“Because Max weighs seventy-five pounds, and Gabe carried him for over a mile.” Lori flexed her arm and sighed deeply. “I do love her muscles…”
Rosie rolled her eyes. Gabe’s arms were almost bigger than her thighs. That kind of physique had never done anything for Rosie, but Shay’s lithe, yoga body was another matter entirely. She snapped herself out of her little fantasy and refocused. “And Max?”
“Gabe took him to Ellery for an X-ray, but it was just a bad sprain, so she bandaged him up and sent him home. Now he has the cone of shame on his neck and is staying with Beth for a few days. She says he’s feeling very sorry for himself and keeps trying to bite it off.”
Rosie chuckled at the image. “Even a gorgeous dog like Max can’t make one of those look good,” she said. “How did Gabe react?”
“She acted like she was okay, but I think she was disintegrating inside. After everything that they’ve already been through together, they didn’t need a broken leg or a torn CCL. She wanted to take care of Max herself, but the garage was too busy.”
Rosie dipped her chin and fought to relax the tightening vice around her chest. “Because Shay was with me.”
“Stop that.” Lori wafted at the screen again. “We had plenty of people here to care for Max. Shay was the only one able to care for you.”
Rosie sucked in a breath and nodded, recognizing the reaction borne from years of not being important enough to her mom to care for her. Maybe now that her mom was gone, she might be able to finally rid herself of that stubborn behavior pattern. “So how long before Max is fully recovered?”
“About a month, to be safe.”
“That’s good,” Rosie said. “And Gabe? How long before she’s safe to see you in the flesh again?”
“She’s coming over tonight.” Lori wiggled her eyebrows. “I can’t wait.”
“Given the size of her truck, I suppose Gabe doesn’t need a U-Haul, but when is she moving in?”
Lori shook her head. “That won’t be happening for a while. It’s going great, and neither of us want to rush anything.”
“Isn’t she already staying at your place most nights?”
“You’re getting insider information.” Lori grumbled. “But it’s wrong. She’s not hereeverynight.”
Rosie narrowed her eyes and pointed at the screen. “But your little pouty face tells me you want her to be, even though you don’t want to rush things.”
“Yes,” Lori said. “I know, they’re polar opposites. But this is Gabe’s first serious relationship, and I’m trying to stay a little cautious after the divorce. Of course I want to dive headfirst into a new life, but taking things slow isn’t so bad. I look forward to the time we spend together even more.”
Rosie could relate wholeheartedly to that last part, though she didn’t want to say that and bring the conversation back to her again. When Shay had dropped Rosie off at home, she’d declined the offer to come in. Even though Rosie had expected that response, it still stung. She wanted as much time with Shay as possible because it was only a matter of time before she realized their situationship had been complicated by Rosie inconveniently falling in love.
Once she figured that out, Shay would bolt faster than her muscle car could do zero to sixty, leaving Rosie to pick up the pieces of her broken heart again. Except this time, Rosie had a feeling it would hurt a whole lot more than it ever had before.
CHAPTER 20
Solo droppedtwo giant bags of food onto the engine block table and placed a tray of coffee beside it. “Bonnie’s set a tab up for us to pay monthly. Is that okay?”
Shay looked up when Gabe didn’t answer, and she realized Solo’s question was directed at her.
Gabe laughed and shoved her shoulder lightly. “You’re our math whizz. We’ve entrusted all the financials to your capable super-brain; you know that.”
“I guess I haven’t quite gotten used to you not giving all the orders and being our go-to yet.”
Gabe grinned and winked. “I’ll always be your go-to.”
“So is it okay or not?”
Shay looked back at Solo and arched her eyebrow. “Someone get out of the wrong side of bed this morning?”
Solo dropped heavily onto a couch. “I didn’t get out of bed; I rolled off the sofa.”
Shay glanced at Gabe, who frowned. So she was genuinely worried this was more than a little hiccup. “Didn’t you have therapy last night?”
Solo nodded. “It was our second session, and Rae gave us homework like we’re college kids.Active listening.” She opened one of the bags and tore open the first wrapped package. “What the fuck does that even mean? Either you’re listening or you’re not. Putting another word in front of it doesn’t change anything, does it?” She took a huge bite of the bagel, and cream cheese oozed out of the back to drop all over the front of her shirt. “Fuck and damn it. Now I need a new shirt for the photo shoot.”
