Chapter 24
Paige’s stomach grew tight as she and Gabe walked hand in hand into the house. The euphoria of a few minutes ago swallowed up by the discomfort of facing Marisol and admitting her part in this charade.
Gabe’s mother beamed at them, her smile so big her cheeks would likely ache later. Grace’s expression was both cheerful and quizzical. She searched first Gabe’s face, then Paige’s, no doubt trying to decide if what she just witnessed in the backyard was real or not.
Gabe pulled Paige to the loveseat where she sat beside him. “Mom, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“No need. I saw.” Tears glistened in Marisol’s eyes as she clapped her hands. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“Thank you, but that’s not what I need to confess.” His grip on Paige’s hand tightened as he sucked in a deep breath. “I lied to you. Paige isn’t—wasn’t…” He shook his head. “My girlfriend.”
Marisol’s brows dipped. “I don’t understand.”
"We’ve been lying to you from the beginning.
We never dated prior to him bringing me to meet you two weeks ago.
” Paige expected Marisol's face to fill with anger or even shock and disappointment, but she almost looked like she fought a smile.
"Please don't be upset with Gabe. He really is a good guy.
He had the best of intentions when he lied to you about having a girlfriend. "
"I know he did, Mija." Marisol leaned over and patted her knee.
Paige's heart stalled as the air whooshed from her lungs. Her surprise over Marisol’s use of the endearment was eclipsed by the revelation that Gabe’s mother knew all along they’d been lying.
"Wait. You knew it was all a lie?" Gabe found his voice before she did.
Marisol gave Gabe a patient smile. "You’ve always been very open with me, so I knew it wasn't true. The day you told me you had a serious girlfriend was the day I received my diagnosis. It was a very emotional day for us all. You saw how upset I was over not getting to see you and Grace married, which wasn’t fair of me.
” Her remorseful look quickly morphed to a smile.
“But you did what you do best. You went into ‘fix-it’ mode.”
Her gaze shifted to Paige. “When he told me he was seeing someone, I peppered him with questions, thinking he’d give in and admit it wasn’t true, but…
” Marisol pointed a finger in the air. “When he said his girlfriend had the prettiest blue eyes and that her smile lit up the room, I could tell he was interested in someone. "
Paige thought back to when Gabe would have told his mom he had a girlfriend. Had he been talking about her the whole time? She quirked an eyebrow at him.
Pinkness infused his tan complexion. “Guilty.”
“Was that whole conversation at PT with Luke about you needing a fake girlfriend staged?”
“No way. The kid is lucky I didn’t wring his neck.” Then he grinned. “But I suppose I should thank him.”
"I called Gabe’s bluff,” Marisol said. “I insisted on meeting you. I'll admit I was surprised when he actually produced a girlfriend. But right off the bat, I could see there was something special between you two. So, I continued to prod."
"Prod?" Paige's mind scrambled to process Marisol’s words.
"I figured asking you to call me Mom and referring to you as the mother of my grandchildren would either push you away or bring you closer.
Either way, I hoped it would be the wake-up call Gabe needed.
" Marisol sighed as her gaze returned to Gabe.
"Ever since Harper left you at the altar, you’ve guarded your heart.
You needed a push. A big one. That's why I gave you my mother's rings. I figured it would either make you face your feelings or scare Paige away for good.” Her lips split into a grin. “I’m glad it wasn’t the latter. "
Paige was speechless. Gabe's mom had orchestrated her and Gabe's relationship to an extent.
"You apologized for lying to me, but I don't think you did." Marisol’s expression turned smug.
"But Gabe and I were just doing each other a favor,” Paige said, still reeling from Marisol’s revelation.
"It may have started with false pretenses, but the first time I met you, I could see the chemistry there.
So, you can't tell me it was all a lie." She leaned forward and locked gazes with Paige.
"I don't believe you would have let him put my mother's ring on your finger if you weren't in love with him. "
"I am in love with him,” Paige said fervently, “but it’s not that simple.”
“What do you mean?” Marisol’s brow furrowed as she frowned.
Grace chewed her bottom lip as her gaze bounced back and forth between them and her mom.
“Paige is not a former patient.” The tension in Gabe’s words seemed to suck the air from the room. “She’s a current one.”
Concern lined Marisol’s face. “Oh dear. That does complicate things.”
