Chapter 12
TWELVE
GABE
For the third time this morning, I knock on my daughter’s bedroom door. “Let’s go, Abbs!” I call. “I have to get to work.”
“I’m going fast, I promise!” she calls back. “One more minute!”
Abbie has been dressing herself for school for the past couple years, which is great. Except it often leaves us running late because she changes her outfit countless times and refuses my offers to help.
I sigh as I check my watch again. My mom is supposed to be bringing her to school this morning, but for that to happen, I need to drop her off at Haven House before I go to work.
I head back downstairs, double checking Abbie’s lunch bag is packed.
Mornings have certainly grown more chaotic since she started school, but I wouldn’t change them for anything.
In fact, on the days she’s with her mom, I miss it.
The only thing I would change is her being able to stay with me full-time, but I know that’s not fair on Larissa.
It’s for the best Larissa and I aren’t together, but it sure does burn not having my kid home with me every day.
When Abbie still hasn’t made it out of her room a few minutes later, I jog back up the stairs. Standing outside her door once more, I raise a hand to knock again when, down the hall, the bathroom door swings open. Turning, I’m met with the sight of Hallie. In absolutely nothing but a goddamn towel.
Slowly, my fist lowers to my side, and my mouth runs dry.
“ Oh .” Her cheeks flush as she freezes in the doorway, clutching the fabric to her breasts. Her hair is tied in a loose bun atop her head, purple and blonde strands overlapping. She still has a sleepy look in her eyes, like she isn’t fully awake yet. “I…thought you were gone already.”
Thank fuck I wasn’t.
Words escape me as my eyes rove her body. From her bare legs up to her exposed collarbone. The towel does little to hide her curves, and I’m doing little to stop myself from drinking her in. From thinking about how beneath that threadbare towel, Hallie is naked.
So incredibly naked.
For a moment, we both stand there, at an impasse.
My brain is woefully empty, my tongue tied.
Even after ten years, after her rejection, she still manages to have this effect on me.
I should be over this, over her. But every second I spend in her presence is a reminder that I’m not. I’m not sure I ever will be.
“I, um, forgot something in my room,” she rushes out. And then she darts down the hall and slams her door closed behind her.
Hanging my head, I brace my hands on either side of the doorframe in front of me and stifle a groan.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t get her image to leave my brain.
It’s now a permanent fixture, like so many of the memories I have from before.
Including the day I told her I loved her and she ran away.
Abbie’s door swings open then, and she chooses this moment to appear, finally dressed for school. “I’m ready, Daddy!”
With a sigh, I push away from the wall, letting her slip by as I pull my shit together. She bounds toward the steps and then grips the rail, skipping downstairs. I spare a final glance in the direction of Hallie’s room before following after Abbie.
What sweet fucking torture .
Call me whatever you want, but if this is the price I have to pay to have Hallie in my life again, I’ll pay it happily. I’ve always been greedy when it comes to her.
Somehow, I managed to only be five minutes late for my shift.
I hate being late, but it has been happening more frequently as Abbie decides to take liberties with our morning routine.
On days like today, it’s inevitable. Luke doesn’t say anything, but I can tell he doesn’t like it, and that’s almost worse.
If I were anyone else, he would’ve already lectured me about being more punctual and not making this a habit.
I know it’s natural for him to want to cut me some slack, given I’m his brother, but I don’t want that.
A part of me wonders if it’s his guilt rearing its ugly head again.
I’ve never blamed him for what happened with his ex—when Kristina was supposed to be watching Abbie and instead held a party, resulting in a fire—but it has been a point of contention for him.
Hell, it nearly cost him his relationship with Delilah.
But I don’t want him walking on eggshells with me.
Connor finds me in the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee. One look at his face tells me I’m not going to like whatever he plans to say.
I’ve known Connor since the beginning of grade nine. The Lees moved to the island that summer, and we met in gym class on the first day of school. Back then, we were both a couple of scrawny, barely pubescent boys. Now Connor rocks a killer mustache and can bench-press more than me.
Wordlessly, I take two mugs down from the cupboard, then lean against the counter, waiting for the caffeine to brew.
Connor takes up a spot beside me.
I raise a brow in question.
“So…” he begins casually. “How’s it going, living with Hallie?”
He’s certainly not pulling any punches. But that’s Connor. Subtlety has never been his forte.
“It’s…” Slowly making me lose my mind . “Fine.”
He scoffs as he crosses his arms. “Fine? That’s all you’re gonna say?”
I shrug. “It’s good. She has a safe place to stay, and Abbie likes having her around.”
“And so do you,” he adds.
I say nothing. We both know he’s right. Having Hallie back on the island is amazing, but having her in my home? It’s a dream. And if I don’t think about it too hard, I can pretend, just for a moment, that she’s there to stay. That she isn’t going to leave again, without so much as a goodbye.
