She couldn’t look at him and turned instead to glance out over the water.
“Maddie?”
“I heard you.” Her voice shook. “I don’t really know what to say. Except we screwed up.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Why don’t we get back to the cabin?”
She nodded and stood.
The rest of the hike was again spent in silence, but this time Madison had no desire to break it.
Chapter Thirteen
Gabe volunteered to cook dinner, not ready to take on another one of Madison’s adventurous meals. She lay down on the couch in the living room, saying she’d wanted to try to get a nap in.
He watched her over the counter in the kitchen as he threw something together for them to eat. She seemed tired and stressed. And it’s all my damned fault.
She shouldn’t have to worry about this, too. The unprotected-sex slip-up. Not with everything else on her mind. Playing out his sexual fantasy on the lake hadn’t been an impulse move. He’d planned the whole thing. He’d even remembered to secure a condom in the waistband of his boxers. Things had just happened so fast, had gotten so hot and so out of control.
Damn. What if she got pregnant? The thought had gone through his head only about two hundred times in the last couple of hours. He knew what he would have to do, what his aunt would have wanted him to do. So why didn’t the idea horrify him more?
“You’re thinking about it again, aren’t you?”
Gabe just about dropped the pot of spaghetti he was in the process of draining and glanced back at her.
“Yeah. Are you?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t sit up, so he couldn’t see her face.
Her voice sounded flat when she went on, “I just want you to know that I’m clean. I was tested about a month ago for everything during a routine physical. You don’t have to worry about that part.”
“Same on my end,” he replied. “But that’s not what’s really worrying me. Are you on birth control?”
“No,” she replied after a moment. “I stopped taking the Pill because Bradley and I stopped having sex.”
The thought of her ex touching her sent a burning stab of jealousy through him. He ignored it. Focus on the present, Gabe, not her past lovers.
“So there’s a chance you could get pregnant.” It wasn’t a question.
“A little one. But I doubt it,” she said hesitantly. “I’ve never been all that regular with my periods. I should be okay…”
“But we won’t know until you get it, or you take a test in a few weeks,” he finished for her.
“I guess so.”
“Maybe we should talk about the what-if factor—”
“We’re blowing this out of proportion.” She stood and walked over to him, placing her hand over his. “Let’s wait until we know for sure. There’s no sense in freaking out this soon.”
He hesitated and then nodded. “You’re right. I’m just usually a lot more careful, and it’s pissing me off that I slipped. I’m sorry, Maddie.”
…
Gabe’s words reminded Madison of his casualness with women. Before, it had never bothered her, had even made him the perfect man to have rebound sex with. But this time it got to her, made her the slightest bit jealous. Scratch that, a lot jealous. You have no right to jealousy.
Gabe went back into the kitchen, but she could tell he still had thoughts about the pregnancy thing.
“Dinner will be ready in a minute.”
“I’m not all that hungry.” And she wasn’t. The thought of food made her stomach twist. “I think I’m going to go take that bath now.”
“You didn’t eat lunch, either,” he pointed out with a frown.
Madison shrugged as she walked toward the bathroom. Trying to placate him, she said, “If you leave me a plate, I’ll heat some up later.”
He seemed like he wanted to argue, but then nodded. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks.”
After locking the bathroom door, Madison turned on the faucets and began to fill the tub. Her hands shook as she tested the water temperature.
What if she were pregnant?
Madison started stripping off her clothes and sighed. She shook her head and climbed into the tub. God, they’d sure been stupid.
And things had been going so great between them. What had started as a rebound was turning into something more.
She grabbed a wrapped bar of soap from the side of the tub and pulled off the paper.
Denying things had changed between them was useless at this point. Her first clue had been the butterflies in her stomach, a sensation she’d assumed would go away after they had sex the first time. It hadn’t. It’d only seemed to intensify. All he had to do was smile and she got all atwitter.
And with each layer Gabe revealed about himself, the more of him there was to like, from his secret talent as a photographer to his surprisingly good meals. What would she discover next? That he was great with kids?
Kids…babies. Madison ran the soap over her body and groaned in frustration. Yeah, maybe things had been changing between her and Gabe. The key word being had. But there was nothing like a pregnancy scare to screw up a potential relationship.
…
Gabe woke first the next morning and glanced down at Madison, who still slept. Although they’d slept next to one another that night, they were miles apart emotionally.
Damn. He touched her cheek with regret. If only he could take away the awkwardness that had sprouted up between them. There were dark circles under her eyes, which wasn’t a surprise since she’d tossed and turned all night.
He got out of the bed and reached for his pants. He had to put the condom slip-up out of his mind. Obsessing over it wouldn’t change anything and would only make things more difficult between them.
“What time is it?” Madison asked in a drowsy voice.
He zipped up his jeans and turned to face her. “Almost eight-thirty. You can go back to sleep if you want. Sundays are good for having a lazy morning.”
“Is it only Sunday?” She sat up and yawned. “I feel like the robbery happened a month ago, but it was just on Wednesday.”
