“Now you can take the girl out of the South but never the South out of the girl.” He chuckled as we walked towards the dining room where my mother had already set out his biscuit and gravy, along with his sweet tea.
“Hey honey,” my father greeted my mother, kissing her softly before taking a seat and spotting Kylie. “Well, I’m certainly one of the luckiest men alive. Just look at this table full of beautiful women. And what might I call you?” he asked Kylie.
“I’m Kylie Jackson,” she answered once swallowing the huge piece of biscuit she stuffed in her mouth moments before. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Miller.”
“The pleasure's all mine, Kylie, and please, call me John.” He winked before joining Kylie to dig into the meal my mother had prepared.
An hour later and everyone was stuffed full of food. Like I said, my mother was a feeder. We’d left my father and Kylie in the living room, trolling through baby photos of me, much to my horror, while me and my mother cleaned up the dishes.
“Honey, did you hear what I said?” my mother’s voice broke the barrier.
My hands were covered in suds as I cleaned the same plate for the last ten minutes.
“Sorry, Momma, I was in my own little world for a moment.” I sighed, handing her the plate.
“I asked what was wrong,” she repeated.
“Why has there got to be something wrong?” I said defensively.
“Sweetie, I’m a mother. I know when something’s wrong. Mothering instincts, you see,” she said, tapping her forehead with her finger. “What happened that made you fly to another state and visit your momma?”
Without warning the flood gates opened and the sobs just kept on coming. My mother placed the plate on the counter along with the towel and hugged me so hard I felt as though I couldn’t breathe.
“Oh, honey.” She sighed. “It’s that boy, isn’t it?”
I sniffled and pulled back from her, completely confused.
“What boy?” I asked, knowing I hadn’t told her anything about Gabriel… or anyone else for that matter.
“Gabriel.” She paused for a moment, grabbing my hand and leading me to the small table in the room. We took a seat and she took hold of my sud-covered hands. “He called me.”
“He did what?!” I shrieked, my eyes as wide as the damn plates we’d been cleaning.
“Calm down. He called me when you ran from some opening night. I can’t quite remember the name of it, but anyway, he told me everything that happened.”
“Why would he do that?” I asked. “Why would he call you, he hasn’t even met you, and how in the world has he got your number?”
“That’s… not entirely true.” My mother blushed. She blushed. My mother doesn’t blush.
“Momma, what’s going on?” I asked, arching my brow.
“Gabriel came to see me and your father a couple of weeks ago. He called us first to see if it was okay to come over and talk to us about you. Next thing we knew, he was standing at the door in the pouring rain, damn weather took a turn within minutes, the poor man was soaked to the bone. Funny, the weatherman, in all the years I’ve known, has never been rig—”
“Stay on track, Momma.”
“Yes, anyway. He came to the house and asked things about you. Nothing too personal but you get the idea. Then he just left.” She shrugged. “Oh, but not before placing an envelope in the mailbox. It had your name on it so I haven’t opened it.”
“Why am I only just finding out about this now?” I asked.
“Well, we’ve been kinda busy dealing with… financial stuff. We didn’t want to worry you and then adding Gabriel to the mix,” she said, bowing her head slightly at the mention of their financial situation.
“Momma, what financial situation?”
She sniffled a little before replying. “Your father had to close the garage, honey. He was barely making enough money to keep on the electric, never mind paying bills. Things have gotten a little... rough these past couple of months.”
My heart broke. My mother was facing financial hardship and I had been sobbing in her kitchen because of a man who crushed my world. I felt like a fool.
“I’m so sorry, Momma.” I paused. “But I think I might be coming home for a while. I can get a job at a Denny’s and help out. Try and get that gutter reattached.”
She threw up her hand to stop me before saying something I wasn’t expecting.
“I think you should open the letter before you make any big decisions like that.” She stood from her chair and left the room, coming back minutes later with, sure enough, an envelope with my name on it. “He’s a good man, Payton. You should hear him out. Remember, forgiveness is just as powerful as love, honey.”
She squeezed my shoulders and placed a kiss on my head before leaving me alone in the kitchen with a letter from the man who’d broken my heart.
I didn’t want to open it but curiosity, as always, got the better of me. Knowing my mother would keep everyone in the living room, I opened the envelope, pulled out a letter and read it.
Princess,
I never pegged you for a pink kind of girly-girl.
I’m waiting for you.
Prince G
I furrowed my brows in confusion. What the hell did that mean? I thought for a minute and the only thing I could come up with was my childhood bedroom. It was covered in pink paint and purple stencils of cowboy boots all over the walls.
Standing, still confused, I decided to walk to my childhood bedroom on the second floor of my parents' house. At the top of the stair case, I went to my door, the third on the left, and tentatively opened it.
I wasn’t prepared for what I found.
“Princess.”
