Chapter Nineteen #2
Gabe chuckled as we sat down, but it wasn’t as naturally lighthearted as usual. An uncomfortable silence settled around the table.
"So, Helen, where do you live?" I asked.
"In Montana," she replied, "though I lived in Maine for many years."
Was it my imagination, or did Gabe stiffen even more at the mention of Maine? I knew their history, so presumably that was where his father raised his secret family. The whole situation was hard to grasp. It seemed so unreal.
"What are your plans this weekend?" I asked her. I wasn't sure what to do except make light chitchat. Clearly, everyone at the table was uncomfortable, but she was making an effort, and so was I.
"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," Helen said. Got it, she didn't want to go into detail. “The boys set up a few places for me to visit.” She smiled at her sons, and I could see their family connection was solid.
"All right. Found it," Maddox said, coming out of the house.
I swear I felt everyone at the table relax.
Gabe immediately rose to his feet, and I did the same. "Thanks, man. We'll be on our way."
Maddox glanced at Gabe, then fixed me with his gaze. "Great. Have a fantastic day, you two."
Gabe and I walked back the same way we came. Once we reached the car, I asked, "Do you want to talk? Things seemed off back there."
"You picked up on that, huh?"
"It would have been hard not to. I don't know who wanted to be there less, you or Helen. Or Nick, Leo and Maddox.”
"Helen is their mother."
I nodded. "Yeah, I got that."
“I'd never met her until today. My half brothers and I avoid talking about her. Or my mother, for that matter. I could have handled it better, but I was just so surprised to see her."
"Gabe," I said slowly, "I think you handled it fine. Don't be so hard on yourself."
I put my hand on his neck. He seemed to relax beneath my touch, though the veins and muscles of his neck were corded. But they softened the longer I kept my hands there.
"I know this is crazy, but it feels a bit like betraying my mom."
"Gabe," I murmured. I was hurting for him. "Sometimes pain is irrational."
"Yeah, I guess it is." He closed his eyes, tilting his head back.
I rose on my toes and tried to kiss his Adam's apple, but the man was far too tall to do that, so I jumped a bit, managed to kiss him, and then landed on his foot.
"Aah!" he yelled.
I jumped back and nearly lost my balance.
He put a hand on my arm, steadying me. His face was still contorted with discomfort.
"I'm so sorry. I just wanted to kiss your neck, and, well, coordination's not my forte."
"Obviously," he snorted, then burst out laughing. He was back to being happy again, so that was a win. "Come on. Let's go."
Once we got in the car, I realized we didn't have a plan. "So? What's on the agenda for today?" I asked.
"How would you feel about going to a cooking course together?"
I clapped my hands together. "That would be so fun."
He nodded. "I thought so." He took his phone from his pocket and opened a browser. The Google search read "Top things to do with your girlfriend in Boston." He'd researched this.
"Class starts in about an hour, but there's no way to make reservations online."
He'd clicked on some Michelin-type cooking for foodies. I suspected this might be above Gabe's skill level, but it sounded like fun.
"There’s the phone number," he said triumphantly, grinning at me and quickly bringing the phone to his ear.
"Hello?" he said. "This is Gabe Whitley. I’m interested in one of your cooking courses. The one that starts in one hour, actually. Do you still have spots available, for two?"
A woman's voice sounded on the other end, but I couldn't gather what she was saying.
"Two people, yes. I'm sure you can make an exception. I’ll pay double the price of the ticket."
I opened my mouth to contradict him, but then he said, "Excellent. Thank you. We'll see you right away."
After he hung up, I was too stunned to say anything.
"We've got our cooking course," he said.
"You offered to pay double, just like that?"
"I figured it would sweeten the deal. She admitted that the course wasn't actually full. She probably just didn't want to deal with the hassle of adding two more to her paperwork."
"What paperwork?" I asked.
"She mentioned something about insurance."
I couldn't imagine what it was like to go through life getting what you wanted simply by being able to pay more.
"Wow," I said.
He looked at me intently. "You're uncomfortable."
"I'm just not used to handling money like this.
I usually have to save every penny, so paying double wouldn't even have occurred to me.
" I was panicking a little on the inside because I frankly couldn't afford to pay double.
I could barely afford the regular entry price, but I couldn't tell him that.
"It wasn’t a big deal. She said to pay on the website. I'll do that right now."
"I'll give you my card too," I said, continuing to panic.
