What that taught me more than anything was that I wanted to do it again. Right the next time. With someone who I loved. And I thought I would have by now. Thought I’d have a family of my own. Because kids—man, they show you what really matters. The good and the bad. They humble you. Theymakeyou.
And for a brief, fleeting moment, I saw myself doing all that with Alessia.
“Oh, Gabriel,” she squeezes my knee affectionately. “I’m sorry but you can’t project how you reacted after your divorce onto Aly,” Rhiannon says, bringing me back to the conversation. “Maybe she feels differently and doesn’t need to hook up with half of Brookhaven to move on.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so.”
She exhales, tilting her head. “Okay, so what? She’s going on this date with Travis—who, by the way, is a reallyniceguy, so if you were going to let another guy take her out, you could’ve at least picked someone you know, ugly, mean, or boring.”
I groan, gripping the back of my neck, becausefuck,the only reason I even came over here tonight was to not think about their date and now I’m remembering.
Travis told me about it himself. Casually mentioned that they had a date planned right after he finished the work on their house today.
And Aly hasn’t said a single word to me about it yet.
It’s been twenty-four hours, and I’ve been avoiding her like it’ll somehow make this hurt less. I woke up early for work just so I didn’t have to see her in her cute little kindergarten teacher outfit, came straight to my sister’s after I got home from work in the city. Had dinner with Rhiannon since Cain’s out of town for work in Los Angeles. And now I’m hanging out with Piper to try not to picture them together on some adorable date that he planned, I’m sure.
“And then what?” Rhiannon presses. “What if she brings him back to your house tonight?”
I shake my head. “She wouldn’t.”
“How can you be sure?” she presses.
“Because I am. She wouldn’t do that to me. She knows how I feel about her.”She wouldn’t purposely hurt me like that.
Rhiannon gives me a look. The kind only a sister can give. She knows how badly that would gut me. That would be a pain I can’t walk back from.
“Okay,” she says, tilting her head. “But what if he takes her to his house then?”
I let out a sharp breath, rubbing my face. “Fuck, Rhiannon, I’ve been thinking about this all day. I can’t do this.”
She shudders, like the thought of my emotional turmoil physically pains her. “I feel like you’re making a mistake by not going to your house and stopping her right now. But I also get why you’re doing this. You want her to choose you without forcing her, don’t you?”
I nod and blow out a breath of air. “Yeah. I do.”
“I also get that you always sacrifice yourself for everyone else’s good when maybe sometimes you should do something selfish just for you.”
“I can’t.” I groan. “It’s not in my nature.”
She sighs. “Okay. Then I don’t have any more advice.”
I scoff. “You’re a therapist. Shouldn’t you have more than just stating the obvious?”
She squeezes my shoulder, her voice softer now. “I think you may need to come to terms with the fact that if you really believe it’s important for Aly to date other men, then you need to let her go and respect that decision. She didn’t run this one by you, which means you’re probably right—she wants to see other guys. She wants to know if you’re really that special. The least you can do is give her the space to do it. And if her heart is really with you, she’ll figure that out fast. She’ll come back to you. In the meantime, you need to tell her exactly how you feel when you see her next.”
“And what if that pushes her away again? What if she tells me she can’t do this with me?Again?”
She shrugs. “Then that’s her decision. But from what you’ve shared, you started to tell her but stopped yourself. You need to be very clear with her, Gabriel. And then the rest is on her. Then you can feel like you’ve done all you can do to state your intentions.”
“I can’t handle the rejection, Rhiannon.”
Her gaze softens, like I’ve just hit her with something she wasn’t ready for. “I know,” she whispers. Then she exhales, shaking her head. “Dammit, you’re gonna make me cry.”
She sinks back into her seat just as Piper comes running into the room.
“Come here, baby.”
Piper goes straight into her arms like that’s the safest place in the world. Rhiannon pulls her close, pressing a kiss to her head as she tucks her against her chest. Her fingers slide through Piper’s soft brown hair, smoothing it back with an easy, familiar tenderness.
