Chapter Five

“Favorite color?” Julie asked before popping another cherry in her mouth.

“Red.”

“Favorite animal?”

“Turtle.”

Julie raised a brow. “Turtle? I would have pegged you for a dog person.”

Gabe shrugged. “I like dogs just fine, but unfortunately my mother was allergic to everything furry, so I had to settle for a pet turtle. I had five.”

“And what happened to them?”

“When they got big, I set them free in my parents' pond.”

“What was your family life like?”

“There's nothing particularly exciting about my upbringing. I grew up in a small town in North Jersey with the typical family, one older brother and a younger sister. Mom was a homemaker, and Dad worked as a sanitation worker for thirty years before he retired. My brother is now a lieutenant commander in the navy, stationed in California, and my sister is a journalist in New York. Both are married with two children, and we all get together for the major holidays, but I talk to everyone at least once a week. Pretty boring stuff.”

Julie wished her upbringing was that boring. To have a proper family and a sense of belonging was what most people dreamed of. “So why are you still single? At thirty-six, most men would have settled down by now.”

He smiled, revealing strong white teeth. “I hadn't met the right woman…until now.”

He had to be teasing her. Refusing to fall into this trap by getting her hopes up, Julie quickly changed the subject. “What's your favorite food?”

Gabe chuckled as though seeing through her ploy. “Candy.” The way his gaze swept over her, there was no doubt in Julie's mind of his meaning.

Heat flooded her cheeks, and she squirmed in her chair. Since their initial romp yesterday afternoon, Gabe had behaved like the perfect gentleman. They'd watched DVDs and ordered takeout as they got to know each other better. To her delight, they had more in common than she thought they would. They both loved old-school rap and hair-metal bands. They both liked campy movies and classic cartoons. And most importantly they both were in agreement that Sammy Hagar was the better front man of Van Halen.

Gabe, Julie found, not only had a great sense of humor, but he was also a wonderful conversationalist, keeping her enthralled with stories from his youth. He didn't take himself so seriously, like a lot of drop-dead gorgeous men did. He had a self-deprecating way about him at times that was adorable. That this hunk of a man had his own insecurities, and that he'd allowed her to see them, touched something deep within Julie.

They'd ended their Friday night by falling asleep, snuggled together on the couch watching the latest Ben Stiller flick. Gabe must have woken up sometime in the middle of the night and carried her to his bed, because that's where she'd woken up to the smell of fresh coffee and bacon. After a leisurely breakfast, Julie had called Sheridan, who had a spare key to her condo, to take Rufus and bring a change of clothes over. Then Gabe had taken her miniature golfing, followed by a trip to an ice-cream parlor he'd claimed served the best butter pecan ice cream on the East Coast. It was what they were currently enjoying.

Julie stuck her tongue out at him. “Don't tease me unless you intend to follow through.”

He grinned, wiggling his brows suggestively. “Who says I won't?”

She shrugged. “What am I supposed to think? You haven't so much as kissed me since yesterday. Are you having second thoughts about this 'us' thing, and this is your way of letting me down gently?”

He froze with his spoon halfway to his mouth, his eyes flashing with a menacing emotion she couldn't quite discern. “What did you just say?”

Julie gulped. “Well, you haven't touched me since yesterday. What am I supposed to think?”

He raised a brow. “That perhaps I respect you? Look, Julie, yesterday was one of the most satisfying experiences in my life, yet I feel like we've rushed into something you might not be ready for.”

“Don't you think it's up to me to decide what I'm ready for? Maybe what happened between us is exactly what I needed.”

“You still haven't told me why you were so upset yesterday. Whenever I ask, you conveniently change the subject. I offered to take you home to get a change of clothes, but instead you called a friend. If you're not ready to share such minute parts of your life with me, how do you think I should proceed?”

She bit her bottom lip, lowering her lids so she wouldn't see the censure in his eyes. He had a point. He had been open about his life, so at the very least she could tell him the truth. Raking her fingers through her hair, she sighed. “I guess I didn't want go into details because it's pretty embarrassing actually.”

Gabe reached across the table and captured her hand in his. “Julie, whatever it is, you can tell me. I'll listen with no judgment.”

A lump formed in her throat as pain welled in her chest. It hurt to think of how much she'd lost of herself in order to make other people happy. “The truth is, I went home to pick up peanut butter cups because Rob was annoyed I'd forgotten to bring them in. Anyway, when I got home, I found my cousin, Corinne, in bed with my boyfriend.”

