When I didn’t immediately answer, Gabe peered into my eyes, scanning them as if checking for a concussion. When he tried to hold his hand up to my forehead, I shoved him away playfully, laughing as I said, “Fuck off.”
He seemed to think that because he had an undergrad degree in biology and watched a ton of medical dramas that he was a doctor or something.
“I may not be a doctor, but I know something’s wrong,” he said, turning serious. “What’s bothering you, Fizzy?”
What was bothering me?
I was tangled up in fucking knots. I was grieving my best friend while falling in love with his wife. She didn’t have a clue how I felt about her, and I was about to spend five days with her on a romantic island for her sister’s wedding.
What have I gotten myself into?
I opened the door to the sauna, and Gabe followed me inside. We sank down on opposite benches, the heat seeping into my pores and making me relax. Gabe was silent, and I knew he was still waiting for me to tell him what was going on.
Maybe it was the endorphins from the cold plunge followed by the sauna—the startling contrast. Or maybe it was the warm, enclosed space that felt sacred, like a confessional. But somehow, I found myself admitting, “Bryn’s sister is having a destination wedding, and I offered to be her plus-one.”
He leaned back on his elbows, watching me. “Interesting.”
Gabe was the one person who knew how I felt about Bryn. He’d caught me smiling at a text from her on the jet one night toward the end of the season. When I wouldn’t tell him who I was texting, he’d grabbed my phone. His eyes had widened in shock and then landed on mine in understanding. He hadn’t said anything more about it then or since, but I’d figured it was only a matter of time.
Apparently, I’d given him the opening he’d been waiting for because he said, “Her plus-one or her date?”
“Plus-one,” I said in a firm tone, warning him not to push it.
“Holy shit.” A smile formed on his lips. “This is a golden opportunity,”
I frowned. “How do you figure?”
He nodded, and I could see the wheels turning. “Time to get out of the friend zone, baby!”
“I—” I shook my head. “You’re?—”
Gabe held up a hand. “Don’t try to deny it. And don’t try to make this about Derek either. He was a good man and a good husband. I miss him like hell, but that won’t change the fact that he’s gone.”
He’s gone.
Sometimes it was still difficult to wrap my head around that fact.
I knew Gabe wasn’t trying to be harsh or hurtful. He was trying to be honest. Even so, I didn’t want to talk about this anymore.
“I’m done,” I said, shaking my head.
Gabe continued, undeterred by my surly attitude. “No, Frasier.I’mdone. I’m done standing by and being silent. I can’t keep watching you tear yourself up over this.”
I clenched my fists. “You’re overstepping,” I bit out.
“Am I?” he asked, not willing to back down. “Because I thought we were friends. And friends are there for each other.”
“I’m in love with my best friend’s wife. Does that sound like something a good friend would do?” I growled.
Gabe slicked his hair away from his face. “The fact that you love her doesn’t take away from the friendship you had with him.”
“Doesn’t it?” I asked, more annoyed with myself than anything else. “Isn’t it a betrayal of our friendship? Isn’t itwrong?”
Gabe sighed. “If anything, it’s…” He seemed to search for the right word, eventually settling on, “Understandable.”
“Understandable,” I scoffed, my gaze focused on the floor.
I smoothed my hair back from my face, sweat dripping down my forehead. I grabbed one of the peppermint-scented towels and draped it over the back of my neck, hoping it would soothe my frazzled thoughts as quickly as it was cooling my skin.
