“I would have given you the world, Tori. It’s the rest I can’t give.” His wounded voice carried the weight of years of regret.
I paused at the threshold, my head dropping. “I never needed the world. I needed you.”
Not turning back to see his expression and giving him no time to respond, I closed the door behind me and buried myself in work the rest of the day, avoiding him as much as I could. I questioned what I’d done to myself because every time I was in his presence, it reopened the fractures that remained and had never healed.
People hurried through the hotel lobby where Reid and I waited for Gabe. I couldn’t stop the nervous shaking in my hands as I considered if this had been a mistake. Why had I suggested he accompany us to the zoo? A momentary lapse of sanity. One of many lately because being in his presence left me too weak to think.
Reid hopped on the balls of his feet, his fingers tugging at the buttons on his coat.
“Will we see lions, Mommy?”
“Of course we will.” I crouched down and wiped a spot of jelly from his mouth. “And lots of other animals. Then we’ll go see Uncle Cash and Aunt Brandi.”
He squealed, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, I stood back up just as Gabe stepped from the elevator and came our way. Nerves bounded through me like a collapsing pile of plastic balls. He looked so handsome that it tugged at the pressure in my chest. His long black coat covereda pair of jeans and a charcoal gray T-shirt, and I was suddenly back in Jacksonville, in love and completely addicted to the man who owned me.
Swallowing back the sensation, I looked away, seeing a few women in the lobby checking him out. Streaks of jealousy struck those bouncing balls, destroying them.
He’s not yours anymore.
But my thought didn’t halt the emotion, which only ceased when I met his eyes again and found they were only on me. He gave me a bashful grin that had me gripping Reid’s hand tighter.
What was I doing? There was no way I could spend the entire day with this man and not have him crush my resolve to hate him for the rest of my life. A resolve I’d fought with for almost six years because as much as he’d devastated me, I couldn’t seem to stop loving him.
“Hey, mister,” Reid called to him. “We’re going to the zoo because it’s my birthday.”
Gabe’s smile could have repaired my heart ten times over. “So I’ve heard. Mind if I tag along?” He held out a handled paper bag to him.
Reid glanced up at me, and I nodded. His little hands tore into it as Gabe said, “I’m not one for wrapping.” He palmed the back of his neck, and the emotions stirred in me again. How many times had I watched him do that, and how much further had I fallen for him when he had? He seemed so different today, so like he’d been then.
A squeal broke my thoughts, and I glanced around to meet judging eyes. All except Gabe’s, which were fixed on Reid, full of adoration.
“Look, Mommy. It’s cars,” he exclaimed, showing me the bag of sports car replicas. “Lots of cool cars.” He pulled one out and started zooming it around like it was on a racetrack. Gabe’schuckle had me turning my sight to him. His smile lit his eyes, turning them a muted green hue.
“What do you say?” I asked Reid.
“Thanks, mister.”
“It’s Gabe,” I corrected. “His name is Gabe.”
Reid put his hand out. “I’m Reid,” he said, beaming.
Gabe shook it, emotion splashing over his features. “Nice to meet you, Reid.”
My heart threatened to stop at seeing them together. How many times had I dreamed of this for Reid? For something different from answering his questions about his father with ‘I’ll tell you when you’re older’ because I didn’t have the heart to tell him his father had left us. That he didn’t know he existed because he’d left me.
“I invited Gabe to go to the zoo with us. Would that be okay, Reid?”
“Yeah.” He put the car back in his bag and took Gabe’s hand. “Come on. I can show you my favorite animal. Do you like cars? I love them…” He dragged Gabe toward the doors.
Gabe was staring at their hands, surprise in his eyes. Tears pressed at the back of my eyes, and I bit my lip, reminding myself that he had hurt me. That no matter what this seemed like, our happy ending had died years ago with the heart he’d shattered. His vision flitted to mine, the emotion shifting as his smile dropped.
“I have a car waiting out front,” he told me as we walked.
“Okay,” I managed, hearing the shake in my voice.
“What kind of car?” Reid asked.
“Nothing exciting,” answered Gabe. “That one.” He pointed to the black sedan, like the one we took to the office building every morning.
