Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
GABE
Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think .
Hallie says I don’t know her, but that’s bullshit. I spent the better part of my life attuned to her every move. A little time and distance won’t make me forget. Not a damn thing.
“Gabe? Are you listening?”
Maybe this fake engagement thing has gone to my head.
Made me see things that aren’t actually there.
I thought we had turned a corner. That what I saw in her eyes the other night on the couch was desire.
Longing—the same longing I’ve been struggling with for the past ten years.
But maybe that’s what I wanted to see. Maybe I was projecting in a desperate hope that it would make it so.
No . I know what I saw .
Only, it apparently doesn’t matter. Hallie is determined to push me away, and she’s hurting herself in the process.
“Gabe, there’s a fire in the backroom.”
I finally turn and raise a brow at Delilah. “Really? You couldn’t do better than that?”
She shrugs. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”
I shake my head, and then I reposition in my chair so Hallie is in full view.
I regret challenging her. I should’ve backed off—apologized for inserting myself.
Now she’s thrown herself headfirst into something she hates just to prove a point to me.
It’s both infuriating and enticing. Infuriating because I can’t stand watching that douchebag hang off her every word, and enticing because of the heat in her eyes when she stood up to me. I’ve never seen that before.
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you do something about it?” Luke chimes in.
I’d like to do something about it . Like introduce my fist to that sleazy fucker’s face .
I’m not generally a violent person, but I find that watching Hallie with another guy tends to bring out a whole different side of me.
If he seemed like a decent enough guy, I could force myself to live with it.
But I saw the way he was looking at her.
It lacked the respect that Hallie deserves.
He sees her as a ticket to getting his dick wet, nothing more. And she is so much more than that.
I scrub a hand across my face. “I tried. All that did was push her farther into his arms.”
My brother chuckles. “I mean, tell her how you feel. Circling around it isn’t helping.”
I snort, amused that he, of all people, would be trying to offer me advice. “So you’re in a good relationship for all of two seconds and suddenly you’re an expert?”
“This is definitely more of a do as I say, not as I do type of situation,” Delilah says. When she catches Luke’s displeased look, she grins and smacks a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry, Chief, but you have to admit that feelings aren’t your strong suit.”
He smirks. “You weren’t saying that when I made you feel things last night.”
Clara smacks a hand on the table. “Okay, ew . I’m all for you two being together, but I do not need the mental pictures to go along with it,” she admonishes. Then she raises her finger and points it directly at my chest. “And you . Quit being a jealous asshole.”
“I’m not—” She pins me with a sharp look, daring me to finish lying to her. I slump back in my seat. “How are you okay with this? She’s clearly uncomfortable over there.”
My sister sighs. “I learned a long time ago that Hallie has to do things her way. She won’t believe it unless she figures it out on her own. All you can do is be there when she needs you.”
“I wish she would just trust me,” I mutter under my breath.
Clara’s expression is full of sympathy. I’ve never outright admitted to having feelings for Hallie, but once Hallie left and my family realized that something had happened between the two of us, I think she put the pieces together.
I used to wonder how she’d feel about it, but Clara hasn’t made it seem like an issue.
“It’s not about trusting you, Gabe,” she says. “She trusts you. But her mom really fucked with her head. You know what Amanda is like.”
I do, somewhat. I’ve heard stories, and I know Hallie doesn’t really talk to her anymore. She never mentions her, anyway.
“I’m sure she’ll come around,” Delilah says. “Sometimes you have to go through some shit to realize what you really want.”
Luke’s hand tightens on the back of her chair at her words. He’s probably thinking about how he almost screwed things up for good at the end of the summer.
“It’s not even that,” I say. As much as I’d like to be with her, that isn’t the point right now. “I hate that she’s putting herself in an uncomfortable position because of me.”
Yet again, she’s running because of me.
My brother, sister and Delilah offer me identical pitying looks.
I cross my arms and slump in my chair, turning back to the pool tables across the bar. I’m beginning to regret agreeing to this night. Luke was definitely on to something about staying home.
Clara changes the subject, asking Delilah if she’s given any more thought to starting her own photography business. I think Delilah says yes, but then I tune them out. I’m too busy watching the way Deacon’s hand hovers on Hallie’s lower back, entirely too close to her ass.
He comes up behind her, then his hand slides to her hip. She sidesteps out of his hold. But he just latches on like the leech he is, tighter this time. I’ve had about enough. I don’t care if it makes me an asshole—I have to put an end to this.
Clara must see the same thing I do because her expression hardens. “Okay, if you don’t go over there, I will.”
I’m out of my seat before my sister even finishes talking.
I stalk across the bar. I’m not sure if the other patrons can feel the ire radiating off me or what, but they move for me all the same. I’m thankful, because I wouldn’t have hesitated to shove someone aside if they got in my way.
“Deacon, can you give me some space?” Hallie asks, her voice timid.
Her tone alone should be enough to give him pause, but the guy doesn’t listen. He continues to box her in against the pool table, uncaring that she’s leaning away from him. There’s a flash of panic in her expression.
“C’mon, sweetheart,” he croons. “Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere more private.”
Her spine snaps straight. “No, thanks. I think I’m done playing now. I need to get back to my friends.”
Deacon leans toward her, but before he can say something else, I speak through gritted teeth. “I believe she asked for some space.”
When Deacon looks at me, he rolls his eyes. “Oh, you again. Didn’t you get the hint before?”
