He shakes his head. “Nah. It’s a bad idea no matter how I look at it. But just knowing what’s happening tomorrow,” he shrugs. “It’s hard. I don’t need to be there to know she’s moving on with her life and I really don’t want to spend my day stuck in my head about it.”
I get it, but I still think he should go. His mom getting married is no small thing.
“Any chance I can get you to reconsider?” I ask.
Pursing his lips, he considers me. “She doesn’t want me there.” I can hear the little boy in his voice, the one who’s been hurt by his mom, but who desperately craves her love and acceptance.
“She sent you an invitation,” I remind him. “I’d say that’s a pretty big indication that she does.”
Gabriel shakes his head, unconvinced. “Trust me, she doesn’t. Me going wouldn’t end well.”
“I’ll still be your date,” I tell him. “If you go.” Clearing my throat, I add, “I’ll spend the afternoon with you regardless, but I think we should go to the wedding. I’d like to meet the woman who helped make you.”
Gabriel’s expression goes slack. “You want to meet my mom?” he asks, his voice filled with disbelief.
“Why not?” I tell him. “You’ve met mine.”
His mouth twists into a grimace. “That’s different,” he mutters. “Yours loves you.”
My heart breaks at his words.
“She loves you,” I assure him. “Besides, I promised I’d go with you before and I’d like to keep that promise. We should go to the wedding. Trust me. This will be good for you. For your mom, too.”
“It will blow up in our faces.”
Rolling my eyes, I laugh. “It won’t. Trust me. Please.”
“You don’t need to convince me out of some misguided obligation,” he says, and I can see he’s grasping at straws, searching for a way out of this. “You’re not responsible for fixing shit between me and my family.”
“It’s not like that,” I say, my tone gentle. “We’re friends, and this is what friends do, right? They’re there for one another. Let’s go to the wedding. Let me be there for you. I promise nothing bad is going to happen.”
Gabriel nods, his expression pained. “Friends. Right,” he says, his tone guarded all of a sudden.
I feel a pang in my chest, a flicker of sadness washing over me. But I remind myself I can’t keep leading him on. If we’re going to remain in each other’s lives—something I’d very much like for us to do—then we need to redefine our relationship. That means being friends, and only friends. Nothing less and nothing more. We can’t tread water in the gray area anymore.
“Alright,” he says. “We’ll go to the wedding.”
Really? Good.
Relief sweeps through me. I know he has his reservations, but this is going to be so good for him. If I’ve learned anything from my therapist these past couple of weeks, it’s that the deepest wounds require us to experience the most discomfort in order to heal from them.
Going to his mom’s wedding isn’t something Gabriel wants to do, but it’s something he has to do if he's ever going to put their issues behind him and move on.
“What time do I need to be ready?”
Drawing closer, Gabriel cups the back of my neck and pulls me to him. I hold back the urge to melt against his chest, keeping my back stiff as his lips press against my forehead and he whispers against my skin.
“I’ll be here at four to pick you up,” he murmurs, his words sending a shiver down my spine. “Thank you for this.”
His touch lingers on my skin, searing me with an intensity I'm desperate to ignore. But as he pulls away, I force myself to meet his gaze, to keep my emotions in check despite the butterflies dancing inside my stomach.
“I’ll be ready,” I reply, my voice steady despite my nerves.
Gabriel offers me a small, grateful smile before turning to leave, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as he descends the stairs. Left alone in the quiet of my room, I give myself a moment to exhale, to release the tension coiled tight inside my chest.
It’s just a wedding.I remind myself.What’s the worst that can happen?
41GABRIEL
