He reached for one of those tightly fisted hands, and he pried her fingers loose. Then he drew her hand to his mouth and kissed her open palm.
“You have a job, Mia. It’s waiting for you. It’s not going anywhere.”
She snatched her hand back like she’d been burned.
“Just go, Gabe. Please. I can’t do this. You’re going to get me fired. If you want to make it right, then walk away and stay away.”
She was precariously close to breaking down. Her emotions were so damn unstable. Why couldn’t she be strong? Why did she have to allow him to see what a mess she was?
She turned away, uncaring of whether it looked bad that she’d been rude to a customer. She had others to attend to.
But he sat there, watching her, his gaze steady as she tended to the other people in the shop. They came and went and still he sat there until she felt hunted. Stalked.
Finally she went into the back and asked Louisa for a break. She helped Greg with the orders while Louisa worked the front. An hour later when she ventured back up front, Gabe was gone.
She didn’t know whether she was relieved or disappointed. All she knew was there was a gaping hole in her heart she never had a hope of repairing.
When she trudged home that evening, she found a huge bouquet of flowers at her door. Sighing, she took the card and saw the scribbled note from Gabe.
I’m sorry. Please give me a chance to explain.
–Gabe
She had to bite back the childish urge to trash the flowers. They were beautiful, and she and Caroline would enjoy having them in the apartment. She would just pretend that someone else had given them to her.
She placed them on the counter and wondered why Gabe was making the effort. Why was he doing this? He’d been the one to say that a clean break was better. Why prolong it if he had no intention of making their relationship permanent? Like she wanted to go through this all over again down the road when he did get tired of her?
Talking with Jace and Ash openly about Gabe and his relationships had been eye-opening. She’d guessed or had a very good idea of how he went about them. But during their stay in the Caribbean, the two had opened up and given her details she hadn’t known before.
Gabe always had a contract with the women he was with. She knew that. What she hadn’t known was the frequency of these women and the shortness of his relationships with them.
It had made her realize that she’d been on borrowed time with him.
She was lying facedown on her bed when Caroline came into her bedroom.
“Hey, Mia, who are the flowers from?”
“Gabe,” she muttered.
Caroline bounced onto the bed, her expression a mixture of what the fuck and irritation.
“Why is he sending you flowers, for God’s sake?”
Mia rolled onto her back. “Oh that’s only part of it. He was here last night. And then he showed up at La Patisserie today.”
“What the hell? Why?”
“I have no idea,” Mia said wearily. “To drive me crazy? Who knows? I slammed the door in his face last night. Today I just ignored him.”
“Good for you,” Caroline said in a savage tone. “Want me to go kick his ass?”
Mia laughed and then leaned up to hug her friend. “I love you, Caro. I’m so glad I have you.”
Caroline squeezed Mia back. “That’s what friends are for. And hey, if you decide to kill him, you know I’ll help you hide the body.”
Mia burst into laughter again, her heart lighter than just a moment before.
“Hey, what do you want to eat tonight? I was thinking about takeout, but if you wanted we could go down the street to the pub and hang out for a while.”
Caroline studied Mia intently. “Are you sure? I don’t mind cooking for us if you want to hang here.”
Mia shook her head. “No, let’s go out. I can’t stay here and mope over Gabe forever.”
As Mia stood up from the bed, Caroline went quiet for a moment and then she turned her serious gaze up to Mia.
“Maybe he wants you back, Mia. Have you considered that? Shouldn’t you at least hear him out?”
Mia’s lips turned down in scorn. “I told him that if he ever wanted me back he was going to have to crawl. He’s not crawling yet and hell will freeze over before I make it easy for him.”
chapter forty-three
By the week’s end, Mia was at a complete loss as to what to do about Gabe. He was at La Patisserie every single day for coffee and a croissant and he never came in at the same time, so it was impossible for her to avoid him by working the back.
He was a constant presence that was fraying her nerves. And her resistance.
And if that wasn’t enough, he bombarded her constantly with flowers and gifts. At work. At home.