All Good Things Exposed(45)

Damn right.

Coming for lunch.

Yay. See ya soon babe.

I slipped my phone into my purse, shoved my feet into my pumps and ditched the papers on my desk. I locked up the office and went in search of Gabe. I found him right where I left him.

"I'm going to head home for lunch."

"To Jace's?" Gabe asked. I knew his surprised tone was because Jace's penthouse was quite a drive across the city. Going there wouldn't constitute as a normal lunch break. Not that I was limited by the normal lunch breaks. I owned my own business. Taking time away was simply one of the perks…so Jaylah had said while we'd talked business during our first meeting. Her advice had been to hire someone who was trustworthy that I could count on in the event I couldn't be there. That was why I had Franco.

"No. My home." I stated bluntly. "My house." I restated the previous in different words. I felt I needed to clarify. Jace's house was Jace's house. Not mine. I lived elsewhere.

"All right." He stood. "I'll take you."

"I can get a taxi." I offered. I knew the hopefulness in my tone didn't go unnoticed by him. But, like everything else that didn't stand as a danger to mine, or Jace's safety, it flew right over his head.

He glared at me. "I'd like to take you. And, you know I have to."

"Fine." I said. "But, I can't invite you up. I need some serious girl time with Trisha. It has been too long."

"I understand. I have a daughter." Gabe reminded me and I smiled, following him out into the warm fall air. I was excited for my first full winter in New York. I couldn't wait for the first snowfall. Just the thought made me giddy.

"What are you smiling at?" Gabe asked when we were seated in the car.

"I was thinking about snow."

He looked mildly repulsed. "You like the cold?"

I shrugged. "I like every season for different reasons. I like winter because everything is so white and crystallized. It's just beautiful."

He grunted. "Well, aren't you just chipper today?"

"I am." I smiled. It must be the morning lay. At the thought, I chuckled to myself. And as though he knew by instinct, Gabe didn't ask.

***

"So how is this thing with Jace going?" Trisha asked as she burrowed her head in the back of the fridge in her reach for the mayo.

I shrugged. "It's good."

"Will you be staying at his place tonight?" She asked. "Or, will you just be moving in?"

I coughed. "I'm not sure. I guess it depends on Jace."

She straightened, shooting me a frown. "What depends on Jace?"

"Whether I stay at his place or not." Were we not talking about the same thing here?

"Oh," she feigned relief. "I thought I needed a new roommate already."

"What?" I scoffed. "As if. I've only just started seeing him again. Don't push it, Trisha. We didn't work the last time for a reason."

"And what was that reason?" She asked, plopping a fisted hand on her hip. "You never told me."

"It's not my place to tell."

"How isn't it?" She asked seriously. "I mean, if it affected you so seriously, isn't it just as much your business as his?"

"No. It isn't." I stated stiffly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, okay." She rolled her eyes. "What do you want to talk about then?"

"I don't know." I looked to the mayo in the hand not on her fist. "What are you making?"

"Sandwiches." She waggled her brows and I shook my head. "You need the carbs. You're still too thin. If you stay like this we wont be able to share clothes anymore."

"Is that a threat? Because I think its having the opposite affect."

She gasped. "Pardon me!"

"We don't share clothes, Trisha." I said as gently as possible. "You steal them."

"Oh, whatever." She huffed, turning her back on me to swipe the bread from the counter behind her. "Technicalities."

"Right." I laughed, unable to help myself. I spotted Moo-moo prancing beside me and leaned down to scoop him up, planting him in my lap. He immediately started purring as I scratched behind his ears. "So, are you seeing anyone?"

"Nope." She shrugged and I narrowed my eyes. That was a vague reply.

"Really?" What happened to the bouncer she was drooling over?

She spread the mayo over the bread and started cutting cheese. "I'm not really interested in a relationship anymore." She sighed. "I suppose I will just do me right now and see what happens."

"Good for you." This was a side of Trisha I had never seen before. I liked it…but at the same time, I couldn't help but be weary of it.