“That sounds like a good place to start.”
While I wanted more, she was right. I needed to prove myself to her. A few kisses and confessions weren’t enough to win her back. I needed to earn her trust again, but I had destroyed it so completely that I didn’t know if I could ever repair it.
Chapter 28
Tori
The night had been a whirlwind of emotions, and I’d tossed and turned, running everything Gabe had said through my mind repeatedly. I didn’t doubt him, but I’d been caught up in the moment, in his kisses, in having him close to me again, in his strength. Too caught up to be rational. We’d agreed to start in the middle, but even that seemed too fast, even though my body craved more.
I didn’t know how I was going to take this slow because it felt so right with Gabe. It always had. But picking up where we left off when he left seemed impossible. The divide was still there, as were the memories and the pain.
His knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. Reid let out an excited sound, clapping his hands where he sat at the table, coloring. He had stayed glued to Gabe from the moment we picked him up, and when Gabe left us on our floor so he could go change, Reid had been devastated. Until he found out Gabe was coming back.
He had already formed an attachment, and that made this even harder.
I opened the door, catching the drop of my mouth. God, he was sexy. He had on a charcoal gray T-shirt and a pair of jeans.His hazel eyes looked over the pizza box, and I remembered the confident, sexy man who had taken a seat next to me and stolen my heart within minutes.
He held up his other hand to show me the six-pack of IPAs in it.
“No scotch?” I asked, letting him in.
“Eh, my tastes are changing.”
“Gabe!” Reid rushed from his chair and tackled Gabe’s legs, almost knocking him over.
“Hey buddy. Ready for some pizza?”
“Pepperoni?”
Gabe threw his head back and chuckled. “Just like your mom. Wouldn’t be a good slice if it didn’t have pepperoni.”
I freed his legs from Reid’s hold and motioned to the coffee table.
“What’s the movie pick?” he asked, setting the pizza down while I handed Reid napkins and grabbed him a juice box.
“Cars,” Reid said, his excitement spilling over. “Have you seen it?”
He jumped onto the middle of the couch and patted the spot next to him for Gabe to sit. Glancing at me, Gabe’s eyes questioned me about the seating order. I gave him a smile and a nod, mouthing, “Go ahead.”
I stood there, listening to them as Reid told him all about the movie and Gabe asked questions as if they were best friends. Tears pushed at the back of my eyes. Possibility. That’s what this was, and I wouldn’t let it go because the outcome was too important to lose.
Taking a seat on the other side of Reid, I turned the movie on. We settled in, the three of us, Reid munching on his pizza, picking his pepperonis off and dropping them into his mouth just like Gabe did. As the movie progressed, I felt Gabe’s hand on my shoulder. I glanced over at him, meeting amber irisesthat shone with satisfaction. Leaning my head on his hand, I let myself relax into the comfort of his touch and the idea of possibility.
By the time the movie ended, Reid was sound asleep, his head resting on Gabe’s chest.
“He’s a lightweight,” Gabe teased, dropping his arm from me and tentatively brushing a lock of hair from Reid’s forehead.
I moved to lift him, but Gabe stopped me. “Leave him, please. Just a few more minutes.”
Sitting back down, I watched him, seeing the expression of wonder on his face. The same I’d had since I’d given birth to our son. He was a miracle, a light that had come from the darkness Gabe had left.
“He’s so beautiful, Tori.” His voice held a reverence that shone in his features.
“I know. He was the only good thing you left me.”
His eyes shot up, the hurt clear until he covered it. “I’m sorry. I can never take it back, but I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
Swallowing back the emotion, I nodded, knowing that to speak would send the tears rushing from me. I was tired of crying. I’d spent years doing it.