He nodded. So much had happened since then. In five days, they’d gone from having separate lives to being lovers who were living together.
“I’ll just get up.” Madison climbed out of bed after him. “I can’t sleep.”
Guilt stabbed at his gut again, but he pushed it aside and went with his decision to look forward and not back.
“I was about to head into town and hit the grocery store.” His mouth twitched. “There’s even an espresso stand on the way.”
“Oh, there is a God.” She moaned and ran to her suitcase. “Give me five minutes.”
…
As they drove into town, Madison stared out the window at the passing scenery. She smiled, a sense of calm overwhelming her. Maybe it was the enchantment of the beauty of it all, trees and untouched land everywhere.
“This island is beautiful. It’s so untainted.”
“Well, somewhat.” Gabe glanced at her. “Once you head up north, you reach the Navy base and every fast-food chain imaginable.”
“Ooo.” Her eyes lit up. “You know that sounds pretty good. I could go for a cheeseburger—”
“I’ll make you one,” he promised. “This island is too long to go in search of the nearest McDonalds. Besides, burgers on the barbeque taste ten times better.”
“We’re going to barbeque burgers when we get back?” She clapped her hands. “How fun. We have to get onions and pickles.”
“And breath mints as well, apparently,” he teased.
She laughed and looked out the window. What a relief that the tension from yesterday had faded. They were back to the flirting and having fun. The mistake probably still lingered in his mind, but maybe he’d done the same thing she had—decided to not think about it for now.
Gabe turned the
car off the main highway, and she returned her gaze to the road ahead. The grocery store was off in the distance with the tiny wooden drive-through espresso stand.
“Oh…” Madison sighed. She could already taste the fluffy foam of a latté with the strong bite of coffee under it.
Gabe laughed. “You sound like you’re having an orgasm.”
“It may be better than one.”
“Sounds like a challenge.” He grinned as he pulled up to the window.
“Hi, folks,” the teenaged girl inside chirped with a bright smile. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a tall, sugar-free vanilla, nonfat latté,” Madison said and glanced at Gabe.
He hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want a decaf?”
“Decaf? That’s sacrilegious.” She scowled, and her eyes went wide as she realized his thoughts had turned to the pregnancy scare. “Gabe! For the love of—”
“Okay, okay.” He raised his hands in surrender to halt her sharp response.
“And what about you? Can I get you something, sir?” the girl asked with a curious smile.
“Me, oh. Yeah…” He shrugged and looked over the menu. “If you could just give me a large cup of milk, that’d be great.”
“You just want milk?” Madison and the girl asked at the same time.
“Yeah,” he smiled apologetically. “I’m just not a coffee guy. Remember?”
“Nothing in it then,” the girl repeated. “That’s fine. I get that every now and then. Did you want nonfat or two percent?”
“Two percent.”
“All right, I’ll have those for you guys in just a few minutes.”
The girl went to make their drinks, and Maddie watched her walk away with a thoughtful expression.
“Why is it, nowadays, it’s almost required for a coffee stand to hire attractive young women in low-cut tops? Have you noticed that?”
“I’ve only noticed one hot woman.” He reached out to trace her mouth. “But she owns her own shop and wears some form-hiding apron instead of a low-cut top.”
“Hmm.” Madison grinned. “So you think if I showed some cleavage, my sales would go up?”
“Maybe the apron isn’t all that bad.”
“Cute.” She nudged him. “So you like just plain milk, huh?”
“Milk does a body good.”
“So they say. You must drink a ton of the stuff.” She ran an amused glance down and up his body, and their eyes locked. Her expression softened, and in the silence, they managed to communicate the needed apologies from yesterday.
He reached out and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Madison smiled at him and squeezed back.
“All right.” The girl returned to the window, holding out the two drinks. “That’ll be five dollars even.”
Gabe released her hand to take out his wallet. He handed the girl eight dollars and took the drinks from her.
“Thanks.” The girl’s smile widened at the tip. “You folks have a great day.”
Madison gave Gabe a considering look as he drove away, sipping on his milk. He was a great tipper, too. That was the next layer.
“How’s your drink?” Gabe nodded toward her cup.
Madison glanced down, having forgotten she was even holding it.
“Oh, let me try it.” She took a sip and gave a small shrug. “It’s pretty good.”
“Not as good as Sarah’s, I’ll bet.”
“Nobody’s are as good as Sarah’s,” Madison replied and frowned. During the past couple of days, she’d forgotten she was out a barista.
She hated to lose Sarah. Lord, she hoped they’d catch the Bandit soon. Hiring someone else was going to be a real pain.
“You’re scowling. What brought that on?”
She shook her head. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t know. Sarah quit. She’s too afraid to work for me anymore.”
“Makes sense,” Gabe agreed. “Why put yourself in that kind of danger if you don’t have to?”
“Hello. I’d like to be able to stay in business here.” She rolled her eyes. “If you keep supporting my lack of employees, my shop’s going to sink like the Titanic.”
“Don’t think of it like that.” He steered the car into a spot at the grocery store. “Think of it like you’re delaying your opening. When we catch the Bandit, you can reopen the shop and start making money again.”
