Chapter 13
GAbrIEL
She had stayed that night.
The next morning he had driven her home so she could change before work. By Tuesday she had brought a garment bag and a tote. By Thursday there were actual hangers in his closet that weren’t his. It hadn’t been discussed. It had simply progressed.
Now the Long Island Expressway stretched ahead, and the Friday traffic thinned as they left the city behind.
He drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on Tessa’s knee. She had kicked off her sandals and put her bare feet on the dashboard, a hanging offense according to his mother. He glanced at her feet, at the pink polish on her toes, and let his thumb stroke the inside of her knee.
“You’re staring again,” she said.
“I’m driving.”
“I can feel it.”
“I’m admiring the road.”
“The road doesn’t have legs.”
He squeezed her knee. “The road has excellent legs.”
She laughed, the full unguarded sound he had been hearing more often this week.
Seven days ago she had agreed to one condition. Since then she had been at his place more nights than not. She went back to her apartment for clothes, for the event prep, and for the illusion of balance. But she always came back.
He wasn’t sure what the rules were supposed to be. He had spent years avoiding them entirely, and it turned out he wasn’t particularly skilled at this part. She didn’t appear concerned.
“Tell me about the house,” she said, turning toward him with her sunglasses pushed up. “Is it one of those places with seventeen bedrooms and a staff of twelve?”
“This is actually the first time I’m seeing it. Ronan closed on it this month.”
“So we’re both going in blind.”
“Devney sent photos. She wanted something that felt like a home. Ronan wanted to buy her a mansion. They compromised.”
“Let me guess. She won.”
“She always wins. It’s her superpower.”
The highway curved toward the coast. Trees pressed close, then fell away to reveal glimpses of ocean. Money lived out here, quiet and substantial, buying privacy and salt air and the illusion of escape.
“Who’s going to be there?”
“Ronan and Devney. Knox. Maybe Lucy. Devney mentioned inviting her.”
“Lucy. She didn’t tell me.”
“Devney probably wanted it to be a surprise.”
“This should be entertaining.”
“That’s one word for it.”
They drove in comfortable silence. The radio played something quiet, a playlist Devney had texted him that morning with the message For the drive, you’re welcome. Tessa’s hand found his on the center console, her fingers interlacing with his like they had been doing it for years instead of days.
“Are you nervous?” she asked.
“About what?”
“Introducing me to your friends.”
“They already know you. Why would I be nervous?”
“I mean officially. As your...” She trailed off.
“As my girlfriend?”
“Is that what we are?”
He glanced at her. “What would you call it?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t really discussed labels.”
“Do we need labels?”
“I guess not.” She was quiet for a moment. “But for the record, I wouldn’t hate the label.”
Girlfriend. He turned the word over in his mind. It wasn’t evasive. It wasn’t temporary. It was specific. He liked the clarity of it.
“Then girlfriend it is.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
She turned back to the window. The ocean appeared fully now, stretching blue to the horizon, waves catching the afternoon light.
The house appeared at the end of a gravel driveway, smaller than the mansions on either side, shingle-style with a wraparound porch and hydrangeas blooming blue against the weathered wood.
Tessa straightened in her seat. “This is it?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
“I was expecting something that screamed ‘private equity.’”
Gabriel killed the engine. “It’s still worth four million dollars.”
“Four million.”
The front door opened. Devney appeared in bare feet and a sunflower-print sundress, bright and impossible to ignore. “You’re here!”
Before Gabriel could circle the car, Tessa had opened her door, and Devney was down the porch steps in seconds, pulling her into a hug that lasted several beats longer than socially required.
“I’ve been waiting all day,” Devney said, still holding on. “Ronan reorganized the pantry twice.”
“I heard that.” Ronan appeared in the doorway in dark jeans and a white shirt rolled at the sleeves. “It needed organizing.”
“It was fine.”
“It was chaos.”
“It was alphabetized.”
“By product type. Not by use frequency. Completely inefficient.”
Gabriel caught Tessa’s eye. She was trying not to laugh. “Welcome to the madness,” he said.
