Chapter 35 Alessia
Gabriel: I fucking miss you, sweetheart.
Alessia: I miss you too. When will you be home?
Gabriel: So, you admit that it’s your home too now?
Alessia: I mean… you did drag all my stuff over from Natasha’s house four weeks ago. So, unless you think I’d still call a place that has none of my belongings “home,” I guess this is it now.
Gabriel: Damn right it is.
Alessia: Natasha’s still mad at me.
Gabriel: She’ll get over it when she sees how happy we are together.
Alessia: She already sees that.
Gabriel: I miss you.
Alessia: I miss you too. I can still feel you between my legs from this morning.
Gabriel: Fuck, I love hearing you say that. Be home in thirty minutes to do it all over again.
Alessia: I have a surprise for you.
Gabriel: Better be you naked. Or in that red lingerie you know that I love, bent over the kitchen table, waiting for me to fill you up again.
Alessia: I’m pretty sure you ruined all my red lingerie.
Gabriel: Alessia...
Alessia: I’m serious. I’m not naked. I have to work tonight.
Gabriel: Quit.
Alessia: …See you soon.
***
When Gabriel walks through the front door of his house, he’s on the phone, and it takes me a few seconds to even register what’s happening.
First, I hear the familiar thud of his backpack hitting the floor by the steps.
The one he always carries when he goes into the city to work on his building that’s still under renovations.
Then the quiet scrape of his shoes as he kicks them off.
The sounds are so routine, so unmistakably him, that my brain lags a moment behind before it catches up to what he’s saying.
“Estás loco si crees que el Madrid tiene alguna posibilidad.”
There’s a pause.
“Bueno, bueno, entonces estás loco.”
I hear his laughter as he rounds the corner. He spots me in the kitchen, and his brown eyes instantly crinkle into his handsome smile. Hi, he mouths at me.
“Espera, mi novia está aquí, se ve hermosa. Necesito besarla.”
He pauses again and then laughs. “Si, si. Hablamos luego. Adiós Eduardo.” Then he hangs up and slides his phone into his back pocket. And I don’t know why, but I think I’m crying.
“Hey sweetheart,” he steps toward me, strong arms scooping me up into a hug. His hands grip my hips, pulling me against him like he’s been starving to touch me all day. He buries his face in my neck, inhaling deep, groaning like I’m the air he’s been deprived of all day. “I missed you.”
“I missed you. Were you just talking to my grandma’s boyfriend?”
He pulls back a little and chuckles. “Yes. He thinks Real Madrid has a chance to win this weekend.”
I smile at him like that’s a totally normal thing to be discussing.
“I try to call him when I take the train home. It gives me a chance to work on my Spanish.”
My heart squeezes. Only a few weeks ago, Gabriel told me he’d downloaded a language learning app because he wanted to learn my native language.
Said he wanted to be able to talk to Eduardo.
At the time, I didn’t think much of it. It sounded sweet, sure, but also like one of those things people say they’ll do and then forget about a few days later.
Since then, I’ve only caught him practicing once and he hid it like he didn’t want me to know so I didn’t bring it up again.
“How many times have you done that?”
He runs his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, probably about a dozen times now.”
And that’s why I know I’m going to marry this man someday.
He kisses me softly. “Is that okay?”
I nod, my fingers pulling him closer. “I think it’s amazing.”
He kisses me then smiles at me. “So, what’s the big surprise? You’re not naked, and when you asked what I wanted for dinner, I told you, I want your ass.”
I shake my head and laugh. “My ass isn’t edible.”
His eyes instantly run over my body, that heated gaze he always has that changes his whole demeanor. “I disagree.”
I push him away gently. “Okay, don’t freak out.”
“Ah, the words that every man loves to hear right before they’re told something bad.”
I laugh.
“Don’t start with that and I won’t freak out,” he warns, dragging his nose down my throat before biting gently on my collarbone.
