I could see living a happy life with Gabe. But I’m not sure I could handle it if he were taken from me like Mac was taken from his family. I think back to his widow, her tears on Thanksgiving, her cold, emotionless face yesterday at the Christmas dinner. I don’t know how she’s going on. But it’s clearly impacted her and Parker’s lives to have lost Mac. I don’t know that I could manage that kind of loss. Forcing the troubling thought from my mind, I focus on Parker’s counting and helping him with his snowman.
By the time our snowmen are built and decorated with the appropriate carrots, stones, and sticks, we’re all starting to shiver with the cold, so we pile back into the cars and head straight to the clubhouse for some hot chocolate.
Rather than taking the children into the bar side, which is appropriate during holidays but perhaps less so on a regular day of the weekend, we pile into the living area of the residential side of the club. I head to the kitchenette to dig out packets of powdered cocoa and boil some water on the stove.
“Who wants marshmallows?” I ask, finding an unopened bag that says it’s nearly a year expired.
From the cheers that come from the living room, I assume that’s everyone, and I tear open the bag, popping one mallow into my mouth to ensure they’re still good. Then I fill each cup of cocoa with steaming water and plop the marshmallows on top.
“Great idea, Winter,” Starla says as she takes two mugs from my hands. She flashes her warm smile, and under the fluorescent lighting, her scar running the length of her temple and jaw bone shines an angry red.
“I’m just glad I can offer a bit of hospitality after all you’ve shown me,” I say. Over the last few months, I don’t know what I would have done without Starla’s friendship. In a hard community of tight-knit, wary bikers, she’s the only one who welcomed me with open arms. Without her, I might truly have gone insane with the feelings of isolation and loneliness.
The double doors leading from the bar swing wide, and Gabriel’s tall frame steps through them. “Something smells good,” he says with a grin.
“You didn’t put in the hard day’s work of building snowmen out in the freezing cold,” I say as I carry the last two mugs out of the kitchen and hand one to Max. “So you don’t get any,” I tease.
“No?” Gabriel pulls me into his arms, crushing me to him as the mug of hot cocoa sloshes dangerously between us. He presses a kiss to my still-frozen nose, then my cheeks, and finally, my lips. “You’re all rosy,” he says, his ice-blue eyes sparkling.
“It’s freezing out there,” I say, pressing the mug of hot cocoa to my lips and taking a cautious sip. The warmth trickles down my throat and into my belly, immediately easing some of my chills.
Then I take a good look at his face for the first time. “What happened to you?” I demand, setting my mug aside to gently grasp his chin and study his face from all angles.
His lip has a split on one side, like someone caught him with a right hook, and the scrape across his cheek is already starting to turn purple beneath the skin.
“It’s nothing,” he says, taking my hands in his and gently removing them from his face. “I’m going to go clean up. Rough day at work. But don’t get too cozy. I want to take you out.”
“Really?” Excitement bubbles up in my chest. “Where?”
“It’s a surprise. I’ll be ready in fifteen.” Pressing a quick kiss to my lips once more, Gabriel departs, and I turn to watch him leave.
When my eyes finally leave him, they land on Starla, who’s smiling like a Cheshire cat.
“What?” I ask as I take up my mug of hot chocolate once more.
“Oh, nothing. You two are just cute, is all.”
Max and Jada silently nod in agreement, making the warmth of a blush climb into my cheeks.
5
Winter
By the timeGabe is ready, I’m done with my hot chocolate and sufficiently thawed out, and we both bundle up. Starla lent me enough gear to make it so I won’t freeze on the bike. As we head out of town, I snuggle tight against Gabe’s back, using him both as a shield and for body warmth at the same time.
I’m surprised at first when we turn down the road heading into town, and I start to wonder if he’s feeling like a bit of a risk tonight. Maybe another revenge plot he hasn’t told me about? But after how angry he got at me when the last one went sideways, I would be surprised at that. We drive all the way through town and head out to the far side, where he finally pulls into the parking lot of an Italian restaurant I’ve never been to before.
It looks quiet inside, but nicer than most of the places he’s taken me so far. I can see several diners sitting at their tables, drinking glasses of wine, which only makes me think of how I won’t be having any.
“So, whatarewe doing tonight?” I press as soon as I sit across from Gabe. I rotate my empty water glass in my hands.
“I thought it might be nice to do somethingnormalwith you,” he says, his blue eyes shining with mystery. “Something, any guy, might do with his girlfriend. Something you might have done before with another guy you’ve dated.”
I pout my lip slightly, demonstrating how much I want to know what he has planned. But secretly, I’m tickled that he would put that kind of effort into spending time with me. My curiosity is eating me up inside.
Taking my hand in his, Gabe strokes the back of my fingers with the rough pad of his thumb, sending a ripple of gooseflesh up my arms and a shiver down my spine.
“So, what’s good here?” I ask, glancing down at the menu.