She took another sip of coffee. “But in the meantime, I’m still making payments on the equipment and paying rent on the shop space.”
“We’ll have him within a week.” Gabe looked over and caught her gaze. “I know it, Maddie. This guy is not getting away. Are you struggling to make the payments?”
“No,” she admitted. “I have money put aside. I didn’t know how business would be initially.”
“See, you’ll be fine.” He touched her hand. “Are you ready to go get those groceries?”
Madison’s stomach rumbled. “You’d better believe it. I’m looking forward to that barbeque now.”
Chapter Fourteen
After they got back to the cabin, Gabe deposited the three sacks of groceries onto the counter.
“Hey, do you mind unloading these while I check my email real quick?”
“No problem,” Madison replied, already reaching into the first bag and pulling out the ground beef. This was so domestic, like she was the little housewife or something. It was rare that she went grocery shopping. Eating out was just so much easier. “Are you expecting something important?”
He booted up his laptop and glanced over at her. “I gave Brian—you know, my partner, the guy who was watching you on Friday—my email address in case they have any news.”
“Oh, right. Hey, if he wrote you, ask him how dinner with Sarah went.”
“That’s right, they were going to go on a date.”
“I know. It’s so cute.” She put away the gallon of milk. They’d had to compromise on one percent seeing as he declared himself a stout two-percent guy, and she survived on nonfat. “Did he write?”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Gabe replied. “Your brother did, though. Hold on while I read it.”
“Cool, let me know what he says.” She folded the empty paper sacks and placed them under the sink.
With nothing left to do, she grabbed an apple and went to sit on the couch next to Gabe.
“Well, damn.”
“What’s up?”
He set the laptop down on the coffee table and sighed, turning to look at her.
“Eric and Lannie moved up the wedding date.”
“Up? Are you serious? It was already a fast wedding. How up are we talking? And why?” She bit into the apple and held it up to him, offering a bite.
He shook his head. “Next month. Eric got word he has to go to Cuba in June for three months.”
“No, really? Poor Eric. And they’d rather bump it up than hold off?” Madison took another bite of her apple. “I’ll bet Lannie’s pissed.”
“He didn’t say.” Gabe scrolled down the email. “But they want us to meet them in Seattle to talk about some wedding stuff tomorrow night.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “We can’t do that, can we? We’d risk exposure.”
Gabe grew quiet for a moment. “There may be a way to pull it off. We’re not going to your shop or apartment, or even my place. As long as we’re smart about it, we could probably do this. We can catch a boat an hour or two before dinner and meet up with them, then head back afterward.”
“Are you sure? If you’d rather we skip it, I’m okay. I’m sure they’d understand if we told them we couldn’t make it.”
“I’m sure. In fact, I’m certain this was all Lannie’s idea, because Eric would never ask us to come if he knew it risked your safety.” He smiled at her. “But I think a little night out would be a good break for us. Besides, I’m sure you’re getting bored up here.”
“Are you kidding?” Madison sighed. “It’s been amazing. I love it here. It’s so relaxing.”
/> “I’m glad.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to go start the barbeque.”
She watched him disappear out onto the back porch and glanced at the open laptop. So what else did her brother have to say in the email? Did he suspect anything was going on between her and Gabe?
Biting her lip, she leaned forward and started reading. Yes, a slight invasion of privacy, but he’d just left it sitting there. She was halfway through reading it when her brows drew together in a scowl.
Besides all the details on the dinner, Eric had also wanted to warn Gabe about Lannie’s newest idea. An idea that involved setting him up with her maid of honor.
How ridiculous. Madison hurried and stood, not wanting Gabe to catch her reading his email. She shouldn’t have even read it in the first place. Now, she was just annoyed. But it wasn’t like she’d expected to find anything like that in Eric’s letter.
“How do you want it?” Gabe asked coming back inside.
“What?” She gave him a sharp look.
“Your burger. Rare, medium, well-done, on fire…”
“Well-done.”
Gabe reached into the fridge to pull out the ground beef.
“This’ll be the best burger you’ve ever had,” he promised, his grin pure arrogance.
“I’ve had some good burgers,” she warned, pushing aside the jealousy that had flared a moment ago. Gabe was with her for now, and she just had to remember that.
On his way back out to the porch, he paused to kiss her on the lips.
“If I’m lying, I’ll make it up to you later. Any way you want me to, mi vida.”
Madison raised an eyebrow. “Now I’m almost hoping it’ll be bad.”
He laughed and went back outside.
…
Monday afternoon, they were off the island and driving south on the freeway, heading out to meet Eric and Lannie.
Gabe looked over at Maddie, who’d drifted in and out of sleep during the drive over. They’d stayed awake having sex half the night, this time taking the necessary precautions. And even though she’d declared the burger the best she’d ever eaten, he’d still spent part of the night with his mouth between her legs. He loved the taste of her, the feel of her. She’d become his vice.
Grounds for Seduction (Seattle Steam) Page 12
