Then There Was You: A Single Parent Collection

by Gianna Gabriela

  He followed Gigi out of the room. Just after he closed the door, he was surprised when she pressed him against the wall and kissed him.

  “I’ve missed you,” she purred, running her hands down his chest and along the top of his pants. She pulled the tails of his shirt out of the waistband then skated her fingers up his stomach. Leaning forward, she kissed him again, sliding her tongue into his mouth. He had to admit he liked the way she was taking charge, but he wouldn’t let her have all the control. Sliding one hand behind her neck, he dragged her closer to him. She whimpered into his mouth, surrendering to him once more.

  “I’ve missed you, too,” he said, breaking their kiss for the briefest second. “I’ve been counting down the hours.”

  Her expression sobered. “We only have a little over forty-eight hours left together.”

  “We better make the most of it then,” he growled. Picking her up, he threw her over his shoulder, leaving her head hanging down near his lower back. When she squealed in protest, he spanked her on the ass. “Quiet. We don’t want to wake the baby.”

  She stifled a giggle, but made no other noise. Once his bedroom door was shut behind them, he dumped her onto the bed. She was wearing those damn yoga pants again—the ones that showed off every one of her delectable curves. He tugged at the bottom of the legs and she slid the waistband off her hips.

  “Forgetting something?”

  Gigi smiled and removed her underwear also. Then without any further prompting from him, she took off her tank top and bra. She leaned back on her elbows, letting him drink his fill of her naked body. Leaving her was going to be one of the hardest things he’d ever have to do. Even in this short time, she had found a place in his heart.

  “Are you just going to stand there all night?” she teased. He watched, enraptured, as she ran a finger down her chest, circling one nipple playfully as she went. Max couldn’t get undressed fast enough. Kicking off his pants, he crawled up the bed and covered her. He kissed her gently, lowering his hips until he was cradled by her. She arched her back, lifting her breasts closer to his mouth, inviting him to taste. Not wanting to disappoint, he did just that; she gasped.

  Lifting his hips back, his erection brushed against her opening. “Don’t tease me,” she groaned, raising her pelvis to make contact again.

  Max smiled. “I wouldn’t want that now, would I?” He slid into her, slowly inching his way inside her body. Her hands traveled from his shoulders to hook around his neck, her eyes always on his face. When he was fully seated within her, he started the leisurely strokes that would ensure they would both last a long time. He didn’t want to miss a minute of this, and he certainly didn’t want to rush it. He needed to remember every single detail of how she felt, how she smelled, how she looked at him with such…love.

  “I love you, Gigi,” he murmured. He held his breath, waiting for her to reject him. It was too soon to be saying those words to her. They were also pointless, as he was leaving, but he had to tell her at least once even if she didn’t feel the same way about him.

  Gigi kissed him. “I love you, too, Max.”

  It was still dark when Max’s eyes shot open. Something had woken him, and he realized it was his phone.

  Where was his phone?

  Scrambling out of bed, he dug through the pockets of the pants he’d taken off and found his cell. It was his mom.

  “Mom?” he answered, glancing over at the clock by his bed. It was four in the morning, which made it about one a.m. in LA. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s your father, Max.” His mom’s voice was flat—the tone lifeless and devoid of any of the usual spark he was used to hearing.

  He sat down on the edge of his bed, feeling Gigi’s arm wrap around his waist and her head lean on his shoulder. He exhaled before speaking. “What’s happened?”

  “He passed away.”

  Max felt the ripple of the words striking his heart like a sledgehammer. “When? How?”

  His mom sniffled, the first sign that the wall she’d built up to deliver the heartbreaking news was beginning to crack. “He developed an arrhythmia after his heart attack. His heart muscle had sustained just too much damage and couldn’t stand up to the abnormal heart rhythm.”

  Gigi’s squeezed him tightly for a moment; it was obvious she could hear the other side of the conversation.

  “When?” he croaked. “When did he pass?”

  His mom’s shaky exhale was a lance of pain through him. “Ten minutes ago.”

  He had just one thought. “I’m coming home.” When his mom didn’t tell him not to be so silly, he knew this was what she wanted. She needed the support, not that she would ever ask for it. “I’ll call you when I have my flight booked.”

  “I love you, Max,” she sniffled before hanging up.

  “I’m so sorry,” Gigi murmured. She was still draped over him, lending him a strength he didn’t think he’d ever need.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “Me, too.” He patted her hand to let her know he wanted to get up. He had to get some flights booked to go home. He had to call Evangeline and let her know what had happened. He also had to make Brian aware of his change of plans.

  “Is there anything I can do? Anyone I can call for you?”

  Turning, he leaned down and kissed her. “Just look after Erin for me, okay?”

  She nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. He pulled on a pair of sweats and a tee then made his way into the living room. He didn’t have a laptop, so he opened the browser on his phone and started looking for flights. He didn’t even know Gigi had followed him out until she started filling the kettle.

  “Would you like to use my computer instead?” she asked.

  “Did you bring it with you?”