Gabe dropped her hand and jerked away from the table as if he'd been scalded. “You have a boyfriend?” His brows flew together as his expression darkened. “Were you just using me, hence the vixen act?”

She shook her head furiously. “You said you'd listen without judgment.”

“I'm not judging, but no guy likes to learn he was used as a stand-in.”

“Gabe, would you shut up and listen to me? You were not a stand-in, and not once did I think of him when we were together. Honestly I haven't given him a single thought since we've been together.”

Her words seemed to calm him, but his face still remained stony. He crossed his arms across her chest. “Out with the old, in with the new?”

She slammed her fist on the table, drawing stares from patrons at nearby tables. “It wasn't like that, Gabe. This is exactly why I didn't want to say anything.” Her anger guiding her, Julie stood up and stormed out of the ice-cream shop.

She was barely out the door when two strong hands fell on her shoulders. Gabe turned her around within the circle of his arms and held her against him. Burying his face against her neck, he whispered, “I'm sorry. I was being an ass. You don't have to go into details until you're ready.”

Julie didn't want to fight with Gabe and realized she owed him some sort of explanation. “I overreacted a little in there. I'm so used to keeping everything on the inside that I don't know how to properly express my thoughts.”

He grasped her arm and led her to a nearby bench. Once they were seated, he placed his hand on her knee. “I'm the one who should apologize. I should have heard you out before I reacted. Julie, please go on. I'm listening.”

There was no doubting his sincerity. If she didn't get the words out now, she never would. “I was saying before, I found my cousin and boyfriend in bed together. Yes, I had a boyfriend up until yesterday, but we hadn't been intimate for some time—months probably. Things were not going so well between us anyway. We didn't argue or anything like that, but we didn't act like a boyfriend and girlfriend should. I mean, we went through the motions, but somewhere there was a disconnect.” She sighed. “I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself properly.”

Gabe placed his hand on her thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I understand. Please, continue.”

“Honestly, I'm not quite sure why we were together. We kind of drifted into a relationship. The sex was only mediocre at best. Anyway it was just another example of me going with the status quo.” She slumped against the bench. “I wasn't always like this, though—such a pushover, I mean.”

“What happened?”

“My parents died when I was eight, and my only living relatives were my aunt Rae and her daughter, Corinne, but I think she and her husband were having problems at the time, so she couldn't take me. So, I was in the foster care system for a few years. It was a pretty difficult adjustment. I'd always been on the shy side, but I kind of withdrew into myself. In that whole time the only friend I made was Sheridan. You met her this morning. Anyway, I was bounced from one home to the next, and each time I believed if I became what they wanted me to be, maybe they'd keep me. You see, my experiences in foster homes weren't as horrific as some kids you hear about. Most of the homes I stayed in weren't bad at all. In my need for a family unit, I became as amicable as possible. Never causing trouble or tattling when one of the other kids did something to me. But no matter how hard I tried to fit in and be what I believed they wanted me to be, for some reason I'd always end up receiving the talk.”

Tears burned the backs of her eyes. Even now her old childhood woes still cut deep. Pain welled within her chest as she remembered those lonely years, missing her parents but wanting desperately to belong to a family again.

“The talk?” Gabe asked gently.

“Yeah, the talk where they'd explain they're getting rid of me. Oh, it was nothing I did, they'd tell me, but I never believed them of course. So then I vowed I'd try harder at my next home.”

“That's an awful big burden for a child to have.”

“I know that now, but at the time it made sense. Anyway, when I was thirteen, my aunt seemed to have a change of heart and took me in. It wasn't until later that I learned her main reason for taking me in was the stipend from the state. By the time I learned this, it didn't matter, because I would have done anything to please her. And I think she knew it. My cousin knew it too and never missed an opportunity to rub it in my face. Sometimes my cousin would take something of mine or break it deliberately, but every time I tried or even wanted to fight back, she'd tell me if I made trouble, my aunt would send me away. It always worked like a charm.”

“And this is the same cousin you have staying with you now?”

“The very same one. It wasn't like my aunt Rae was any better. Everything I had, the clothes on my back, the food that I ate, I was reminded that it was only by her largesse that I was provided those things. She was never affectionate toward me, and she never lifted a finger to clean or do anything menial while I was around, but I was so grateful to have some permanency in my life, I learned to bite my tongue and count my blessings.”

“Did she ever threaten to send you back to the foster homes if you didn't toe the line?”

Julie bit her lip and nodded. She didn't like to speak ill of her aunt. She had taken Julie in, even though it might not have been for altruistic reasons, but the bottom line was that she had. How she was with Aunt Rae and Corinne at home was how she was with her schoolmates, and everyone else she interacted with. It had simply become habit. “I don't like confrontation, and I don't like people to be angry with me. And as a result, I try to please them.”

