“I promise.” I smile, hoping like hell I’m right.
She lets out a breath. “Okay.”
“Shouldn’t you be used to hearing people fuck by now? I mean, you did live with Grey for some time. And from what I’ve heard, Ronnie did bring men around too.” I laugh.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy hearing it, least of all seeing it. I’ve seen and heard enough. If I can avoid it, I do.” She finally takes the handle again and swingsthe door open.
We step in, and in the distance, I spot Noah and Ronnie on one of the lounge chairs on the deck outside. Cuddling.Oh, thank God.We walk over to them, and once Ronnie sees me, she smiles with affection.
“Gabriel.”Fuck, I love hearing my name on her lips.
I lower in front of her, just as she reaches up to cup my cheek, sweeping my lips over hers. “Hi, baby. How are you feeling?”
I pull back and glide my fingers through her humid strands.She must have taken a shower recently.A quick glance at Adler tells me he wasn’t in there with her since he doesn’t have that freshly showered look.
“I’m good, although I don’t remember getting back to my room.” She giggles softly.
“Yeah, we figured you might be a little disoriented when you woke up. Have you been awake for long?”
She shakes her head as Noah answers. “She woke up half an hour ago and hasn’t eaten yet.”Fuck, I forgot to bring them back food like I said I would.
I smile down at her. “Are you hungry, Vixen?”
Her eyes glitter with excitement. “Starving.”
“Want me to make you something?”
She grabs onto my hand as if I might take back my offer.Never.I love cooking for my woman and watching the joy light up her face as she takes the first bite.
“Oh, please! I was a little bummed I wouldn’t be getting any of your special cooking for two weeks. I mean, other food is great, but it’s not yours,” she finishes softly, stroking my ego just right.
God, she’s perfection.
I cradle her face with my hands, grazing her lips with mine. “I’d cook every day of my life for you, Vixen. Any place, any time. If it puts a smile on your face, I’ll do it all for you.” I seal our lips together as she sighs with content.
I stand back up and walk over to their kitchen, looking at what I have to work with before getting to work on feeding my girl.
An hour later, we’re all seated outside on the deck. Ronnie and Noah have both eaten the entire platter of fresh fruits and sandwiches I made them. There weren’t many choices in their fridge and pantry, so I went simple.
“God, Gabe. How is it possible that even a basic sandwich tastes amazing coming from you? I make some like this all the time, and they don’t taste half as good. What’s your magic trick?” Ronnie asks as she shoves the last bite into her mouth.
“I make them with love?” I offer with a shrug.
Everyone laughs. “That sounds like something my mom would say,” Ronnie says, still laughing, but then it ends in a sad sigh.
“Do you miss them?” I ask quietly.
She looks at me and smiles sadly. “Yeah… despite everything that went down, I love my parents. It’s been hard staying away. This is the only thing I have left of them. It was my dad’s,” she says, touching her baggy shirt.
The mood instantly dims around us. I don’t know how Ronnie feels; I never had a loving relationship with my parents. But as I picture my friends, my newfound family that I love, if I ever had to leave them behind, it would devastate me.
“Why do you have to stay away?” Aubrey asks softly. Sometimes she’s so quiet and still that we forget she’s there. Like in this moment, where I talked about something Ronnie didn’t want people to know.
I look at Ronnie and mouth, “I’m sorry,” with an apologetic tight smile.
“It’s okay,” she whispers back from her seat beside me.
Aubrey looks at all of us, waiting for an answer. “Does it have something to do with whoever you saw at the mall?” She’s quick to put things together.
