His cock hardened.
Quickly taking a seat, Gabe tried to hide the evidence of his arousal. He no sooner got comfortable than his mother said she had to check on dinner and asked Gabe for help in the kitchen.
He almost groaned aloud. That was never good. She liked to be alone in the kitchen when she was cooking, so she was probably cooking up something else altogether.
“Misty was telling us about the bank robbery.”
Gabe scratched his head. “Yeah. That was pretty frightening for her.”
His mother smiled up at him with her usual empathy. “It must have been pretty frightening for you too, darling.”
“Yeah, but only because I was worried about her. Thanks for that, by the way.” He crossed his arms.
“Excuse me?”
“You were the one who insisted I look after her.”
“And I’m glad I did.” Gabriella stirred the simmering pasta sauce. “She would’ve been all alone after that horrible experience if you hadn’t been there. She was just saying you got her through it.”
Gabe looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I feel like an idiot for pushing her into that vault and locking us in. She was concerned about her coworkers, and I was only concerned about her.”
Gabe’s mother smiled at him and put her arm around his waist. She had to look up at her six-foot son. “Someday, my darling, we’ll have to sit down so I can introduce you to yourself.”
His eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean by that?”
She stroked the side of his face. “Only that you are probably the most sensitive of my sons and the least aware of it.”
Gabe burst out laughing. “Someday, Ma, we’ll have to sit down so I can introduce you to myself. I think you’ve got me all wrong.”
“Oh, no. I’ve got you pegged exactly right.” She pulled his face down and kissed his cheek. “Now, we’d better get this food on the table.”
Gabe couldn’t help thinking about what his mother had said, even though it was ridiculous.Me, sensitive? That’s a laugh and a half.
As the family gathered around the table, Gabe’s mother directed the seating. Naturally, Misty landed right next to Gabe. That was completely unnecessary. He was acutely aware of her every move, every inflection in her voice. But now he had to smell her perfume too. She smelled like gardenias, in the middle of winter no less.
He tried to think of her as the same little girl he knew growing up. But he could no longer see her that way. She was someone he barely knew, but at the same time, he knew her too well. His mind was all jumbled up. With his mother pushing him toward her and Parker insisting he keep his hands off, he was doomed to make a mistake, one way or the other.
Shit.Dante was flirting with her. And he was glancing at Gabe for his reaction. He wished he could kick Dante under the table. But with his luck, he’d get the wrong set of legs.
He heard his name from her lips and pulled himself back to what Misty was saying.
“Gabe thinks I should find a new job.” She turned her face toward him, but her expression was impossible to read.
“That might not be a bad idea. What would you like to do instead?” Antonio asked.
“That’s just it. I don’t know what kind of job I can get that I’d like any better. I’ve found I’m pretty good with finances. I wanted to teach dance when I first moved back to the city, but when I checked out the dance studios, none I’d like to work for had an opening.”
“You could try again,” Gabriella suggested. “Maybe something has opened up.”
“Actually, I called around again and only found one with a possible opening. It’s in Roxbury.”
Gabe sucked in a breath. “No fucking way are you working in Roxbury.”
“Gabriel!” Gabriella exclaimed. “Watch your language.”
Noah, who was sitting on his other side, snickered.
Gabe turned on him. “You think that’s funny? I suppose you think her working in Roxbury is a great idea?”
