Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
JASMINE
Icouldn’t eat. My head hurt from crying, and my heart ached from Gabe’s absence.
If he’d tried to contact me, I wouldn’t know since my parents had blocked his number from my phone.
The first thing I would do once I had enough energy to get out of bed was get my own account and cell phone.
They didn’t get to control who I communicated with.
I wasn’t a fucking child, and I wouldn’t allow them to treat me like one.
There was a knock at my door, but I ignored it. My mom waited for a moment before pushing inside. She approached with a plate of food in her hands. Placing it on my nightstand, she sat on the edge of my bed.
“You have to eat something, sweetie. Your sugar is going to drop,” she said, her eyes filled with concern.
“I’m not hungry.” It was true. My appetite had been nonexistent since the showdown between my dad and Gabe.
“Please,” she pleaded, “I don’t want you to end up in the hosp—”
I cut her off. “I won’t. My pump is turned off.”
She sighed. “This isn’t healthy.”
I shot up in bed, ignoring the way my head swam, as fury lit my veins. “You know what really isn’t healthy? Trying to control your adult daughter’s love life.”
“The situation isn’t that black and white.”
“I don’t give a shit.” Mom’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. I’d never talked to her like that before.
“Jasmine,” she said, a hint of scolding in her tone.
“Get out,” I demanded. If she was going to take Dad’s side on this, then she was no better than him. For a moment, I thought she might argue, but instead, she left, shutting the door behind her. I forced myself to eat the food she brought me since I’d need my strength for what I planned to do next.
That evening, I came downstairs to find both my parents at the kitchen table, speaking in hushed tones. They quieted when they saw me.
“Can we talk?” I asked, and my parents shared a look, but relief flickered in their expressions.
“Of course,” Mom answered, and motioned for me to sit. I refused. This conversation would be short and sweet, and if it went how I expected, I wanted to be prepared to make a hasty exit.
“I realize that finding out about Gabe and me the way you did was quite the shock, and I don’t blame you for being upset. We had every intention of telling you when the time was right, but things are still new between us,” I explained.
Dad swiped a frustrated hand over his jaw and stood. He got restless when he was angry, and my guess was that bringing up Gabe made him furious. He leaned over the chair he’d just vacated and gripped the back of it so tight his knuckles blanched. “How long?” he gritted out.
“Officially, since Florida.”
His jaw ticced, and he pinched his eyes closed, inhaling a deep breath to calm himself. “Unofficially?” he asked, opening his eyes to pin his glare on me.
“Nothing physical happened between us until Richmond. We kissed after Varen’s game.” He growled and pushed away from the chair, showing me his back. He was doing everything he could not to lose control. “He felt so guilty about it, he refused to touch me again for weeks.”
Dad scoffed, “How noble of him.”
“Look, I get it. You’re angry. You have every right to be, but you’re treating Gabe like he’s some kind of criminal. He didn’t do anything wrong.” He spun around, and fury blazed in his eyes.
“He slept with my daughter!” Dad roared. “He was my best friend, and he took advantage of you.” Indignation swelled in my chest, and I straightened my shoulders.
“You act like he’s some master manipulator and I’m just a vulnerable, naive little girl he tricked into sleeping with him.
Newsflash. I’m the one who pursued him.” He winced and his face contorted with discomfort, but I kept going.
“He tried to keep his distance. He chose your friendship over and over again instead of me.
And it broke my heart because I knew he felt the same way about me as I did about him.
“Neither of us meant for this to happen. We didn’t set out to hurt you.
We simply fell in love.” He looked like he was going to be sick, and my mother had tears running down her cheeks.
“And no matter how hard you try to keep us apart, it won’t make me stop loving him.
I know it will take time to come to terms with this, but—”
“I will never come to terms with this. You and Gabe cannot be together. End of discussion.”
“Dad,” I began gently, but firmly. I wasn’t trying to add fuel to the fire, but I would stand my ground. This was my decision, and nothing he could say or do would persuade me. “I’m not asking for your permission.”
His face reddened, and his voice trembled with rage when he spoke. “As long as you live in my house, you’ll live by my rules.”
“Then I won’t live in your house anymore,” I replied calmly, grabbing my suitcase and rolling it toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Mom asked, her voice filled with panic.
“Anywhere but here.”
“You’re going to him, aren’t you?” Dad questioned, but I ignored him. I didn’t owe him an answer. “I forbid it.”
“I don’t live here anymore. Remember? I don’t have to follow your rules.” I opened the door but paused when he spoke again.
“If you choose that man over your own family, then don’t come back.”
My mother let out a strangled sob. “Elwood, no.”
“Goodbye, Dad.” I shut the door behind me and left the only home I had ever known.
Gabe stared at me in stunned disbelief as I stood on his front porch, suitcase in tow.
My chest squeezed and my heart ached at the dark smudges beneath his eyes.
He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, and his normally tanned skin was sallow.
He was clearly in as bad of shape as I was, maybe even worse.
He blinked several times as though I was an apparition and he was trying to clear his vision.
“Jasmine? Wh-what are you doing here?”
I lifted my chin and injected as much confidence into my voice as possible. “I’m moving in.” He stepped aside without hesitation like he’d just been waiting for this day to come. I breezed past him, rolling my suitcase behind me.
He shut the door and turned to face me. “What do you mean you’re moving in?”
“I made a choice,” I replied.
“A choice?” he asked, probing for more information. I didn’t want to tell him the rest because I knew he’d be furious with my dad, and I didn't want to cause any more strife between them. It was my sincere hope that they could one day repair their fractured relationship.
