Chapter 26

Ally

“Why?” He turned back to me, irritation flashing in his eyes.

The swell of fear in my chest was difficult to contain. Faced with Gabe’s retreating back, it hit me that his leaving wasn’t what I really wanted. Not without some kind of closure.

“Please, just talk to me. You said you wanted to explain to me about Faith.”

This was a role reversal. The last time he’d begged and I’d been as cold as ice. Now, it looked like he wanted to walk away for good. All because of Matthew. Almost like he knew something about the nature of my former engagement. Something I’d never disclosed.

A car trundled by in the street, shoppers darted around each other, talking on phones or carrying bags, eyes focused on their next destination.

Gabe glanced at the snow, the clouds overhead, then looked back at me. He drew his shoulders straight, then let out a long low breath and moved towards me. “Fine, but let’s make this quick, before your boyfriend comes out and sees us together again.”

I froze. “What? Are you referring to Matthew?” He couldn’t possibly think that.

“You heard me,” he growled, then walked around the corner into a side street where his car was parked. He opened the passenger door so I could slip inside, out of the cold.

I gulped a breath of the still frigid air. “Matthew is not and will never again be my boyfriend.”

Gabe turned on me. “Then what the fuck are you doing in a coffee shop with him?”

“Don’t swear at me.”

“Answer the question. What are you doing hanging around with that loser?” He folded his arms across his broad chest and studied my facial expressions. “Is this your way of getting back at me?”

“I’m not that petty and I already told you why I had to see Matthew today.” I rolled my eyes, then stopped and tapped my booted foot on the floor mat. “I don’t need to get back at you. You do that all on your own.”

“So you’re not trying to make me jealous,” Gabe replied, raising his eyebrows in clear disbelief. His nose crunched up into a grimace.

“How was I supposed to know you’d be in Kelly’s coffee shop? God, I thought I’d never see you again.”

That gave him pause. He unfolded his arms, then folded them again, then rubbed his gloves together. “What were you doing with him?” Gabe stopped again and studied my expression. “Why the hell would you spend any time with him if it’s not a date? It only takes thirty seconds to give you a status update on the case. You two were eating and drinking together.”

I dragged my teeth across my bottom lip. “Okay, so maybe it was a quazi date. But it wasn’t one that I asked for or even welcomed.”

“I’ve got to go,” he said, and turned the key in the ignition to fire up the engine.

I grabbed him by the arm. “Don’t be ridiculous. Let me finish.”

“Like you let me finish the other day?” Gabe retorted, but the hopeful look in his eyes gave him away.

“Matthew is working the arson case for the bakery. He told me he could squash it if I went on a date with him.”

“A date. Nothing more than that?” He cocked his head and those eyebrows drew down into a cynical frown this time.

“Yes, one brunch date with a hundred people around. I only agreed for that reason and I was about to leave when you came in anyway. Turns out there was no evidence —”

“Sounds a little bit like prostitution,” Gabe said, cutting right across my explanation and holding up his hand to squish his thumb and forefinger together. “But just a little bit.”

“Are you kidding me? I would never do anything with him for any reason. Ever.” I straightened and tugged my coat straight, even though it didn’t need it. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“Then why did you stop me from kicking his scrawny ass to talk?” Gabe asked.

A nearby car backfired, causing me to jump in the bucket seat. Why had I stopped him? Because I couldn’t get enough and every time I took a breath he filled my lungs with his presence. His confidence. Just everything. I didn’t want to be falling in love with him.

“Well?” He tucked his hands into his pockets and stared me down.

“Because we need to talk about everything. I — I can’t get you off my mind. I hate admitting it after all the water under the bridge, but I have to. Kelly and I spoke about it.”

“You told Kelly about our private business?”

I blew out a breath. “Gabe, I discussed a personal issue with my best friend. Don’t say you wouldn’t do the same.”

He leaned towards me and raised his gloved finger. It trembled ever so slightly, but I had a hunch it wasn’t from the cold. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Thank you,” I replied with a wry grin. I had to break the ice somehow.

“What happens in my personal life is … hell, Allegra. This thing with Faith. It’s complicated. And embarrassing. I’m sure Kelly hates my guts.” He grasped my forearms and dug his fingers into my puffy coat. “Do you understand how much I still want you?”

I licked my lips and looked up at him. “No.”

“I thought I showed you back there. With Matthew. But I can show you again,” he grunted. “I’m so fucking angry at you. And I don’t know why. These emotions that flow through me constantly. I can’t stop them and I want to. I really, really want to.”

“You’re angry at me? I never lied, Gabe,” I whispered back, craning my neck to stare at him. Like I couldn’t get enough. I’d never get enough.

“I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you about her. I couldn’t tell you.” Gabe ran his hands up my forearms and to my shoulders, then crossed them around to my back. His fingers slid beneath the collar of my coat and the cotton shirt below to caress the bare skin of my sensitive neck.

“Why not?” Gooseflesh broke out beneath the surface of my clothes, ones which had nothing to do with the cold. His touch warmed me from the inside.

“Because you would have —” He cut off and frowned, then let go of me and backed away, grabbing at his coat.

“What’s wrong?” I frowned, then glanced out the windows. No sign of Matthew or anyone else. I’d almost forgotten him in the rush of seeing Gabe again, right in front of me in all his chiseled glory.

Gabe fumbled in his jacket pocket and brought out his phone, cursing under his breath. “Got a call.” He held it up to show me the flashing screen, then swiped his thumb across the green icon and answered. “Hello.”

I snuggled into the leather seat, distancing myself from the heat of his body. I still couldn’t be too close to it without wanting to rip his coat off and expose the muscles underneath. My cheeks flushed at that thought.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a few.” Gabe hung up and looked at me. “I have to go. I’m actually on the clock here,” he explained, “I came out to get a couple coffees for the guys. Looks like there’s been a fire.”

“Oh, okay.” I didn’t have anything else to say. He was about to leave and I couldn’t stop him.

“We can catch up later. I’ll meet you at the bakery after my shift.” Gabe nodded once as I opened the door and slipped out of his vehicle, my boots making a crunching sound in the snow.

I clasped my hands together to keep from waving. I didn’t have any of the answers I thought I’d get and this whole meeting thing at the bakery sounded formal, more like he thought it was a chore. That I was a chore.

“What did you expect? Dinner and a movie?” I questioned myself and rolled my eyes. The snow drifted down again, coating my shoulders in a light layer of sparkling flakes. I had to get back to the bakery. And work.