Ronan helped with the bags while Devney led them through the house. Hardwood floors, white walls, windows everywhere framing views of dunes and ocean.
“Your room’s upstairs. Best view in the house. Knox and Lucy are on this floor too.”
The room was simple—queen bed, white linens, wildflowers on the nightstand, windows open to catch the breeze.
Gabriel set down their bags and closed the door. Tessa stood by the window, looking at water that stretched to the horizon.
“Hey.” He came up behind her, arms wrapping around her waist, chin resting on her shoulder. “You okay?”
“This is strange.”
“Strange how?”
“Not long ago I was catering your best friend’s wedding. Now I’m sleeping in his guest room.” She turned to face him. “You know what I mean.”
He pulled her closer. “I know. And I know this is fast. But I’ve been waiting years for this.”
“For the Hamptons?”
“For you. Here. With me. Just being.”
“You’re very smooth when you want to be.”
“I’m always smooth.”
“No you’re not.” She smiled. “But I like you, anyway.”
“Good enough for me.”
She kissed him, sliding her hands up his chest to lock behind his neck.
“Later,” she said against his mouth. “We should go be social.”
“Or we could stay here.”
She pulled back with an expression that said, really?
“Fine. I’ll be social. But I’m claiming you after dinner.”
“Claiming me.”
“Poor word choice. Enthusiastically requesting your company.”
“Better.”
They went downstairs.
They had wine on the back porch while the sun dropped toward the water. Ronan grilled steaks that smelled incredible. Devney asked Tessa about her business with the intensity of someone taking mental notes for a documentary. Gabriel sat back and watched.
His chest felt too full. He’d forgotten what this felt like.
Ronan and Knox knew the person he’d been in college, young and hungry and still figuring out who he wanted to be.
The professional world knew the polished mask.
Tessa was seeing the man who laughed too loud at Ronan’s terrible jokes, who stole olives from the appetizer tray when Devney wasn’t looking, who only came out around people he trusted.
“You’re looking at me again.”
“Guilty.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Only around you.”
Knox arrived at seven, pulling into the driveway in his usual black sedan, his expression suggesting he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Devney made me come,” he announced by way of greeting. “Something about fresh air and human connection.”
“You need both,” Devney called from the porch.
“I need neither.”
“You need to stop being dramatic.” Gabriel handed him a beer. “How was the drive?”
“Long. Boring. I listened to two podcasts about market trends.”
“Fun weekend ahead.”
“Hilarious.” Knox took the beer and surveyed the porch. His gaze landed on Tessa. “You survived the early days. Impressive.”
“Thank you?”
“Gabriel scared off his last girlfriend in four days. Something about excessive texting.”
“I don’t excessively text.”
“You sent her a spreadsheet.”
“It was a schedule. For optimal date planning.”
“It had color-coded categories.”
Tessa turned to look at Gabriel. “You sent a woman a color-coded spreadsheet?”
“It was efficient.”
“It was insane,” Knox said. “She thought you were a serial killer.”
“I was being organized.”
“You were being yourself. Same thing.”
A car door slammed somewhere around the front of the house. They all paused. Footsteps crunched along the side path. Lucy Wang appeared at the edge of the yard, arms full of bakery boxes, expression murderous.
“You didn’t tell me Knox was coming,” she said to Devney.
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
“It matters.”
Knox glanced toward the driveway. “I can head out if this is awkward.”
“It’s not awkward.” Lucy stepped past him, bakery boxes stacked high. “I’m here for Tessa and Devney.”
“You’re here because Devney needed dessert.”
“And I brought it.”
“Overachiever.”
“Always.”
They held each other’s gaze for a beat before Lucy continued toward the porch.
Gabriel leaned toward Tessa. “I’m sensing tension.”
“He rubs her the wrong way.”
“That seems mutual.”
“Probably.”
Dinner was chaos in the best way.
Ronan had grilled steaks to perfection. Devney had made three different salads despite Ronan’s objections. Lucy had set a cake on the sideboard that was almost offensively beautiful, off-limits until later. Knox had complained about everything while eating second helpings of the rest.
