“Look at me. Really look, Layla. Look into my eyes. Do I look like I’m lying?” I tell her, my eyes staring into hers.
“No.”
“You know me, Layla. I have no reason to lie. I love you. And only you.”
She sighs. “I know, Gabe.”
“Please tell me you still love me. Even after all this bullshit. I’m the same man you know and love.”
She bites her lip. “I love you, Gabe. But I need time.”
She lifts me up, only to knock me down again. “Time for what, exactly?”
“I need time to figure all of this out. I need to figure out some things.”
“What things? Us? There’s nothing to figure out. We’re good together. So damn good,” I tell her, running a hand over my hair in agitation. I just want things with Layla to go back to the way things were. When we were perfectly happy.
“Long-distance relationships are hard work, Gabe.”
“I know. And we’ve been putting in the hard work.”
She shakes her head, then whispers softly. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
And my heart fucking shatters. “Are you breaking up with me?”
She shakes her head. “I just need time.”
If Layla needs time, then I will give her time. “I’ll give you as much time as you need. Please come back to me. To us,” I plead softly.
She nods. “You need to go.”
“I’ll be in touch. Remember Layla. I love you. And I don’t say that lightly.”
She nods and purses her lips.
And then I walk out of her hotel room door, my heart broken and bleeding.
CHAPTER 23
LAYLA
I’m sitting at my desk, trying to focus. But I can’t. All I can think about is Gabe.
“Put the man out of his misery,” Cora says, as she walks into my office. “I know you still love him.”
I shrug. I do still love him. It’s been weeks since I told Gabe I needed time to figure things out. The entire time, though, has been terrible. I’ve missed him so much! Now I see how wrong I was. My life with Gabe was everything I didn’t know I wanted. It’s time I tell him. And show him. He’s the man I want to be with. “I know. And I will. I just have to figure out how to tell him.”
She snorts softly under her breath. “It’s not that hard, Layla. Just tell him you love him and you’re ready to come back.”
“But what if he’s moved on?”
“He hasn’t, Layla. I can guarantee that. That man is madly in love with you.”
I let that sink in. If it was that glaringly apparent to Cora, then why did I hesitate?
“Don’t overthink it. Call him. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply, snapping her a fake salute.
