“I need to know that I’ll never find you again like that, Gabe. You broke my fucking heart. I didn’t think it was possible to be that scared, to be that decimated.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
I nod. “I know you have a sponsor, but if you’re thinking about having a drink, you call me.”
“I promise.”
“I mean it. I need you. Gabe and Lo, remember?”
“I remember. Sometimes I wish I didn’t.”
“Me too.” I nod and take a deep breath, inhaling his gorgeous masculine scent. Being in his arms like this, it’s hard to imagine I ever wanted to leave this space. It’s hard to believe I ever left him at all. Even now, there’s a magnetic charge between our bodies. I think there always will be. Nothing will ever change that. I’m always going to be drawn to Gabe Laurier, and he’s always going to be drawn to me. It’s just who we are. It’s how we’ve always been since the second we met. And despite what he does, despite how he breaks my heart over and over, I’ll always love him because I don’t know how not to.
CHAPTER SEVENTY
Gabe
Igrab Axl’s backpack and leave the house, locking my front door behind me. “Come on, let’s go see your mom.”
“Daddy? How come we never do Sunday breakfast anymore?”
Shit. I know it’s been coming for a while now, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for this conversation. “Because, your mom and I decided we needed a little break.”
“Mommy doesn’t like pancakes anymore? ’Cause we could make something else. We don’t have to have sugar.”
I take a deep breath through my nose to chase away the fucking lump choking my throat.Fuck. How do I tell him his mother is a saint, and I’m the one who fucked everything. “It’s not the sugar, Axman.”
“Then what is it?” He squeezes my hand.
“It’s me.”
“Mommy doesn’t like you, anymore?”
“No, that’s not it. Sometimes adults need a little break from one another.”
“Even when you love each other?”
“Especially when you love each other.”
“You’re not going to have a break from me are you, Daddy?”
I take a deep breath and let us in the back gate, and then I pick him up and carry him up the porch to knock on the door. Once upon a time I would’ve just walked on in, but she’s still dating Arturo, and I don’t think my fragile grasp on sobriety can handle walking in on him fucking my wife. “No. I’m not ever leavin’ you, kid.”
But I do need to talk some sense into your mother.That much is clear. My heart hammers as I set Axl on his feet and waitfor her to open the door. Is that asshole here now? Is he eating out my wife in what used to be our bed?
Finally, Lo pulls back the door, and Axl barrels into her arms. “Hey, baby. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Mommy.”
She crouches in front of him, giving me the perfect view of her little cotton panties underneath her oversized T-shirt.
“Sorry to wake you,” I say in a voice that’s fucking bursting with jealousy.
She smiles up at me. “It’s fine. I should have been up already. It was just a big night.”
“Oh, yeah? Hot date after work?”
Her smile disappears and she rises to her full height. It’s a hell of a lot shorter than mine, but Lo makes a fearsome and formidable opponent when she’s pissed, nonetheless. “No. I, um ... had to file an incident report.”