I thread my fingers through his dark, black hair, tugging lightly until his mouth finds mine. The kiss is slow but possessive, an unspoken claim in the way his lips move, in the way he tastes me like he’s making up for lost time.
For a long time, I forgot how good this is. The waiting. The yearning. The slow, delicious anticipation of two people being apart all day just to end up desperate and tangled together again when you finally reunite.
The I miss yous.
The I love yous.
The I need you so much I can’t breathe. Can’t wait to be inside you when I get home.
The text messages he sends that have my body aching long before he touches me. And when he finally does, he always comes through.
His job has been consuming most of his free time over the past month that we made things official, but he still makes time to make love to me every night. With April just around the corner, the first residential apartments are almost finished and ready to be furnished.
From what he’s shared, people have already expressed interest, they just can’t start showings until they hire a better designer and a realtor.
It’s not surprising to me. Prime location, great price, new upgrades and a transient city have them demanding more.
But I see the stress behind his eyes, the weight of it in the way he exhales at the end of each day.
They’re going to make a profit. Employees are getting their checks.
This is just the beginning. More buildings, more expansion, more opportunity is his plan.
He’s finally working for himself and he’s happy.
And I’m so proud of him. For building something that’s his.
For getting everything he deserves after working his ass off for so long. Even if it’s exhausting.
“I have a private investigation gig tonight,” I finally say, right as his lips latch onto my neck, sending a jolt of heat straight to my core.
The shift in the room is immediate. His grip tightens. His whole body stiffens against mine. I haven’t taken a job in well over four weeks, been too focused on soaking in every spare moment with him. But a monthly scan of my finances and outstanding debt tells me that I really need the extra cash.
Now that we’re together-together—dating, learning each other in ways that go beyond sex and focus more on emotional intimacy—I feel even more motivated to pay off my divorce loans. To close that chapter of my life completely so that I can start fresh without bringing any more baggage to the table.
The last thing I want is to be a burden to him and Eden. And I’m already living here for free though I know that doesn’t bother him or her even a little.
“Why?” His voice is deeper.
“It’s important to me that I pay off my divorce debt,” I say, softer this time. “You’re already covering everything else for me—rent, bills, groceries. It’s too much. I need to do this for myself.”
A low growl rumbles in his chest, his hands gripping me harder. “It’s never too much. You’re mine. I take care of what’s mine.”
I slide my hands up his chest and around his neck, kissing him slow, letting him feel that I see him and understand how he’s feeling.
That I get him and his need to take care of the people that he loves.
His hands lock around my hips, possessive, unrelenting, like he’s trying to convince me to let him bear the weight I refuse to put on him.
I’m not letting him take this thing from me.
I’m not adding one more thing to his load. This isn’t his mess to clean.
“I know,” I whisper. “And I love how much you love taking care of me. But this… this is something I need to do on my own. I’m putting all my teaching paychecks into the debt, the work from the PI gig and the bar will only help me get out of debt faster.
Without any other bills, I’m projected to pay it off by the end of this year.
That’s way sooner than I could have ever imagined, Gabriel. ”
He exhales, shaking his head like he hates this but is trying to wrestle through it, trying to let me and not control me.
And that’s why we work. Because even when he doesn’t like it, even when he doesn’t agree, he gives me space to make my own decisions.
He knows I can’t be controlled. Not outside the bedroom, at least. In there…
well, he can tell me exactly what to do.
“I don’t love it,” he mutters. “But I get it.”
“It’s surveillance only. No interaction.” I stopped doing those as soon as Gabriel and I got together. I would never put myself in a dangerous situation again.
He rakes a hand through his hair, exhaling sharp through his nose. “So, this is what the surprise was? Because I have to admit, it kind of sucks.”
I laugh. “No,” I grin, brushing my lips over his. “The surprise was the meal I made you. A distraction to keep you from being mad when I told you I had to leave and couldn’t have dinner with you.”
“Aly,” he sighs, “When will you realize I could never be mad at you?”
I kiss him.
“So, when will you be home tonight?”