“I had to decide if I wanted to stay with my family or keep seeing you. I choose you,” I said, stepping closer and sliding my palm against his stubbled cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch, savoring it for a moment before my words sank in. His dreamy expression turned fierce.
“He made you choose between me and your family?” he asked through clenched teeth. I nodded, and his eyes filled with sadness. Releasing a resigned sigh, he reached for me. “Come here.” He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into my hair.
“It’s not your fault. He chose to be a stubborn ass, not you.” He snorted a laugh and I giggled, breaking the tension.
“What now?” he asked.
“I don’t know. We’re both currently jobless and—”
“He fired you too?” Gabe asked, pulling away and staring at me with indignation.
“Well, no, but when he told me not to come back if I chose you, and I left anyway, I assumed that included my work at the ranch too,” I said with a shrug.
I tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but it hurt.
My father was choosing pride and anger over me.
He had completely disregarded my feelings and wishes, and when he couldn’t control me, he delivered an ultimatum.
Too bad he forgot that I could be just as stubborn as him, and I had no problem calling his bluff.
His shoulders slumped with regret. “I never wanted this to happen. I don’t want to come between you and your family.”
I cupped his face in my hands and looked him square in the eyes. “This is on them, not you. They could have supported my decision. Instead, they tried to force my hand, and it backfired on them.”
“Jasmine,” he began and swallowed hard, guilt flashing in his eyes.
“Don’t. Don’t try to push me away again because you’re feeling guilty. We did nothing wrong. You did nothing wrong.”
“We lied to them,” he said.
“We didn’t lie. We just didn’t tell them right away.”
“A lie of omission,” he said, but it lacked conviction. His arms snaked around my waist, and I tangled my fingers in his hair.
“We were trying to see if it would work out before announcing we’re together,” I countered as he tugged me closer, and something shifted in the air around us.
“Is it,” he began, his gaze falling to my mouth, “working out?”
“I’d say so,” I offered playfully.
“Then where do we go from here?”
“I’ve never been in your bed before. I say we start there.
” My tone was playful, but there was a hint of pleading that exposed the vulnerability I felt.
I needed this. It had been an emotional twenty-four hours, and our connection was the life raft keeping me afloat in a storm that threatened to pull me under.
It was the only tether I had to keep me from drowning.
Gabe read the need in my eyes. He held my gaze as he bent down, gripped me by the backs of my thighs, and lifted me in the air.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and clung to his shoulders.
Without saying a word, he carried me to his room, never once breaking eye contact.
He laid me gently on his bed and crouched in front of me to take off my shoes and socks.
Pulling me to my feet, he removed my shirt first and then his.
He slipped off my shorts and reached around my back to unhook my bra.
I slipped the straps down my arms as he stepped out of his pants.
Wrapping his arms around me, he captured my lips in a slow, sensual kiss.
My nipples hardened against his chest, and I reveled in the feel of his bare skin against mine.
He urged me onto my back, and I dropped onto the bed, watching as he slid his boxer briefs down his legs.
I pressed my thighs together as a delicious ache settled deep in my core at the sight of his hardened length.
Leaning forward, he gripped the edge of my panties and tugged.
I lifted my hips, and he slid them down my legs.
He straightened and his gaze roamed over me, drinking me in. “Seeing you like this will never get old.” My breath caught, and my entire body tingled with anticipation.
Gabe crawled onto the bed and stretched over me. I opened my legs, welcoming him in. He hovered just above me. I was eager for his touch, so I reached up and ran my hands up and down his sides. His expression grew rhapsodic, and his eyes fell closed.
There was something I’d been thinking about since yesterday, a question I yearned to know the answer to. I steeled my nerves and took a deep breath in preparation for the moment that could change everything.
“Did you mean it?” I asked, chewing on my bottom lip nervously.
His eyes fluttered open and locked on mine. “Mean what?”
“When you said you loved me.” I’d seen the video. Gabe had been frantic, his voice laced with desperation. I needed to know if he truly felt that way or if he’d just been caught up in the moment.
“Yes,” he whispered, and brushed the hair from my face.
“Tell me.” It was a demand and a plea.
“I love you.”
My eyes fell closed in ecstasy, and relief, and a smile tipped up the corners of my lips. “Say it again,” I whispered, craving those three little words I’d been waiting to hear.
“I love you, Jasmine. More than the tides love the moon and the morning glory loves the sun,” he declared, and the tears I had tried to hold at bay welled in my eyes.
“I love you more than Mr. Darcy could ever dream of loving Lizzie. You own my entire heart and soul. Before you, I merely existed. Only with you do I thrive.” His thumb gently brushed over my cheek, wiping the tiny drop of moisture away.
“So yeah, I meant it. I meant every single word.”
“I love you too,” I said with a watery smile.
It seemed wholly inadequate compared to his poetic declaration, but he didn’t seem to mind.
His eyes lit with joy and filled with adoration.
Tears spilled over my lashes, coming down in earnest now.
He pressed his lips to mine and held my face with a tenderness I’d only ever felt from him.
“I think I started falling for you the moment you put me in my place at the bar,” he admitted with a crooked grin, and I laughed through my tears at the memory. “And I’ve fallen even farther every day since. I am completely at your mercy.”
“Gabe.” My voice was raw and scratchy, but still, his eyes flared at the sound of his name on my lips. I didn’t need to say anything else. He knew exactly what I needed in that moment.
He spent the rest of the night making love to me, slowly, tenderly. He showed me with his words and his body how much he loved me.