Warm squishiness returned to my stomach as I absorbed his words. Watching Gabe, I knew his words were the truth. I felt it in my gut.
“Cut him loose, Trent.”
Trent stepped to my side. “Willow, are you sure?”
I looked at Gabe. “Talk like Tack.”
Gabe’s dark eyebrow quirked. “I want you to believe me.”
The voice and the Irish accent were a perfect match to what I’d heard on the phone all those times I’d spoken to Tack as he protected me from a distance. I was drawn to him like I’d been to Gabe when we’d first met.
Trent looked at me with confusion. “Who is Tack?”
I kept staring at Gabe, who was looking straight at me. “The day I went to the station and learned Alex was an undercover cop, Gabe, who I knew as Tack, put an envelope in my car, which lead me to Cocktails. After that we saw each other at random places or we talked on a burner phone Gabe had given me. He spoke with an Irish accent.” Weariness crept in as the adrenaline rush left my body. For now, I wanted to get away from this situation.
There was a touch of hurt on Trent’s face. Through everything, we’d become close in a brother-sisterly way. I knew we’d be talking about this more in-depth later. “He had multiple opportunities to hurt me, Trent. Multiple.”
Gabe’s intense face relaxed.
Exhausted, I continued, “Cut him loose. He was in my room undetected. He called me to let me know he was here and wanted me to see who he was. He never put up a fight and stepped around Andre to make himself vulnerable.”
After stowing his gun, Trent pulled out one scary knife. “If I even think you’re up to something, Gabe, I won’t ask any questions.”
Meeting Trent’s stare, Gabe answered him calmly, “I would never hurt Willow. I’d die for her. I love her.”
Whoa. My hands trembled slightly. I set the glass down on the table. Abruptly, I stood, wanting space. “I need to rest. I’m going to go lie down for a bit.”
This was all too much, and I needed time and space to think. With Gabe’s admission of love, I had been shoved into territory I wasn’t prepared to face yet.
Bed. Thoughts. Sleep. That was my priority for now.
“What do you want me to do with Gabe?” Trent asked.
Both men watched me as I answered, “Whatever you think is safest.”
That was all I had left in me. Quickly, I rushed to the door.
“Willow.” Gabe’s voice halted me before I entered my room. My name was spoken like a prayer.
For a moment, my eyes closed as his voice penetrated that place only he was able to. Do not show your vulnerability, Willow. I straightened my shoulders and turned to him.
“This is too much for me right now. Gabe… you deceived me repeatedly over the last month. I’m pregnant with your child. You have a twin. You went under a pseudo name of Tack who I felt something for, too. You promised you wouldn’t lie to me. But deceit is the same thing.”
“I’ll make this right.” The words from Gabe were a vow that bounced around and took root inside of me. He had spoken similarly to me before he had been deployed and when he was Tack. I gripped the door handle to restrain myself from running into his arms and feel his comfort.
I nodded and thought, I hope so.
Trent watched our exchange. As soon as the door closed, I leaned against it and let out a long breath I had been holding. The familiar charge was there between us. Even through the door I felt Gabe on the other side. There was no doubt this man was not the same man I’d been married to.
He was most definitely the man I’d fallen in love with.
I tossed and turned through the night. It was still hard to wrap my head around it all, but in some ways, many of Gabe’s choices made sense.
Alex played the PTSD and guilt card well when he weaseled his way into my life. Thinking back to it all, Alex talked and walked like Gabe. He had been Gabe except for his soul, which he masked. My soul knew Alex wasn’t Gabe. The feelings that had been there with Gabe and Tack were absent. That was why I had second thoughts.
I touched my stomach; thankful this child belonged to the man I fell in love with versus the monster I married.
But I was still hurt and furious that Gabe had taken away my choices with his antics. Gabe said it was to protect me, but there had to have been an alternative to the deceit. A twinge pierced my heart. Tack was there for me. When I needed someone the most, he had been there. That was hard to ignore.
The pregnancy.
Gabe had known I needed him. Inexplicably, I loved him. But, I was terrified of being hurt again. When I saw him this morning, I would have to reinforce my walls until I was able to sort through the mess.
All this time, Gabe knew he was going to be a father—that my child would not be fatherless. During one of our phone conversations, I had expressed this fear of my child not having a parent like me. He hadn’t said anything except that I would be a wonderful mother. My life had been turned upside down over this last month, leaving a path of destruction in its place.
Seeing the time, I realized we were heading to the hospital to see Carson in an hour. My heart physically ached not having my best friend to talk to about this mess. He hadn’t known about Tack, but I needed to tell him. Maybe verbalizing what had happened would help me get my head straight.