Paige paced her bedroom. It was a large room, but it wasn't big enough to absorb the nervous energy coursing through her. She really wanted to ride horses, but she kept forgetting to ask Gabe if he thought it would be okay.
How am I going to keep from slipping up?
She was so exhausted when she finally got home last night that she went straight to bed.
She'd totally forgotten to take Gabe's grandmother's ring off her finger until it glinted in the mirror as she brushed her teeth this morning. It was probably a good thing she’d slept in and skipped breakfast with her parents.
Despite tucking the ring into her purse, she'd fidgeted all through the church service, earning her concerned glances from her parents. To avoid questions, she'd feigned a headache and retreated to her room as soon as she got home. But she was so keyed up all she could do was pace.
She hated having to keep this a secret. That had been her only hesitation to saying yes to Gabe’s proposal last night. At least his mother knew the truth, but even she agreed they should keep it under wraps until Gabe had a chance to talk to Dr. Stoker and her dad.
This was one of the happiest days of Paige’s life, but she couldn’t tell anyone, and it was killing her. As much as she trusted Riley, she couldn’t share this secret with her. It was too risky. It could get back to her parents too easily if Riley let it slip.
Maybe I should call Grace.
They'd become good friends in the short time they'd known each other. She snatched up her phone from the bed, but instead of calling Grace, she found her cousin Damon’s name.
She hesitated only a moment before hitting the video call button.
Then she continued to pace around the room as she waited for him to answer.
And waited.
And waited.
With a growl, she hit the end button and tossed her phone back on the bed. Then with a dramatic huff, she threw herself onto the bed as well.
I can’t believe I’m engaged.
It still felt surreal how quickly and effortlessly she’d fallen in love with Gabe. She hadn't known him very long, but she felt certain he was the reason God brought her back to Providence. That meant things would all work out, didn’t it?
She studied the bumpy texture of her ceiling, as she pondered the roadblocks in their path. She still needed to find a job here, and hopefully Gabe didn’t lose his.
Her phone rang beside her, making her jump. She grabbed it and looked at the screen. Spotting Damon's face, she pushed to a sitting position.
“Hi, Damon.”
Her cousin's face filled her screen. "Sorry I couldn't answer when you called. I was at the gym, and it was very noisy in there." Trees and a blue sky danced above his head as he walked. "How's my favorite cousin?"
"I'm kind of going crazy."
"Kind of?" Damon's brows hiked up as he looked into the phone. "Didn’t that happen a long time ago?"
“Very funny.” Paige stuck her tongue out at him before pushing to her feet to resume her pacing. "I seriously need to talk to someone."
Damon's image stopped bobbing on his screen, and the trees froze above his head. "Something happen between you and Riley?"
"No, I just can't talk to her about this."
"Is it Daniel? Did he start drinking again?" Damon's brow furrowed as his image started bobbing again.
"No, Daniel’s doing great." Paige waved her arms in frustration. "But I can't talk to Ri about this."
Damon started walking again, a comical look on his face. "About what?"
"You have to promise not to tell a soul what I’m about to tell you." Paige pointed at her phone.
"Sounds serious. Are you sure it’s something you should be telling me?”
"I need to talk to someone or I'm going to burst, but I can't risk it getting back to my parents.”
"Does this have something to do with that jack—" He cleared his throat and changed his wording. "That jerk, Phillip?"
"Who?" Paige was taken back. Phillip couldn't possibly be farther from her mind.
"My mom told me how he played you. I'm sorry, Paige.
" The phone jostled around with Damon's face bouncing in and out of view, then the inside of his truck appeared.
"It's a good thing I'm on the other side of the country, or I'd have driven to Seattle and broken every bone in his body.
" The movement of his phone settled, showing Damon's face again.
"No, this isn't about Phillip at all." Paige spun around, changing directions, and waved an arm through the air. "Well, I guess it kind of had something to do with him at first, but so much has happened since then, that all feels like ages ago."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. And I still don't understand why you can't talk to Riley about this." He held up a hand. "I mean, I'm glad you called me, but are you sure everything is okay between you two?"
"Yes, they're fine. I just can't risk her telling Daniel, and him letting it slip—to his parents or Jake and Robert." She made a broad circle with her arms. "If Aunt Faith gets wind of this, it'll be all over town in a heartbeat. Then my parents will find out, and that could be disastrous."