“Go on,” Jayce said as he swirled his beer.
Gabe covered his eyes and mumbled through his hands, “I slept with her.” He removed his hands to take in Jayce’s reaction. Or maybe he should say his nonreaction. His facial expression hadn’t changed. He was just staring at his beer.
“Well?”
Jayce placed his beer on the table and smiled. “And I thought you had no game.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “It’s not a game, Jayce. She’s vulnerable, and I was supposed to be looking out for her. Instead, I slept with her. By the way, does that make me her boyfriend?”
Jayce laughed. “Man, you are clueless.”
“Give me a break. I know you slept with women before Kristine, and they didn’t all become steady girlfriends.”
Jayce stared at him for a few seconds. “We’re different people, Gabe. I let them know up front I wasn’t looking for anything serious, then left them laughing and remembering our time together fondly. I don’t think you can do that.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so either. And what did you tell women who wanted to see you again?”
Jayce shrugged. “I would say I wasn’t ready to settle down with just one woman. Then I’d compare them to one beautiful flower in a bouquet and say I couldn’t pick my favorite.”
Gabe mimed sticking his finger down his throat. “Yeah, that’s not my style. How about making up some excuse to disappear, like joining the French Foreign Legion?”
Jayce burst out laughing. “Is that what you came up with? I don’t think that would work for you…unless you do plan to join up.”
“I’d rather not.”
Jayce reached over and placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m glad to hear that. I’d miss you.” When he sat back, he added, “Frankly, you could do a lot worse than Misty Carlisle.”
“You’re right, but she could do a lot better than me.”
Jayce straightened his spine and frowned at Gabe. “What the hell makes you say that?”
“Have you forgotten what we are? I wouldn’t know how to tell her. You, Ryan, and Miguel all lucked out. You and Ryan wound up with women who had their own paranormal identities, and Miguel…he was really lucky to have found Sandra in high school. By the time they were ready to get married, she knew him well enough to know he would never hurt her or anyone else, no matter what shape he took.”
“And Misty has known you all her life. I understand your stumbling block, but it’s clear to anyone who has eyes that she adores you.”
Gabe hung his head. “Yeah. I’m screwed.”
Jayce laughed, then quickly schooled his features when Gabe glared at him. “All right, Bro. We’ll go for a very cold boat ride, and you can fly until you put some of the pieces together. I could do it for you, but it wouldn’t mean much. You have to figure this out for yourself.”
“Like Dorothy having to go all the way to Oz to figure out she’d rather be home in Kansas?”
Jayce smirked. “Something like that.”
“If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, there’s more.”
“I figured as much. What is it?”
“She might have MS.”
“Jesus. That’s horrible—for her. Is that what’s making you want to run?”
“Hell no. I’m not that much of an asshole. If anything, it would prevent me from running when I really want to.”
“So, what makes you think she has MS?”
“She noticed some weird symptoms. She even fell in my bathroom when she went to pick up something she dropped. After that, we looked at some YouTube videos. It sure sounds like MS.”
“Whoa. Diagnosis by internet?”