Gabriel sat at the table and let himself relax.
Tessa sat at his side, laughing at Devney’s stories.
Knox argued with Lucy about whether brownies should have nuts.
Ronan caught his eye across the table with a look that said you did good.
He had. Against all odds, against all his own defenses, he had done good.
After dinner, Lucy commandeered the cake, cutting and plating it while Knox stationed himself as far from her as possible. Devney and Ronan disappeared for a walk on the beach. Gabriel found himself on the porch with Tessa, watching the stars appear over the water.
He stepped closer, and his hand found the small of her back.
She didn’t know any of it. Not the pact he had signed in college.
Not the framed copy in his desk drawer. Not that he had fed her a marketing line at dinner three weeks ago to keep all of it tucked away.
Knox didn’t know the full version either—that Gabriel had wanted out for years, and that Ronan’s exit had been the green light he hadn’t taken.
If Gabriel walked away now, Knox was alone with a promise Gabriel had asked him to make.
Fourteen years of friendship against six weeks of falling in love with the woman he should never have lost.
He had to tell her. Before this got bigger. Before I love you turned into something he had only half-said.
“I like them.”
“My friends?”
“All of them. Even Knox.”
“Knox is an acquired taste.”
“I can see that. But I like him anyway.”
He kissed her when she turned to face him, and he told himself it was a promise.
“We wasted a lot of time, didn’t we?” she said.
“Years of it.”
“We should file a complaint.”
“With whom?”
“The universe. Poor planning on their part.” She laughed. “I’m glad we stopped wasting time.”
“So am I.”
The words came out heavier than he had intended. She didn’t notice, or if she did, she let it pass.
“Take me to bed, Gabriel.”
“The others—”
“Won’t be back for at least an hour. Devney’s showing Ronan her plans for the garden renovation. That’s a forty-five-minute minimum.”
“You timed it.”
“I asked strategic questions at dinner.”
“Devious.”
“Efficient.”
He followed her inside.
Saturday morning, Gabriel woke to sunlight and the sound of arguing from downstairs.
Tessa was still asleep beside him, hair spread across the pillow, one hand tucked under her cheek. He watched her for a moment. The rise and fall of her breathing. The curve of her shoulder. The way she had burrowed into the blankets.
“I love you,” he said quietly. Not a declaration. A fact. Something he needed to say out loud, even if she couldn’t hear it.
Her eyes fluttered. “Mm?”
“Nothing. Go back to sleep.”
She smiled without opening her eyes. “I heard you.”
He paused. “And?”
“And I’m still asleep.” She reached for him, pulling him closer. “Tell me again when I’m awake enough to respond properly.”
He kissed her forehead. “Deal.”
The arguing got louder.
“You can’t put that much cream in coffee.” Knox’s voice was indignant. “It’s barbaric.”
“It’s personal preference.” Lucy’s voice, equally annoyed. “Not everything needs to be black and bitter.”
“Unlike some people’s personalities,” Knox shot back.
“Excuse me?”
Gabriel groaned and buried his face in the pillow.
Tessa stirred. “What time is it?”
“Too early for their nonsense.”
“Are they fighting?”
“Apparently. I think Knox came down early and Lucy was making coffee.”
She laughed, sleepy and warm, and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Welcome to the Hamptons.”
“Welcome to my life.”
“I’ll take it.”
Three words that meant everything. I’ll take it. She was taking his life, all of it, the complicated parts and the messy parts and the parts he had spent years trying to hide. And she was still here.
His phone lit up on the nightstand.
He saw the name before he could look away. Camille. He turned it face-down without reading it. Beside him, Tessa’s eyes were still closed.
She hadn’t noticed.
He kept his arm around her and said nothing.
He’d been promising himself the same thing for weeks. Soon. He needed soon to mean today.
Gabriel pulled her closer and held on. Downstairs, Knox and Lucy continued their war over coffee preparation. Ronan was probably mediating. Devney was likely filming it for later blackmail.
He kissed the top of her head and made himself a promise that had nothing to do with an oath and everything to do with her.
Tomorrow. He’d tell her tomorrow.