  She nodded, ducking back into the bedroom. She came out with a thin laptop and handed it to him. “The password is no sharing,” she told him with a small smile before returning to the kitchen to make tea. Max found a flight leaving at quarter past eight in the morning. He had only a couple of hours to pack and get Erin ready, but he wasn’t willing to get back to LA any later than that.

  “What time do you leave?”

  “In about four and a half hours.”

  “You’d better get packed then. I’ll take care of Erin’s things… Are you sure there’s no one else you want me to call?”

  He shook his head. “It’s too early. I’ll just send them a text now, and then call when I’m at the airport.”

  A little over an hour later, he was ready to go. He’d made sure everyone who needed to know he was leaving was in the loop and he had called a cab to take him to the airport. Gigi had watched Erin while he was packing, his mind running constantly through an internal checklist. The buzzer downstairs sounded, fracturing his thoughts. Gigi was up and at the intercom before he could react.

  “Your cab is here,” she announced, opening the door. She wheeled the stroller out the door, grabbing Erin’s small suitcase as she went.

  Max picked up the duffel bag he’d packed and followed her into the elevator. The ride down was quiet, but he could feel Gigi watching him. Outside, she’d kissed Erin goodbye then handed her to Max. When she was strapped into the car seat and their bags were in the trunk, Gigi threw her arms around Max’s neck and they just held each other.

  “Call me when you get in.”

  “I will,” he promised, kissing her one last time. “I love you.”

  She smiled at him, touching his cheek. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

  He nodded, a large knot forming in his stomach. What if he didn’t come back? He was supposed to be leaving in two days anyway. The apartment was empty of everything he had brought with him. Max pushed the thoughts away. His heart couldn’t take much more loss. Bringing her hand to his mouth, he kissed it then got into the cab.

  30

  Gigi watched Max’s cab drive away, its taillights disappearing around a corner too soon. The goodbye they’d just shared was bittersweet, but in a way she th
ought she preferred it to the one they would have had in two days’ time. This one was veiled with another kind of sadness, which seemed to eclipse the pain she felt because Max’s was that much more potent.

  She couldn’t fathom losing one of her parents. It was one of her greatest fears, but something that every child had to experience along this long road called life. Turning, she stepped back into the apartment building. The place felt so empty, knowing Max and Erin wouldn’t be returning. Walking the quiet hallway, she shut Max’s bedroom door behind her and breathed in the silence. It settled heavily in her lungs, making her feel as if she were suffocating. She re-packed her suitcase and then climbed into Max’s side of the bed. The scent of him lingered there and Gigi clutched at his pillow.

  She felt the first of her tears fall. She wondered how it hadn’t taken all that long for him to become so important to her. It made absolutely no sense at all, but she supposed it didn’t have to. He had become imprinted on her soul and she knew she would never forget him.

  Sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains, waking Gigi. Her eyes felt puffy and sore, evidence that she’d cried herself to sleep after Max had left. Grabbing her phone from the nightstand, she looked at the time; he would be boarding his flight. She got out of bed and staggered to the bathroom for a quick shower. She had classes this morning that she couldn’t miss, considering she’d skipped the one the day before. Once she was satisfied with the state of the apartment, she dragged her suitcase out into the hall. But instead of going to the elevator, she went just a few doors up from Max’s place and knocked.

  Jeremy looked surprised to find her standing on his doorstep. “Gigi, right?”

  She nodded. He did remember her from the club, then. Holding out her hand, she dropped the set of keys Max had cut for her into his palm. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now.”

  “Yeah, I did. Is he all right?”

  She shrugged. “He’s okay—shocked mostly. Anyway, I thought I’d give you my keys to pass onto the realtor since I won’t be needing them anymore.”

  Jeremy frowned. “Why won’t you need them?”

  “He won’t be coming back.”

  His frown deepened. “Am I missing something?”

  “You don’t know?” she asked. Jeremy shook his head. “Max was returning to LA on Friday. His boss found a replacement for him.”

  “Right.”

  “I’m sorry if I’ve told you something I shouldn’t,” she said in a rush.

  “It’s fine, Gigi. Don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure to get these keys back to the realtor.”

  “Thanks. I guess I’ll see you around.”

  He nodded and Gigi turned, riding the elevator down for the final time and stepping from the apartment building.

  Classes dragged by that day. Gigi couldn’t recall a single thing that had been discussed—nor could she summon the interest to care. She was functioning on autopilot until lunch when Alex tracked her down at a local deli.

  “Gigi, I’ve been trying to catch you all day,” he said, taking the empty seat beside her.

  She didn’t even bother to look at him. Her attention was firmly fixed on the turkey on rye in front of her. “Sorry.”

  “Hey,” he said softly, touching her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong.”

  “You know you can tell me anything, right?” he said, ignoring the way she’d just shrugged off his concern.

  With a sigh, she looked at him. “There’s nothing to tell, Alex.”

  “Is it the AMNH internship position?”

  Yeah, that’ll do, she thought. “Sure.”

  “They do second-round intakes, you know. Some of the people who applied turned down their offer.”