“Everything makes sense now. It's why you spend so many late hours at the office picking up other people's slack. I often wondered if you were trying to earn brownie points or if you were just a big pushover. And the candy—you do it to make people happy.”

“Yes. That, and I have a sweet tooth, although half the time, I barely get any for myself, because it's usually gone by noon. When I first started the job, I had a candy dish at my desk. At first some people were nice enough to contribute to my candy fund, while others brought in candy to keep the dish filled. As new people came and others left, the responsibility of keeping it full became solely mine.”

“And who started calling you 'Candy Girl'?”

She shrugged. “I'm not really sure, but it caught on, and before I knew it, no one referred to me by my name. At first I thought it was cute, because I believed it to be a term of affection. But then I realized they no longer saw me as a person with feelings, but as an object to use.” To finally vocalize her emotions was like a cleansing.

Gabe stroked the side of her face. “And yet you said nothing?”

Julie closed her eyes briefly, leaning into his touch. She opened them again with a sigh. “No. Like I said, I'm so used to not saying what's on my mind, it's become an ingrained habit. For instance, my cousin, Corinne, lost her job and was unable to pay her rent. She didn't want to move back home with her mother because she claimed she and my aunt had some kind of falling out. So, I agreed to let her stay with me until she got back on her feet. She's now been with me for five months, and I don't think she has any intention of finding a job. Why should she when she's staying with me rent free and being waited on hand and foot?”

“And she repays you by sleeping with your boyfriend.”

A sharp, unexpected pain twisted in her chest. For as long as she could remember, Julie had wanted a close relationship with her beautiful and popular cousin. Now, as she replayed that scene she'd stumbled upon the day before, Julie realized it would never happen. For some reason Corinne hated her, and it was something she'd just have to accept, but at least now she no longer had to take her cousin's ill treatment. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, nodding her head in answer to his question.

“Is the reason you didn't want me to take you home because you weren't ready for a confrontation with Corinne?”

“Yes. I didn't know what to say. My tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I was torn between tears and doing her and Henry bodily harm. I guess I'll eventually have to go home, but just not today.”

He scooted next to her and slung his arm around her shoulders. “You can stay with me for as long as you like.”

Julie leaned her head against his chest, enjoying the warmth emanating from his body. Sitting with him here like this just felt right. It was funny how things turned out. Yesterday she'd been going through the motions of her humdrum life, and now she was heavily involved with her sexy boss. “I appreciate the offer, but I'll have to go home eventually. Maybe tomorrow I'll be up to facing her.”

“What will you do?”

“I don't know yet. I guess I'll know what to do when I get there.”

“Would you like me to be there for the confrontation?”

“No. I need to do this on my own. I have to learn to assert myself more, and there's no better way than finally telling my cousin what she needs to hear.”

“And what about your coworkers? You know, you probably thought I was always on your case, but like I said before, I was annoyed on your behalf. I hated to see them take advantage of you. But you never complained, so there really wasn't much I could do about it. I was actually a little jealous, and not just for the reasons I gave earlier.”

She lifted her head to meet his topaz gaze. “Jealous? Really? Of what?”

He grasped her chin and brushed her lips with his. “Of the attention you gave everyone else. I wanted it for myself.”

“I still find it hard to believe you want me.” She was so in awe of this handsome, dynamic man. And he wanted her!

“Why wouldn't I? You're gorgeous.”

“Stop it.”

“I'm serious. Big brown eyes, cute button nose, and a mouth I'm obsessed with kissing. If that isn't beauty, I don't know what is. Yours is the kind of beauty that comes from within. Do you honestly think the candy is the only reason people visit your desk? Some of them don't even touch the dish. They go to you because you listen without judgment; you're a soothing influence. You have something inside of you that attracts others to you. It's definitely one of the reasons that attracted me to you. I only wish you knew how wonderful you are.”

Her cheeks warmed with a blush. “My friend Sheridan says that too.”

“Maybe you should listen to your friend.” He dropped another kiss on the tip of her nose. “So what would you like to do next? Would you like to go to the movies?”

Julie shook her head.

“A walk in the park?”

“No.”

“How about a trip to the museum?”

“No.”

“How about—”

She placed a finger over his lips, a sudden boldness coming over her. “If it doesn't involve your cock in my pussy, I'm not interested.”

Gabe stood up abruptly and pulled Julie with him. “Let's go.”