CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It took her mother a week to finally say a single word to her—and they were words Gabby didn’t expect at all.
“You should have told me everything from the start. I would have helped.”
It made her blink. Then it made her feel shocked enough to sit on the couch where her mother sat, instead of avoiding the woman like she had done so in the past few days. It wasn’t embarrassment that had caused her to do so, but more so just to make it more convenient for her mother. After all, Henrietta was an important woman in the shifter society, and her daughter was…well, a disgrace.
“You would have helped?” Gabby repeated, trying to make sure she heard it right.
It was morning when her mother said it, with the sun shining brightly outside and tea being served on the coffee table. Henrietta often took tea out the back patio, so it was something to see her when Gabby passed by to get to the kitchen, where Gabby was trying to get some breakfast and stop feeling sorry for herself.
Henrietta nodded her head to Gabby’s question, sipping daintily. “I’m your mother. I’m not some stranger who would out you to the dogs, especially when it involves the family name. You know how much I hate scandals and such.”
The way she said it made more sense because this was exactly how her mother would have thought. She relaxed and accepted the second cup, sipping and tasting milk along with the strong tea. Henrietta never could take it raw.
“I didn’t want to involve you in it,” Gabby admitted after a few seconds of silence. “I wanted to deal with it on my own.”
“There will always be repercussions when dealing with it on your own,” Henrietta responded without missing a beat. “Now, we deal with it together.” She finished her cup and stood up, making her way towards the back. But she paused, her head turning back to look at Gabby one more time.
“Again, I’m your mother. I may not be the warm kind, but you’re still family. I’ll protect you in the best way I can.”
She left right after, and Gabby could only stare at her back. That was the first time her mother had reached out to her ever since her father had died when she was twelve.
Hopefully, that wouldn’t be the last.
*****
The doorbell rang at seven in the evening, right after Gabby took her dinner to her room and picked at it endlessly before finally eating. Her mother was gone for tonight to attend some charity, and the maid knocked on her door to say she had a visitor. Not really in the mood to entertain, Gabby didn’t bother asking who it was, but got dressed anyway in the hopes of charming the person to leave her alone.
She froze in the living room, where she found Jake sitting on the couch and waiting for her.
He was wearing a plain white shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders and muscles, and dark blue jeans that molded on his thick thighs and had her gulping. The sight of his orange hair and those hazel eyes were so bright and should have been ridiculous, but Gabby could only feel her heart stuttering and her mind going blank as she let her eyes roam and devour him. The injuries he sustained when she tried to attack him were gone, a testament to how fast his recovery period was. He looked healthy and…sexy.
Realizing how improper she was being, she withdrew her gaze and tried to act as casual as possible.
“Jake. I didn’t expect you…”
Her words trailed off when he walked over to her without a word until he was standing just a few steps away—enough to reach out to her. Her mouth went dry as she watched his gaze roam her this time, right before he nodded and met her eyes.
Sparks flew.
“You look healthy,” he murmured. “How have you been?”
She swallowed. “I’ve been great. Just resting as advised.” A pause, then, “Thank you for taking me home that day.”
He nodded his head. “It was my pleasure.”
His tongue rolled around the word pleasure, and something hot simmered in her belly. But his expression was relaxed, almost watchful, and she did her best to mirror it.
“What have you been up to?” she asked.
Jake tilted his head. “I’ve been resting, too. Got a side mission done, and rested some more.” There was a long pause. “I visited Lucy.”
Her heart dropped, and Gabby bit her lip. She tried to smile. “How is she?”
“She’s fine. She’s happy. She’s getting married, and we resolved whatever we needed to resolve—mostly my idiotic ways.”
“Oh.”
She waited for more, but that was all he said, and she realized she didn’t detect anything in his voice. No bitterness. Gabby tried to process it in her mind, but before she could, he was stepping closer again until this time, he was inches away from her.
“Gabby…”
She looked up and found his hazel eyes softening. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she tried to take a step back. But his hand snapped forward and wrapped around her wrist before she could move, and his thumb rubbed soothingly on her skin there.
“Gabby, I’m here to help you.”
The words seeped in, and it took her a while to absorb their meaning. Gabby stared at him. “What?”
“I’ve talked to Dylan and talked to your mother. I’m here to help you control your beast.”
“My monster?” she echoed.
“Your beast,” he corrected. “It’s a beast, not a monster.” His thumb rubbed again. A deep sigh came from his throat, one that sounded tired and regretful. “I feel like I’ve failed you. I feel like…I should have protected you better.”
“You did what you could,” she said firmly. “That was all me, and I’ll handle it.”
Again, she tried taking a step away—then gasped when he pulled her back in.
“Damn it, Gabby,” he said. “We were in there together. I should have helped. I want to help now. Give me that, at least.”
Silence filled the room, and it should have been uncomfortable. Instead, it only made her feel warm and safe, further cementing what she felt for him. Her beating heart didn’t help matters, clouding her judgment until she found herself saying words she shouldn’t have been saying.
“Okay.”
Jake’s face filled with surprise. Then a grin came out, one so bright and mischievous that she felt like she was being physically attacked by too many emotions all at once. She looked down, the shame of what she’d done to him and how she’d lied so deeply still ringing in her senses until now.
Fingers touched her chin and lifted her head back up to meet his gaze.
“Don’t feel bad,” he murmured. “I just want to help you get better now.”
“Why?”
“Because somewhere along the way, we became friends. And I want to stand by you through this starting today.”
His words were sincere, and she could read his heart in them. Her heart melted and accepted, knowing it was the best she could get.
Friends. Friends were good.
She needed to be a better one, though.
“I promise I’ll never lie to you again,” she vowed.
A smile played on his lips, and his hazel eyes twinkled. “Now, that would be extremely hard, considering people tell white lies all the time. But I don’t mind if you refuse to tell me that you’ve got no underwear on, or if you pretend you’re all fine if I kick your butt during practice.”
She blinked. Then she burst out laughing. “Practice?”
“Yes. Practice. Control means practice, so we will be practicing every single day until you’re in control.”
She raised a brow. “I’m a tough nut to crack. I thought I should let you know. The guy who taught me how to defend myself? He lasted two weeks.”
“Only two weeks?”
Gabby shrugged. “I speak my mind. I tell you when I don’t like something. I expect people to fall in line.”
She was saying these things to turn him off, really, but all he did was smirk, and she watched as a gleam entered his gaze. “Then you should know that I never fall in line.”
“Now wouldn’t that be problematic?” she goaded.
“Indeed,” he shot back. He held out his hand. “So, practice?”
Gabby looked at his hand for a few seconds, noting the calluses and wondering the story involved in each of them. Practicing with him would really help her control her beast better—or at least take a shot at it and see if it was possible. But daily?
My God. It would be a personal torture to her self-restraint.
Her mind told her the most practical thing was to gently refuse his proposal, so they could both move on and never see each other again. But her heart and her body—her tingling body—were already doing somersaults, whispering that this was a very bad idea and she should go ahead with it, anyway.
Say no.
Her arm went up. Then she took his raised hand and shook it, the sparks simmering and doing a happy little dance. She ignored it and rationalized that she was doing this because she really wanted to get better—that was all. That was definitely all.
One day in, and she was such a liar already.