  “When are those positions announced?”

  He looked at the date on his watch. “In the next few days.”

  “Great.” Her voice was hollow. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Before Max, all she’d cared about was studying and getting a great job after university. Now her life seemed to lack color.

  “How about this,” he started, “to cheer you up, we can do whatever you want after the last class today. We can catch a movie, or get an early dinner. We can try this dating thing again.”

  She gave him a watery smile. “I appreciate it, Alex, I really do, but I’m just not in the mood. I’m just going to go home after last class.”

  He studied her for a long time before he gave a short, sharp nod. He turned to face the window. “I get it, you know.”

  “Get what?”

  “You brushing me off as nicely as you can. You’re seeing someone else, aren’t you?” She said nothing. “And I’m pretty sure it’s your boss.”

  Gigi stiffened.

  “And it’s okay,” Alex continued. “I could definitely sense something between you two when I came over.”

  She stared at him. “So why did you kiss me?”

  He shrugged, smiling bashfully. “I had to try, didn’t I?” He laughed, stood up and kissed her on the head. “Take it easy, Borello,” he said, Jen’s nickname for her falling easily from his lips.

  She finished her sandwich, and had every intention of going to her final class for the day, but she found her feet taking her in the direction of her apartment instead. Jen wasn’t home yet, giving her time to herself—time to grieve. She dumped her messenger bag on the floor in her room and went into the bathroom, running the bath while she searched for a bottle of wine in the fridge.

  By the time the water was ready, Gigi had poured herself a glass of wine and had it set up on the side of the tub along with her phone. It was two o’clock now, and Max would be texting soon. She was desperate to talk to him, to find out how he was. Undressing, she stepped into the bath, hissing through her teeth as the hot water lapped at her bare skin. She submerged herself, resting her head back against the bath pillow and closing her eyes.

  She couldn’t keep going on the way she was. Yes, she missed Max, but he’d barely been gone a day. The reality was what it had always been: he was always going to leave and she was going to continue studying and hopefully get a job at the Museum of Natural History. If she failed in that, then she’d try at another museum. New York wasn’t the be all and end all for her, but it was her first preference; she didn’t want to be too far away from her parents.

  If someone had asked her last year whether or not she’d be moping over a guy, she would have laughed in their faces. But things had changed. Along the way, she had changed. Her thoughts were jarred when her phone started to ring. Picking it up, she answered the call.

  “Max?”

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he replied. Just the sound of his voice soothed her and she relaxed back in the tub. “There’s an echo. Where are you?”

  “The bath.”

  “Fuck, Gigi. Why’d you have to tell me that?” he growled, his voice sending shivers along her skin.

  “How’s your mom doing?”

  Her question seemed to sober him. “I called her again before I left New York. She was doing okay. I’ve just landed at LAX. I’m going to go straight to the hospital to see her now.”

  “I miss you, Max,” she muttered.

  “I miss you, too, Gigi.”

  “Call me after you leave the hospital. It doesn’t matter what time it is.”

  “I will. Talk soon.”

  She hung up the phone and took a big drink from her wine glass. She wouldn’t let this speedbump in her life drag her down. It could very easily distract her from her goals in life, but she wouldn’t let it. She was better than that—stronger than that.

  31

  The funeral was three days later in Seattle. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his brothers, Max nodded at one of his father’s colleagues as they shook hands at the wake, accepting his condolences stoically. People had flown in from all over the country to pay their final respects to his dad and it said something about his father that Max hadn’t considered before: he was a well-respected and well- loved
man.

  Max, along with the triplets and two of his uncles, had been the pallbearers at the funeral. They loaded their dad into the back of the hearse, watching it drive off to the crematorium. It was his father’s wish that nobody attend that part of the funeral. His dad had wanted people to celebrate his life, not watch his coffin burn to ashes.

  “I’m so sorry, Max,” one of his aunts said in a soft voice. “It was such a shock.”

  “Thanks, Aunt Lucille.” He hugged her. “We’ll miss him.”

  She nodded and moved along the line, talking to one of his brothers. Max excused himself when another friend approached him to tell them how sorry they were; he was so sick of hearing the words. They didn’t bring his father back, and they certainly did nothing to ease his pain.

  But of course, that pain was two-fold. Leaving Gigi behind had broken something inside him. At the time, he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge they weren’t going to get another goodbye—that that was it. It was only when he was in the cab that it dawned on him just how much he had wanted her to come with him.

  It was too late, though—he couldn’t have asked her to just drop everything and travel across the other side of the country to go to a funeral of all things. To ease some of the pain, he called her every day and he found that as soon as he was off the phone with her, he wanted to call her back to hear her voice once more. It was insane to think that someone could have had such an impact on his life in such a short time.

  In the kitchen of his father’s house, he opened up the cupboard and found a glass. His mom had forgone the no-alcohol rule on account of the occasion, so malt whiskeys and bottles of bourbon were clustered together on the counter top. Max picked up a bottle indiscriminately and opened it. Pouring himself a healthy sized drink, he swallowed it all in one go, wincing as it burned.