Chapter 22 – Gabby
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gabby
It’s over. Not quite, but soon. Isaac has his kids back and instead of Ethan’s basement, his family has been working on getting him a brand new place to raise the kids.
The house is insane – it’s a five bedroom house in Brooklin that’s a fully updated colonial with fireplaces in every bedroom, two dining rooms, two kitchens, a two car garage and a basketball hoop.
They have a finished basement too which essentially has its own studio apartment.
Isaac insists I come back with them for the night and because of what happened with Tylee, I don’t feel like I’m really in a position to argue.
The kids are adorable and I love spending time with them, but whenever there’s a lull in activity, the knot in the base of my stomach tightens.
I can’t get attached to them or to this.
I can’t get attached to anything here. It’s clear that Isaac’s priorities are his kids.
I could never ask him to put me first. I could never ask him to prioritize a relationship over building stability for his kids. I can tell they missed him.
While the baby falls asleep first, the other two kids stay up until eleven when their bodies physically can’t stay awake anymore.
We’re all watching Disney movies on the living room couches together.
I sit on the chair so the other kids can sit with their dad and they both fall asleep clinging to Isaac like baby monkeys.
It’s like they’re afraid they’ll close their eyes and he won’t be there anymore.
It’s heartbreaking.
Isaac carries them off to bed and I’m about to sneak off to the guest room when he returns and calls my name. “Gabby, where are you headed?”
I look over my shoulder and when I see him standing there, all my emotions come slamming into me at once.
What the hell am I doing here with this man?
I feel like I spent all day living in this fantasy where we were a family.
The truth is, Isaac is with me because he feels obligated to keep me safe.
He already has a family and this family doesn’t need me to be a part of it.
“To sleep.”
“The kids won’t wake up until tomorrow,” he says. His warm smile will make turning him down even harder. “Stay up a while. Have a drink with me.”
I look over at him. I can’t turn him down, even if I really wanted to.
I just can’t stop myself from yielding to his voice and nodding along.
Where will his offer for a drink lead? A serious talk about my future?
Eviction? Ever since Isaac’s kids came back into the picture, I know my time here is running out.
It’s not like I don’t have a life to get back to. I have to prepare for Harvard classes starting next semester. Go out for matcha with Averie…
“Wine?” Isaac offers.
“Since when do you drink wine?”
“Since I started feeling again,” Isaac says, reaching for a bottle of wine that he has to dust off, so it must be at least a little bit old.
I can smell the red wine as I approach the glass and I feel like the scent alone is almost enough to get me drunk.
Isaac pours me a healthy glass and an even healthier one for himself.
He watches me take my first sip. Holy shit it’s strong. The first sip almost burns my nostrils. But the wine tastes good.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes.”
Isaac puts his hand on mine and as he stands next to my seat at his kitchen counter. His gaze burns into me. I don’t know if I want to read his mind.
“I care very deeply for you, Gabby.”
But…
“Thanks.”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“I can’t leave yet, can I?”
“Even after Tylee. I want you to stay with me.”
“As… a friend?”
He laughs. “No, not as a friend. If you would have me, I want you to give us a real shot.”
A real shot. I look up at Isaac. My last boyfriend cheated on me with his biological sibling.
Isaac has ties to a woman who wants to kill me.
The emotions I have when it comes to love are complicated to say the least. I can’t even put how I feel into words.
Yet, when Isaac and I are around each other…
There's something I can’t describe that feels more powerful than all those other things.
“What would that look like?” I ask him. “Because I could never ask you to choose me over your kids. And after what they’ve been through–”
“I can handle my kids,” Isaac interrupts. “I… I don’t want to give up on a chance with you, if I even have one. I know I come with baggage, but if I can handle it then… I want to be with you, Gabby.”
His ex-wife almost killed me. She would have, if I had given her a chance. But hearing Isaac say exactly what he wants scares me. Do I know what I want?
“I’m not ready to be a mother to three kids. And it’s not because I don’t care about you. I have no experience. I don’t want to come in and be some evil stepmother screwing their life up.”
Isaac laughs.
“It’s not funny.”
“Stepmother? You’re getting a little ahead of things.”
“You come with the kids, Isaac.”
“I know.”
“I have to think about that, otherwise I might as well just walk away.”
“A man with three kids might not be good enough for a Harvard student.”
“It’s not about that. It’s about life being complicated. Especially your life. Specifically, your biker club.”
This is another way I’m not like his ex-wife.
I’m not a biker chick and I doubt I ever will be completely.
Once I get my advanced degree, I know that I will figure out a direction for my career that isn’t just working for somebody else.
I don’t want to be kidnapped, stuck in warehouses or anything else.
I expect resistance from Isaac, but his face softens and his hand holding mine grows gentle.
“Once I have the kids, I will explain to Wyatt that I have to work significantly less. I’ll take a safer job. If that would make you feel better, I’ll do it right away.”
I’ve never had such a mature conversation about the state of my relationship. I almost want to run away from the entire experience, but Isaac wraps his arms around me in a big hug. He kisses the top of my head.
“I’m sorry for what I put you through,” he says. “And I’m sorry about what I put the kids through. I’ll make it up to you every single day if you give me a chance.”
“What about your ex-wife?”
“I’m right here, Gabrielle. This is where I want to be.”
Isaac puts his finger beneath my chin and tilts my head up.
His lips meet mine and the kiss sends a shiver straight through me.
It’s possessive. Intentional. I feel like he wants me.
Isaac’s kiss builds up to something more intense.
He drops his finger from his chin and this time, my hands instinctively move to his chest. Fuck, how can I say no to a chest like this?
My hands press against his body and almost pull him closer to me.
His hands cup my cheeks as Isaac’s tongue slides into my mouth.
We get closer. And kissing him gets more intimate.
Our tongues tease each other slowly and before long, our bodies are pressed together as much as possible with my legs spread wide on the bar stool as Isaac stands between them and kisses me like I’m precious.
I haven’t enjoyed a slow make out like this for the longest time.
After enjoying several minutes of deep slow kisses in Isaac’s arms, each minute getting me hotter and hotter, my hands reach for his face too and I touch his sexy dark brown beard as we kiss.
I want this to go further. I have since the second I saw him across the bar.
There’s something about a tall man with natural, thick muscles from his shoulders down to a pair of big strong legs that absolutely drives me wild.
Isaac’s natural athleticism staying with him well into his forties only makes him hotter to me.
I want to be his girl… Even if I feel like I’m crazy for wanting a father of three.
Isaac slowly pulls away from me, pressing his forehead to mine.
“We should go to my bedroom,” Isaac whispers. “Because I want to do very dirty things to you… without getting caught.”
This is it – my chance to say yes to Isaac or to push him away again…