by T. M. Cromer
“There will be no more about-faces. Not from me. I promise.”
“Marry me, Margaret. Say you’ll marry me and complete my life.”
“What about the Jacksonville move? Did you take the job Allison offered?” She couldn’t keep the cattiness from her voice. The woman wanted Gabriel, and if he committed to working for her firm, the two of them would surely have a future problem.
His deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Sounds like you might be a little jealous of my dinner companion tonight.”
“Damned straight.” She poked his chest.
“I didn’t take the job. They promised me everything I could ever want, including partner, but I couldn’t seem to sever my last link to you.”
“What link?”
“Moving meant giving up this house. It’s where some of my best memories of us are.”
She went cold inside. For her, those memories had become nightmares.
“But I will,” he gently assured her. “Gordie can have this place, and we can build one of our own. Something new where there aren’t any ghosts between us.”
“I’m worried, Gabriel. Worried we’ll make love and I’ll freak the fuck out on you. I don’t want to hurt you or make you feel worse.” She inched back to look at him. “What if I really am too broken?”
He processed her words, and it was a moment before he spoke. “Don’t borrow trouble, Margaret. We’ll take it as slow or as fast as you need. And if we have to go to couples counseling to find a way past this, we will. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“And if I never fully recover?” she pushed the question past the lump in her throat, her mouth bone dry.
“Then I suppose we deal with it if the time ever comes. Right now, I’m content with the fact you love me and want to try.”
“Maybe we should shelve any major commitments until after I’ve put the abduction behind me?”
* * *
Gabriel knew it might never happen. Knew that Margaret was still struggling six months after the fact. Yet she was willing to take a risk, and it mattered that she was.
“I think yours is a reasonable plan,” he said gruffly. “Can I hug you, or is this all you can manage right now?”
“I’d like a hug. I’m not sure how I’m going to react to it, though.”
Tightening his embrace, he drew her down on his chest and kissed the top of her head. She remained stiff in the circle of his arms, and after fifteen seconds, he dropped one hand to her hip and stroked the top of her thigh in a light figure-eight pattern. Within a minute, the rigid tension left her body, and after another few, she tilted her head back to look at him.
“I missed this,” she said. “Simply being with you. No pressure to talk or be anyone but myself.”
“These are the moments I love best when we’re together,” he confessed. “It’s as if we’re of one mind and one soul. Corny, I know, but—”
Margaret placed an index finger over his mouth. “No. Not corny, and I totally get it. I feel exactly the same.”
He bit her finger, and she released a breathless laugh. When their gazes connected, a deeper understanding passed between them. Perhaps he was being fanciful, but he felt it to his toes.
“I will never stop loving you, Margaret. Not in this life, the next, or the one after. If we don’t make it this time around—and it’s my sincerest hope we do—but should we go our separate ways, then I’ll look for you first, next time.”
“You said that before.” She smiled, more of a mischievous smirk. “More than once.”
“Well, I did a piss-poor job of it, didn’t I? We both did by marrying someone else first. But it feels as if we got it right now.”
“I hope so.” She stood up and reached for her purse. “It’s getting late. I should go.”
“Stay.” Before she could protest, he settled a light kiss on her forehead. “Only to sleep.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have a meltdown if I wake… here… because of the room Don created… I… the nightmares still disorient me.”
Her uncomfortableness was painful to witness.
“Then I’ll drive you home. Let me get my keys.”
“Will you stay with me? At my house?”
He could tell it cost her everything to ask. “If that’s what you want.”
“I do.” Relief flooded her face.
“Come on. Let me pack an overnight bag.” He held out his hand and inwardly cheered when she clasped it.
“A weekend bag,” she corrected.
He grinned. “A weekend bag.”
Later that night, after she’d woken screaming his name, Gabriel soothed her as best he could. He carried her to the couch, bundled her in a blanket, and raided the freezer for the ice cream he knew he’d find. After grabbing a spoon, he sprawled next to her on the new sectional.
In an attempt at normal, Gabriel gestured to the L-shaped sofa. “I like this, by the way. It’s long enough that my legs don’t stick off the end.”
“I may have purchased it with you in mind.” She smiled around the bite of mint, chocolate chip he offered her.
Surprised, he looked around the room. “Why? You sent me packing after you assured me we were over.”
Her eyes dropped, and she cleared her throat.
“That wasn’t a criticism, love. I’m curious what made you consider a couch to accommodate my size.”
“I figured even if you and I could never be together, I could still dream.” Her voice broke as she spoke, and Gabriel was sure he could hear his heart echo the sound.
He shoved the spoon into the ice cream and placed it on the end table. Sitting up, he shifted to face her more fully and tugged on a loose strand of her hair.
“That’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever heard. And also the sweetest.” He sighed when she ducked her head to lay a butterfly-light kiss on his jaw. She rearranged herself to lean into his chest and grabbed the ice cream again. They took turns sharing. After a few minutes of savoring the feel of her—relaxed—in his arms, he broke the silence. “What was the vision Sammy saw?”
“Us, a few years down the road.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“We were hiking—you, me, and the kids. She said you stopped and tugged me behind a tree to sneak a kiss.”
He nodded. “Sounds like me. And when she described the scene, you knew it was our future.”
“Yes.”
“This is how she convinced you to give us another chance?”
“Yes and no. She suggested I should after I confessed we’d never been hiking. But it was the idea we could be normal again that got me most.”
“It was a vision of hope.”
She twisted to stare at him, wonder lighting up her face. “Yes! Exactly.”
“Here.” He handed her the ice cream. “Let’s do something truly normal and watch a movie like an old married couple.”
“Yeah, you’re going to have to drop the word ‘old’ from your vocabulary if you plan to stick around,” she warned.
“Duly noted. But you’re going to have to get over our age gap one day.” His eyes dropped to her ice-cream-slick lips. “Do you suppose we can try something else normal?”
She tilted her head and tentatively offered her mouth. The creamy sweetness of the Häagen-Dazs blended with Margaret’s unique flavor, and he loved that her tongue was cool against the warmth of his. The second she grew uncomfortable from their extended contact, he sensed it. Giving her a light bite on her lower lip, he stole the utensil from her hand.
“Stop being a hog, Margaret.”
Her breathy laughter made him grin around a spoonful of ice cream. He winked and picked up the remote. They would be okay.
He’d make sure of it.
If you enjoyed this story, be sure to check out Including You, book 3 in the Holt Family series.
From the Author…
Thank you for taking the time to read THIS TIME YOU!
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Also by T.M. Cromer
Books in The Holt Family Series:
FINDING YOU
THIS TIME YOU
INCLUDING YOU (preorder)
* * *
Books in The Thorne Witches Series:
SUMMER MAGIC
AUTUMN MAGIC
WINTER MAGIC
SPRING MAGIC
REKINDLED MAGIC
LONG LOST MAGIC
FOREVER MAGIC
ESSENTIAL MAGIC
MOONLIT MAGIC
ENCHANTED MAGIC (preorder)
* * *
Books in The Stonebrooke Series:
BURNING RESOLUTION
THE TROUBLE WITH LUST
THE BAKERY
EASTER DELIGHTS
HOLIDAY HEART
Books in The Fiore Vineyard Series:
PICTURE THIS
RETURN HOME
ONE WISH
