“Where’s Gabe?” I asked him. Franco jerked his head toward the living room, eyes still on Luc. “Luc, can you go and grab my things? I’m sure Franco will show you the room.”
“Leaving so soon?” Franco asked.
“Don’t sound so disappointed,” I shot back before walking into the living room and closing the door behind me. I wanted to minimize the amount of interaction between Luc and Gabe, not trusting that it wouldn’t end in an argument.
Gabe sat in the chair, feet kicked up on the coffee table with a book in hand. This was how I remembered him. Quiet and slightly removed from the conversation until he felt the need to pitch in, which wasn’t all too often when Tori and I got together. “How was your chat?” he asked, not bothering to look back from the book.
“Good enough that I’m planning to move back in with Luc,” I said. There was no point in drawing this out.
That forced his head up. “Have you thought this through?”
“I love him. He’s the father of my child and I want my family together, Gabe. You’ll find another way to get what you want.”
He closed the book and rose in a swift movement, coming toward me. “But do you trust him?” It was funny that Gabriel would mention trust as if he had more of it than Luc simply because he’d taken me in. At least with Luc, what you saw was what you got. He was impulsive and ill-tempered but he didn’t hide it. Gabe, on the other hand, picked out what face to wear every morning along with his tie.
“More than anyone,” I told him firmly.
“I just hope it’s not misplaced,bella. One wrong decision could cost you your life. All it would take is for him to change his mind.”
I was well aware of that fact. The footsteps I had thought were placed carefully had caused ripple after ripple in the waters. Each decision was resulting in a chain of events. A butterfly effect.
The door to the room opened and Luc and Franco walked in, the former with my duffle bag in hand. “Are you ready?” Luc came up beside me, Cerb loyally following his every step.
“Such short notice,” Gabe said, no trace of the warmth in his voice. “I haven’t even gotten you a leaving gift.”
“She’ll be around. You’ll still see her, Gabriel.” A fact that Luc did not sound best pleased about.
“Still,” Gabe said, and then his face brightened, a glint in his eye. “I know. Franco.” My mismatched shadow took a step forward at the sound of his name. “Consider Franco yours to keep.”
Something about gifting another human being didn’t sit right with me. “Gabe.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Luc cut in. “What need would she have for Franco?”
The upturn of the corner of Gabe’s mouth into a smirk alerted to me to the trouble that was about to arrive. “Well, you’ve proven yourself to be fickle and that you can’t look after her. You tell me, Luc, why would Mia need Franco?”
I stepped in front of Luc quickly, feeling him bump against the back of me. We didn’t need a fight. What we needed was to get out of here. “Thank you,” I said to Gabe. “Although, as Luc said, it’s not necessary.”
“I’d sleep better knowing you had someone trustworthy by your side.”
“How about I just call Franco when I need him?” I suggested, still feeling Luc pressed up behind me.
Gabe narrowed his eyes but then shrugged. “As you wish. Franco, from now on, whenever Mia requests you, you drop all other jobs. Understood?” He looked to Franco, who kept his true feelings locked under the professional, unwavering front as always. “I’ll see you around, Mia.” He dismissed us, stepping back and allowing us to leave. I grabbed Luc’s hand and pulled him from the house. Thankfully, no one followed to see us out and this time Luc was in the driver’s seat, Cerb lying across the back, as we pulled out of the drive.
“Gabe needs reminding of his place,” he said.
We both knew it but couldn’t do anything about it with Xavier still around and watching my every move. “Not yet.”
“I know.”
The gates to Luc’s home came into view and my heart lost its usual rhythm at seeing the place I called home. The gravel crunched under the tires as Luc pulled up on the circular drive and I let out a sigh. “I’ve missed this place.”
“And to think, once you never wanted to move in.”
I shot him a look. My introduction to Luc and his life had been less than pleasant, but things had changed over time. Somewhere deep inside, the residual fear remained. We were testing fate and laughing in the face of the odds. We weren’t a couple that was meant to exist, but we were also a couple that couldn’t be apart.
“What happens now?” I asked him as we both got out of the car. Luc grabbed my bag and carried it, opening the door to the house. Cerb pushed past us both to enter first.
“You breathe for a bit,” he told me seriously. “You let me look after you and we move into the new place.”