He stared at me. "What are you talking about?"
"For the course."
"Diane, this is a date."
"No, come on. It's an activity we do together. I don't want to take advantage of you."
"Diane!" He cupped my face, drawing his thumb over my lips. "You're mine. You're spending time with me. Call it whatever you want—date, activity, whatever—but I pay, always. I take care of you, always. I'm not negotiating this."
"I'm not used to this, Gabe," I said, pulling back a bit because I couldn't entirely focus when he was touching my mouth.
Come to think of it, I couldn't focus properly even when he was just looking at me like that, so I averted my gaze.
"I'm a modern woman, you know? I want to split costs, and, you know, I wouldn't be one to expect my husband to financially support me.
Though I would expect him to do half the housework. "
There was a pause, and then I almost face-palmed myself.
"I meant generally. Don't worry, I'm not fantasizing about you putting a ring on my finger."
"I'm betting my grandmother will," he teased. "Especially after Maddox tells her about today."
"What do you mean?" I asked quickly, happy for the distraction from my faux pas.
“Let's just say what you saw this morning isn't how I usually am with my brothers. We give one another shit about everything. Grandmother is obviously trying to matchmake us. And I'm telling you, all three of those bozos are happy as clams that I showed up with you today."
"How come?"
"Because it would mean our grandmother is occupied with me."
"And that's a good thing? I'm not following."
He laughed. "I think the joke's on them because if Grandmother gets wind, she'll think her job here is done and focus on them."
"Ooooh, now I'm getting it," I said and started to laugh too.
I never knew family dynamics could be like this. My sister and I were close, but we didn't, as Gabe put it, "give each other shit." About dating, anyway. Must be a guy thing. I had no idea.
"Let’s drive straight there, but we’ll be a bit early," he said.
"Maybe we should make a pit stop and grab something to eat, just in case."
He frowned. "But we're cooking."
"I went to a cooking class a few years ago, and it takes a while till everything's ready, so we shouldn't go in there starving. It's going to be torture."
"You're right. What are you in the mood for?" he asked.
"Do you like burritos?"
"Sure."
"I found this truck that I love. I swear they do the best burrito."
"Where is it?"
"Near the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum."
"Let's head there."
During the drive, my stomach growled. "Hah, see? It's a good idea to eat before the course.”
"I'm not doubting it," Gabe said.
Finding a parking spot was ridiculous. I rarely had to worry about it because I used public transportation when I came downtown, but Gabe and I drove up and down the side streets of the museum a few times, and he was getting impatient.
Eventually I threw in the towel. "Let's just go to a drive-through or something."
"No, we'll find a spot," he said. "We just have to persevere."
I grinned. "That's your motto?"
"One of them.”
I crossed the fingers on both of my hands, holding them up theatrically and closing my eyes. "Here’s to finding a parking spot."
"Found it," Gabe said a split second later.
I opened my eyes. "Holy shit. It worked."
"The car parked there just left.” He pointed at the BMW driving off in front of us.
"Huh, I have to give this 'manifest what you want' credo more credit," I said.
After Gabe parked, I practically jumped out of the car, excited for the cooking course and to get something to eat. I was hungry.
"Where's your food truck?" he asked.
"At the back of the museum. I'll lead the way," I said.
Gabe took my hand as we walked together on the sidewalk. He threaded our fingers and then looked at me. "Thanks for earlier."
"About what?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Just being there with me. Listening, not being judgmental."
"Gabe," I said, melting into him as he let go of my hand and put it around my back, pulling me even closer to him. "Why would I judge you?"
"Why not? I'm judging myself."
"For feeling what you feel?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Kind of, yeah."
"Don’t do that. But if you do, I'm here to make you forget about it."
He growled into my ear. "Don't say that again or we might be late for the cooking course."
I looked back. "You would seduce me right here in the middle of the city?"
"Fuck yes," he said.
I narrowed my eyes. "Huh, really? And you think you’d get away with it?"
My smile faded; he was dead serious.
"Yes, I do believe that."
He continued to stare at me. I stared back. He didn't break eye contact even though it was a bit awkward to walk and look at each other.
"All right, stop it. You're going to start with that manifesting thing again, and maybe you'll be successful."
"Well…," he said.
I shook my head and pointed at the food truck in front of us. "We’re eating that burrito first."
Gabe kissed the side of my head and let me go.