I step closer, angling between him and Hallie. Hand on his chest, I shove him back a step. “You want to talk about hints, let’s talk about hints. How about we start with the fact that she is clearly uncomfortable with you touching her? Yet you don’t seem to give a fuck. How’s that for a hint?”
“Gabe,” Hallie says. She clutches the back of my shirt, trying to pull me away. “I’m fine.”
“See?” Deacon’s expression is smug as hell. “She’s fine . Wouldn’t want to cause a scene for nothing.”
I step forward, crowding his space the same way he did Hallie’s. “I wouldn’t consider giving you a well-earned lesson on respecting women to be nothing.”
“Hey, she came to me. I was doing what she wanted.”
“Until she changed her mind, and you conveniently stopped caring about what she wanted.”
His lip curls. “Whatever, bud. She’s not worth all this shit.” He shrugs. “She’s not even that hot.”
People have said many stupid things in my presence, but this takes the goddamn cake.
Though it’s not hard to believe he’d be the type of man whose ego is so fragile, he has to mask the sting of rejection by insulting the very woman he was just trying to sleep with.
Not only that, but it’s not even true . Hallie Foster is beautiful in a way that commands acknowledgment.
“Say it again,” I dare him. Anything to give me the justification to give him a bloody nose.
“Gabriel.”
I don’t take my eyes off Deacon. Vaguely, I sense that some of the chatter around us has died down, which means a good chunk of the bar is looking our way. This establishment isn’t a stranger to bar fights, and they’re probably all wondering if they’re about to get a front row seat to the next one.
God, do I want to. My parents would be disappointed as hell, and I’m not sure I could look my daughter in the eye if I got arrested for hitting someone, but wiping that look off Deacon’s face would feel phenomenal.
“ Gabriel ,” Hallie says again, louder. She fists my shirt and tugs on it hard. “Let’s just go. I want to go home.”
I finally look at her. The satisfaction I would normally feel from her calling my place home is drowned out by the overwhelming feeling of dread. The expression on her face is one I haven’t seen often, if ever.
She’s angry. At me.
I take a step back from Deacon, and he scoffs, walking away. After a moment, the people around us return to their own drinks and conversations, disappointed the altercation didn’t turn into an all-out brawl.
Placing my hand on the small of Hallie’s back, I lead her away. She goes stiff at the contact, but she stays close, letting me part the crowd. At least she isn’t retreating from me completely.
We meet up with Luke halfway back to the table. He was probably on his way to intervene, to pull me back before I did something I would regret. Because that’s what he does. Big brother to the rescue .
“You good?” he asks quietly.
I shake my head. I’m not good. Not until I talk to Hallie.
Our group is quick to slip their jackets on and finish off their drinks.
Then we all file out to the parking lot.
No one utters a word about the tension radiating between me and Hallie.
In fact, no one speaks at all, even when Clara and Delilah take turns wrapping their arms around Hallie, who is shaking like a leaf.
She won’t look at me.
The drive home is eerily silent.
Luke and Delilah get out of the truck first. My brother loops an arm around Delilah’s waist when she stumbles, and then I watch them climb the porch to her front door.
Once they’re inside, I head for Clara’s apartment on the main street.
She lives above The Dusty Rose, the café and bakery most locals frequent almost daily.
When I roll to a stop outside her building, my sister unhooks her seatbelt and then leans forward between the front seats. “Thanks for the drive,” she says. She kisses my cheek and then pats Hallie on the head. “Goodnight, kids. And good luck.”
“Night,” I mutter.
Once Clara is safely inside, I pull away. Hallie still refuses to look in my direction. I glance at her every couple minutes, trying to catch her gaze, but she keeps staring out the window. I clench my jaw and tighten my hands on the steering wheel.
When I park in the driveway, Hallie is quick to slip out of the passenger seat and head for the front door. She tries the handle, but it’s locked. I watch her huff as she starts to dig inside her purse for her set of keys.
Wordlessly, I come up behind her and unlock the door.
She spins on me, not making a move to head inside. “I can’t believe you did that. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?” Hallie doesn’t wait for me to respond. “ Extremely . The whole bar was looking at us, Gabe!”
I pause, taken aback. “You’re yelling at me.”
She crosses her arms defensively. “Yeah, so? I’m mad at you.”
“You never yell.”
Hallie opens her mouth to argue, then closes it again. Because she can’t deny it.
“I know you. You never yell,” I say again. “Because you’re scared you’ll push people away if you’re not so damn agreeable all the time. But you just yelled at me. Why?”
She swallows visibly, taking an involuntary step backwards, into the house. “I don’t know, Gabe. I just did.”
I follow her, not letting her retreat. Not letting her run. “You do know, and I do, too. You yelled at me because you’re comfortable with me. You feel safe with me.” Like Abbie feels safe to express her emotions.
“That…may be true.”
I close the front door behind us, and then I hook an arm around Hallie’s waist. Spinning us, I pin her back to the door, one of my hands braced beside her head.
“Gabriel,” she breathes. She fists the front of my jacket.
This need I have for her has been building for too fucking long, and once I give in, I fear I won’t ever be the same. Shit, I know I won’t be. I don’t want to be.
“You know what this proves, Hallie?” She shakes her head. “This proves you want to stay with me. You want to fight.”
Her blue eyes are shining, but she doesn’t try to refute me.
“So let me fight with you, Foster.”