“In a couple hours. The case is in Hartford, so it’s not a far commute.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“That’s not allowed.”
“Fuck if it’s allowed. I’m going to do it.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “I’m serious, Gabriel. It’s fine. Don’t you have work to catch up on anyway?”
He wrestles with that response because he doesn’t want to lie to me, but I know he needs to catch up on some of the bookkeeping things his business requires.
“Look, it’s just a quick surveillance gig.
I’m watching the guy leave the gym, seeing where he goes, recording some video—maybe grabbing some audio—then turning right back around and coming home.
” I squeeze his biceps then press my hands to his chest, feeling the slow, steady rise and fall of his breath beneath my palms. “Coming home to you. To our bed. To slipping under the covers, back into your arms.” I arch a brow, letting my voice drop, teasing. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
His grip on my hips tightens. “Better mean you’ll be on your knees for me.”
I smirk. “That depends. Do you want me on my knees or bent over? Or do you want to tie me up again?”
He groans, tilting his head back, exasperated and aroused all at once, which is my favorite combination on him.
He rubs my hips against his thick cock, and it takes everything inside of me not to give into what he wants, what I want.
But I’m on a timeline and I need to get to Hartford quickly or I’ll lose this gig and the money that comes with it.
“Surveillance only. Watching him leave the gym, then coming straight back to me so I can tie you to the bed and suck on your pussy?”
I smile. “Yes. Use the good ropes too.”
He exhales through his nose, fighting a curse. “Fine. I’m leaving marks this time.”
“Good.” I trail my fingers over his jaw before pressing a slow kiss to his lips, savoring the feel of him, his warmth, the way he always tastes like himself. “I made your favorite for dinner. Steak and potatoes.”
His arms tighten around me. “Fuck, I love having you here for so many reasons. Pussy and steak. Doesn’t get any better.”
I kiss him again, then wrap him in a hard hug before slipping toward the door. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“I love you, sweetheart.”
I smile over my shoulder. “Love you too.”
Then I step outside to work a case I have no idea is about to change everything.
***
Thirty minutes later, I’m parked outside of Happy Life Fitness Center in Hartford, Connecticut waiting for my target.
I haven’t even looked at his name yet. Or his age.
Or the photo the woman who hired me attached to her request. The job came in fast. Last minute.
An email from my PI firm asking if I was available tonight on short notice.
They knew I lived in Brookhaven now. Closer than my coworker.
Closer than any of the other investigators who would’ve had to drive in from New York and it was marked urgent.
As soon as I saw the payment—five hundred dollars for three hours tops of surveillance-only work—I knew I had no choice but to take it.
I was serious when I told Gabriel that I wanted to pay off my divorce debt on my own.
He’s already doing so much for me, this, I need to do for myself.
This is one thing that I can’t let him carry for me.
I turn up the air conditioner and angle the vents to point directly at my face. Connecticut has already warmed up significantly since spring arrived, and though I’d love to have my windows rolled down to breathe in the fresh air, I’m trying not to draw any attention to myself.
I pull out my phone and skim the instructions for the first time with five minutes to spare.
He goes to this gym every night at seven o’clock. Works out for thirty minutes, then leaves to get a protein smoothie at the shop next door.
After that, I don’t know what he does, but I think he’s meeting up with a woman. He doesn’t make it home until close to nine at night. That’s an hour unaccounted for that I want footage of.
This is a routine assignment. Suspicious gaps that aren’t accounted for when a partner is supposed to be doing something that doesn’t warrant two hours of time.
It’s textbook behavior of a cheater. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that I’ve caught a guy cheating with someone at the gym.
Only thing left is to review the photo and get a name.
I scroll down to the attached images and click on the first image. The name that pops up with it has my heart stopping and stomach dropping. Brian.
I blink, my throat tightening, my vision blurring as I scroll through the photos that the client sent. Black and white. Color. Five angles of a man I once knew like the back of my hand. Whose body I’d memorized, and who I’d trusted with my heart before he destroyed it completely.
My ex-husband is the target.