“Coffee,” Gabriel said. “Thursday morning. Your coffee shop. On purpose this time.”
“Gabriel—”
“I know it’s complicated. I know we have history. I know there are a hundred reasons this is a bad idea.” He exhaled. “But I also know that every time I see you, I can’t think about anything else for days. So either we stop running into each other entirely, or we stop pretending it doesn’t mean something.”
The pause stretched long enough that he thought she might hang up.
“Thursday,” she said. “Eight o’clock.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Gabriel?”
“Yes?”
“This is a terrible idea.”
“I know.”
“And what are we doing?”
“Coffee.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
“I’m not pretending to know yet.”
“Don’t show up early,” she said. “I’ll need the full hour to talk myself into coming.”
“See you then.”
Gabriel pocketed his phone and headed for the conference room.
The Hartman meeting ran ninety minutes. He contributed where necessary, kept his head in the room, and didn’t check his phone once.
When it ended, Knox left without a word. Ronan lingered.
“You good?”
“I’m fine.”
“Knox seems off.”
“He’ll live.”
Ronan studied him a beat longer than necessary, then nodded. “All right. Catch you later.”
He left.
Gabriel returned to his office, closed the door, and checked his phone.
One new message.
Knox: I’m not going to be the last man standing.
Chapter 6
TESSA