Avoiding Connor’s watchful gaze, I rub at my chest. The phantom ache there. It’s ridiculous, I know—I need to move on. Except I’m not sure how to do that when I couldn’t even manage in the ten years she was gone. Now that I’m in her orbit again, I’m finding it difficult to extricate myself.
“Look, just be careful, Gabe,” he says. “You know I like Hallie, but…”
But he hasn’t hidden his disapproval of our current living situation.
I get it, I do. It’s not exactly conventional, and it’s borderline agonizing at times—like when I catch her in nothing but a towel—but I can’t do anything about it now.
I meant what I said about hating the idea of her out in the guesthouse alone.
The truth is, I never want Hallie to look at me again like she did that day on the beach. I put my heart on the line, and I made her so uneasy, she ran . Away from me, away from the island. So as much as I want her, I’m not going to jeopardize our slowly returning friendship. I can’t.
A little of Hallie is still better than none of her at all.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him. “We’re friends, and I’m helping her out. That’s what friends do.”
He sends me an unconvinced look, but he thankfully doesn’t push.
A small knock has us both turning toward the door.
Hallie stands in the threshold, a sheepish smile on her lips.
Instead of a towel, she’s wearing a black overall dress with gold buttons running down one side.
It’s a little looser on top, showing off her white t-shirt beneath, but it hugs her hips perfectly.
My hands curl around the edge of the counter behind me to keep from reaching for her.
Without conscious thought, a smile tips my lips. “Hey,” I say.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hey.”
Connor steps forward, grinning, like our previous conversation didn’t even happen. “Hallie Foster, in the flesh. Good to have you back! How are you?”
“I’m good, Connor. How are you? Your parents?”
He nods. “They’re alright. Driving me nuts now that they’re both retired. They need to get a hobby or something.”
Hallie laughs. “Pops went a little stir-crazy when he retired, too. They’ll get used to it. They might even have a better social life than you before long.” Which would be a feat, considering how much Connor loves to socialize.
I push off the counter, crossing to her. “What are you doing here?” I ask. “Is everything okay?”
“You left your phone at home.” She digs around in her purse and pulls the device out, handing it to me. “I figured it was pretty important you have it.”
“Thanks.” I take the phone and pocket it. “I was in such a rush to get out the door, I must’ve forgotten to grab it.”
Hallie grins. “Abbie was giving you a run for your money this morning, huh?”
I sigh, rubbing at my jaw. “My mom says it’s payback for how I was as a kid.”
“You did cause your fair share of trouble.” Her eyes cut to Connor. “Both of you did. I still have nightmares about those worms you put in Clara’s bed that one summer.”
Connor throws his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m innocent. That was all Gabe’s idea.”
I snort. Innocent and C onnor don’t even belong in the same vicinity, let alone the same sentence.
Hallie glances at the clock on the wall. “I should head out now. Carole wants me at the gallery.”
I step forward. “I’ll walk you out.”
It’s not necessary—the station is only so big, and this isn’t the first time Hallie has been here. Still, once she waves goodbye to Connor, I take the opportunity to set a hand on the small of her back and guide her through the building to the lobby.
When we make it to the front door, she turns to me. “About earlier…” Her cheeks turn pink. “I’m sorry if I made things awkward. I didn’t mean— I shouldn’t have?—”
I take her fidgeting hands in mine, and she abruptly stops speaking. “It’s okay,” I assure her. “We’re good. No awkwardness here.”
She searches my gaze. “You’re sure?”
I reluctantly release her hands. I stuff my own into my pockets so I don’t take hold of them again. “Positive. I’m an adult. I can handle a little bare skin.”
Or a lot .
I force the memory of her in that towel out of my brain. I file it away with all the other things I shouldn’t be thinking about when it comes to Hallie.
Friends . We’re friends.
She looks poised to argue, but footsteps from behind me stop her short.
“Hey, Hallie,” Luke says. “How’s it going?”
“Hi.” Her cheeks are still flushed in embarrassment, but she hides the emotion well, pasting on a smile. “Your brother left his phone at home. I was just dropping it off.”
His eyes slide to me, then back to her. “That’s nice of you. Good thing he has you around to keep him organized, eh?”
I try to ignore the way that comment makes me feel. I’m sure Luke doesn’t mean anything by it, but it irks me all the same.
Hallie laughs nervously as she adjusts the strap of her purse on her shoulder. “I should get going, let you get back to work.” She waves. “Bye.”
“Wait,” I call out. “Did you?—?”
But she’s out the door in a flash, before I can even finish my sentence. Luke claps me on the back, then retreats to his office.
When I make my way back to the kitchen, the coffee is ready, and Connor is shaking his head. “You, my friend, are fucked.”
I don’t argue. I can’t.