what we had a secret. I still wasn’t sure what kind of conflict the CEO involved with his CFO presented, but I was certain it wasn’t a good one.
The door opened just as Tori was smoothing her hand over her hair.
Our assistant, Sean, came in but stopped, his eyes darting between us. He shook his head, his grin entirely too large.
“Did you need something, Sean?” I asked, having worked with him long enough to read that look.
“Just bringing notes for your ten o’clock.” He brought them to my desk.
“I should go,” Tori said. “I’ll have that report to you by end of day.”
“No need to go on my account,” Sean said. “It’s about time you two dealt with that tension. It’s enough to burn the floor down.”
He gave us a wink, and I tried not to react, scowling at him.
“We were discussing the restructure,” I snapped. “Not that it makes a difference.”
“Whatever you want to call it, boss. Just as long as it doesn’t heat this place up anymore.”
“Leave, Sean.”
He laughed on his way out, mumbling about turning the air conditioner on. I pinched my brow, peeking at Tori, who wore an amused smile.
“I let him get away with too much.”
“Nah, he’s perfect for dealing with you.” She straightened my tie, easing her hand down to follow its path. “Do you want to watch the second movie with us tonight? I’m sure Reid will spend the entire plane trip telling you about every car in it.”
“I’d love to. Should I bring the popcorn?”
Her smile warmed me to my core. “Definitely.” She gave me a peck on the cheek, her hand drifting over mine as she walked to the door. “Seven o’clock, Mr. Icinda. Don’t be late.”