“Poor Billy,” she murmured. It was only then Gabe realized she’d been crying before they’d arrived, her eyes still a little red and puffy.
“I got this, Tom,” Gabe said, jerking his chin toward Elle. “I’m going to need to stick around for a few before I drive home anyway. I’ll keep Elle company for a little while, check the place out, make sure she’ll be fine before I leave.” He glanced at Elle, “As long as that’s okay with you.”
She blinked at him for a moment as if trying to figure out a response. Finally, she shrugged. “Uh…yeah. Sure. I guess that’s fine.”
Gabe stayed at the table while she escorted Tom to the door but started to get up when she came back into the kitchen.
She motioned for him to sit back down. “I appreciate you guys racing here to check in on me, but as you can see, I’m fine.”
“Why didn’t you answer when Tom called you?” he asked, taking another sip of his coffee. He offered her a wry grin. “Could’ve saved you the hassle of us barging in.”
“I’d turned my ringer off,” she said softly, her voice catching a little. “I was going through some pictures and didn’t exactly feel like talking to anyone.”
He frowned at her a little. “Not happy memories, I take it?”
She attempted a smile that he supposed was meant to be brave, but her chin trembled a little when she explained, “It’s the anniversary of my family’s death.”
Gabe cursed under his breath, feeling like a total ass. “I’m sorry, Elle. I didn’t know.” He drained the last of his coffee and got to his feet. “I’ll take a quick look at the perimeter on my way out.”
“Gabe!” she called after him as he limped toward her front door. “Gabe, wait!” She took a step toward him, her hand reaching out as if she might touch him, but then she let her arm fall back to her side. “Please…don’t go.”
Gabe held her gaze for a long moment, trying to determine if her offer was sincere or if she was just being polite. Even though he was still on the fence, he gave her a terse nod and took a step toward her, wincing a little.
“Here,” she said, taking hold of his arm and pulling it around her shoulders. “Is that better?”
He gulped, willing his body not to respond to the nearness of her, to the warmth of her arm wrapped around his waist, and cleared his throat a little before peering down into that enchanting, emerald gaze.
Holy hell.
Having her this close, pressed against his side, lending him her strength, felt a hell of a lot better than he cared to admit. Reflexively, his arm tightened around her shoulders, bringing her in closer.
Chapter 13
Elle’s heart hammered in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. Or maybe the difficulty breathing had something to do with the intensity of a certain aqua gaze boring into hers. Or the hard muscles of his chest beneath her fingertips where her hand lightly rested. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that she could feel his heart hammering, too.
Oh God. Not good. Not good at all.
Why, oh why had she bailed on that shopping trip with her aunt?
She’d witnessed Gabe putting the moves on women over the years and had lost track of how many times she’d rolled her eyes in those moments, wondering how the silly, giggling bubbleheads could fall for such a transparent act.
But as their gazes locked, what she saw there wasn’t the usual cocky self-assuredness she was used to seeing in his eyes. If she’d had to hazard a guess, she’d say he actually looked…torn. Or tortured. And unlike the tired come-ons she was used to, the uncertainty she saw now that he’d let his guard down was dangerously close to completely disarming her defenses again.
When that gaze flicked down to her lips, her breath caught, and the small shudder of anticipation, of longing, for the kiss that seemed to be just moments away no doubt completely betrayed the sudden and unexpected fantasies of where such a kiss would lead if she gave in. The heat she felt creeping into her cheeks made her drag her gaze away from his mouth before she gave into temptation.
To her immense relief, when she took a step forward, he followed, allowing her to lead him into the living room, where her photo albums and loose photos were scattered across the sofa, coffee table and floor.
She slipped out from under his arm and hastily began to clear a spot for him on the sofa. “Sorry. Let me just get these out of the way.”
“Is this you?”
Her head snapped up to see Gabe holding a picture of a little girl with red pigtails and a lopsided grin standing on a beach on a bright summer day. “No,” she said, looking away so he wouldn’t see the tears that sprung to her eyes. “That’s my sister Eve. That picture is from our family vacation to Sanibel when she was ten.”
“She was a cutie,” he said, easing down onto the sofa. “You two look a lot alike. Is this your other sister?”
Elle glanced up at the photo he held out for her to see. “Yes. That’s Erin at her First Communion. She died a month later.”
“I’m sorry.” Gabe’s voice was so gentle, Elle had to swallow past the tears to keep from completely breaking down. “I know what it was like when we almost lost Joe after he was wounded in Afghanistan. I can’t imagine what you went through—what you still go through.”
