She wasn’t going anywhere... because this was technically her room?
His fingers turned caressing, and his gaze did too. “Eve, I’m too old for you.”
“So you’ve said.” He wasn’t. Not in the slightest.
“Our families—”
“The relationships make things complicated,” she said, her voice flat. She didn’t need to hear any of this again.
“Yeah. Plus—”
“You’re not looking for a relationship. You don’t even know if you’d be good at it.” She shivered. She should have changed. Her beloved dress shouldn’t have to witness this. “It’s fine. I got it.”
“I’m glad you get it. Those are important things, and I want you fully aware of what you’re getting into.”
Wait. Getting into? She straightened, her heart beating faster.
“I... I may have kind of had a crush on you for a while too. I mean, since I met you as an adult.”
“Wow.”
Very carefully, Gabe placed her bracelet on her wrist, then raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “That dress was worth every penny you paid for it.”
She rested her fingers on the low neckline. “Thank you. You look very handsome too.”
His lips kicked up. He cupped her face and tilted it up to his. “Of course I remember the time you tried to kiss me when you were in college.”
“You do?”
“You were a kid.” He lifted a shoulder. “I mean, you were cute, but you were really young. Of course I didn’t return your feelings then. It would have been inappropriate. And I never brought it up again because I didn’t want to embarrass you if you didn’t remember.”
“I see.”
“But then I met you a month ago, and I’ve been obsessed.”
“Obsessed.” Obsessed sounded not terrible. It sounded great, in fact.
“Yeah. Do you know how much I kicked myself for wanting Anne because she reminded me of you?” He raised his eyebrows. “God, Eve. I felt like an asshole.”
She thrilled and winced at the same time. “Sorry.”
His nostrils pinched as he inhaled. “Rhi pointed out maybe the reason I don’t know how to have a relationship is because I don’t normally share much of myself with other people.” He focused on her bracelet, turning it this way and that. “I grew up knowing I had to keep a part of me a lie. Everything depended on that. My family’s well-being, my dad loving me. I had to be funny and charming and... and I had to drink those damn milk shakes at the ice cream place whenever Robert took me into town, even though I hated sweets, because I wanted to spend every possible second I could with him.”
“You hate sweets?” Such a silly thing to focus on, but she frowned. “You came to a cake tasting with me.”
He gave a short laugh. “Yeah, I did. ’Cause I wanted to spend time with you.”
She shook her head, still not processing everything he was saying. “Why?”
He gave her a slight shake. “Because I like you too. And for the first time, I wanted you more than I wanted to keep my secrets. I told you things... I’ve never told anyone else. You know everything, Eve.” He lifted his shoulders. “And that’s scary as fuck. Because what if you hate what’s under that mask? I barely know what’s under there.”
She searched for the right words. This felt important and momentous, and she didn’t want to screw it up. Carefully, she placed her palms on his face so she could look directly into his eyes. “Do you know what I think I’ve learned?”
“What?”
“Lots of people have masks. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have those masks. Sometimes they can keep us safe.” She laid her hand on his chest. “I like your mask. I like what’s under it. I’d like to see more. Because I like you.”
He closed his eyes, as if he were pained. “Eve,” he said hoarsely.