I glanced to the door, knowing I needed to eat. Gabe may be out there. What was Nonno going to think? Was he awake? Probably, which meant it was time to get up. Swinging my feet over the edge of the bed, I contemplated food versus chancing who was in the main part of the suite. I wasn’t ready to face Gabe yet even if Trent had let him stay. But at the same time, I hoped he hadn’t left.
First, I needed a shower. The heat from the water seeped into my muscles, relaxing me. All too soon, the shower was over, which meant it was time to face the music. At some point, Gabe and I were going to have to talk.
Maybe it will just be Nonno and me.
Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, I wiped the steam away from the mirror and made sure my blond sloppy bun looked okay. The cuts and bruises from the accident were fading, but still present, and I had dark circles under my eyes from the lack of sleep. I was a mess. I’d rest later when we came back from the hospital.
I headed into the suite, wondering where Trent made Gabe stay last night. Or maybe he was gone. I knew Gabe wasn’t going to be far with how protective he seemed to be of the baby and me. A small part of me wondered if he only stuck around to see if I was pregnant. A sigh left me. I knew that wasn’t true, but I needed to protect my heart.
Voices came from the kitchen. I paused to listen before rounding the corner. Trent was speaking about the schedule. I bumped into a lamp and the noise was easily heard.
Silence ensued.
Shit.
It was time to make myself known since my not-so-suave entrance had given me away. I rounded the corner and found Trent and Nonno at the table sipping coffee. Tingles raced across my skin and my eyes gravitated to the stove where Gabe was flipping pancakes—one of my favorites for breakfast. He paused his movements and took a deep breath as if preparing to face me.
Do not focus on how good his low slung jeans and T-shirt look on him.
He took two pancakes off and put them on the platter. The muscles flexed under his shirt. I was frozen in place as I thought about our first date. Pancakes were the meal he’d cooked for me after we made love for the first time in my apartment.
I longed to run into his arms and hear how everything was going to be okay. But, I had to keep my distance. Stay strong, Willow. The game had changed. Now, I was pregnant and I needed to make sure I understood his intentions.
Gabe pulled the remaining pancakes off the griddle and turned in my direction where I was still rooted like a fool. There was concern written all over his face. I forced my gaze to the counter. The room was deathly quiet.
“Morning, Willow. How did you sleep?” Gabe said, halting my perusal of the room.
I felt the
gaze of Nonno and Trent on me from behind. It was awkward to say the least. It was hard to miss as Gabe swept his gaze over me with a pained expression. I still looked rough.
“Morning. Not very good,” I responded rather despondently, hoping to keep my emotions hidden.
He nodded and watched me. I broke eye contact.
Part of my body screamed to be near him, but I ignored it and focused on my grandfather instead as I turned my back to Gabe. Some of the realities in my life were now falsehoods. What Gabe and I had been was real. The night before Alex died was real. The manipulations of love I thought had happened hadn’t. My head hurt. Having my feelings for Gabe reignite caused tears to pick my eyes. But the hurt won out. I rolled my neck to release some of the tension.
Nonno gave me a smile as I walked to him and gave him a hug. Was he okay with everything? I held onto him a little longer than normal, needing a connection to normalcy. His white hair was a little unruly this morning, which brought a smile to my face.
“Glad you could join us, baby girl. Gabe and Trent filled me in on what happened last night.”
Well, that was one way to address the huge ass elephant in the room. I tried to brush it off casually, but I still wasn’t sure how I was going to tackle this problem.
“Yeah, it was eventful to say the least.”
Apparently, Nonno was okay with what had happened, and Trent seemed fine that Gabe was here. I was a little shocked at how amicable everything was. What had Gabe said to them while I was sleeping?
Trent nodded my way as I took a seat next to him. Nonno sat at the end, which effectively kept Gabe from sitting next to me. I turned to Trent as I tried to block out Gabe as he walked over with the serving plate.
“Do we have any new leads?” I asked cautiously.
Gabe set the pancakes on the table. I knew they had bananas in them from the delicious smell. Banana pancakes happened to be my favorite. I bet there were nuts in them, too. He took a seat directly in front of me. His green eyes never left me. Maybe sitting beside him would have been the better choice.
I was a nervous wreck not knowing how to act with him. There was still so much left unsaid between us. So many questions. With him directly across from me, it was hard to miss his watchful eyes. I shifted my body toward Trent, who set his coffee cup down and took his time to answer now that everyone was silent again