My legs shook and my breathing quickened as I stood in the doorway of my childhood bedroom, still clinging to his letter and using the door handle for support. Standing in the middle of my bedroom was Gabriel. It was the lack of his usual attire that struck me first; the sharp suit was gone and in its place was a pair of low slung, dark jeans and a tight black shirt which clung to his muscles.
I quietly told myself to stop. This was the man who, less than twenty-four hours ago, broke my heart. That’s when I noticed his expression. It was one of pain and I couldn’t shake the feeling I had to hold him close.
“What… what are you doing here?” I asked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind me.
“I wanted to explain,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. It looked like he was trying to control himself and not reach out for me.
My blood started to boil at the mention of him wanting to explain his way out of the situation he’d put us both in. I didn’t want to hear his pathetic excuse.
“I don’t want to hear it, Gabriel. I’m tired, please, just leave,” I whispered, the defeat in my voice apparent.
“Look at me, Payton,” he whispered, stepping towards me.
I threw my hands up and took a step back, hitting the wall behind me as I did so.
“Payton, I need you to hear me out. Please, at least give me that,” he begged, deciding not to take another step.
I sighed. Deciding the only way to make him leave was to hear him out, I nodded my head. I could get through whatever kind of excuse he threw at me, then I’d order him out of the house and ensure he got the message that I never wanted to lay eyes on him again.
“I’m sorry,” he started but I shook my head.
“I don’t want an apology. I’ll hear what you have to say but sorry will never be enough for what you did.”
He bowed his head a little. No longer was the man I’d fallen in love with the one who could control the room, no longer was his presence dominating: this was a man who was just like me. Defeated.
“I suppose I better start with the day I married my wife,” he said, scratching the back of his head as he gazed at the floor. He walked backwards, his eyes unable to lock with mine, and took a seat on the end of my tiny bed. Unable to really move out of shock,
I used the wall to support myself. “Melissa was beautiful. She swept me off my feet within seconds of meeting her. Quiet literally. She liked to daydream and while walking down the busy streets of New York, she walked right into me, knocking me on my ass right on the sidewalk.”
I tried to hold back the tears but they fell onto my cheeks anyway. He hadn’t denied it. He was married. I broke a little more inside.
“We married a year to the day we met outside a damn Starbucks of all places. We did the lavish wedding: church, the big white dress… millions of bridesmaids. The fairy tale wedding.”
I cringed at the sentiment.
“We were happy. We were married for five years before the accident.” He paused, finally able to look me in the eyes.
My heart stopped and I couldn’t stop the tears from coming as I stared into his dark depths. But instead of the usual deep, dark hue, they were lighter. I couldn’t tell if it was the sunlight filtering through my bedroom window and causing them to be a little lighter, or if they did that anyway. Either way, for the first time, I felt like I was finally seeing the real Gabriel Black.
“We were on the way to my parents' cabin for the Valentine's Day weekend but it’d started snowing. A huge blizzard caught everyone by surprise and my wife was caught in the middle of it after she insisted she had to go to the pharmacy to pick something up before we left. The last time we spoke she told me she had something to tell me but couldn’t say until we got to the cabin. I never saw my wife again.”
A silent sob escaped my lips at the realization of what he was telling me. His wife was dead.
“Oh my god,” I whispered, throwing my hands over my mouth to stop the sobs from breaking the silence. Watching as a single tear descended down his right cheek. Then he carried on.
“She was a couple weeks pregnant at the time.” He paused, clearing his throat. “A truck lost con-control.”
The moment he stuttered, I left the support of the wall and sat beside him. Next, I did something I thought I’d never do, not with him at least. I threw my arms around his neck and started to stroke the thick locks of his hair in comfort.
“You don’t have to say any more,” I whispered.
“No.” He sat up, wiping his nose. “You need to know everything.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“After the accident was when I took down all the photos in my apartment and moved into one of my hotels. The photos are in storage, most of them are of me and Melissa. Others are of my father and my family. I couldn’t look at them so I hid them away.”
“Can you explain Kate?” I asked, trying to pull him away from the clearly painful subject of his wife.
“Kate was Melissa’s sister.” He paused. “She’s my sister-in-law. She and her family blamed me for the accident. They said it should’ve been me in that car, if only I’d been charming and a real man and told her I’d go and get what she needed for her. Melissa was stubborn.” He sighed. “I think you would’ve got on well.”
“Why was Kate always so mean towards me? It makes no sense.” I said, recounting the times when I thought Kate was the devil… or an ogre. Either one was appropriate.
“The nightclubs were getting bigger with every opening and I knew I needed someone to head up the PR side. So I went to Kate. I still felt guilty for Melissa’s death, and they made me feel like I owed them something. But she sent you instead.”
“Oh my god.” I gasped. “She knew, didn’t she?”
It all became clear. She knew about me and Gabriel. She knew we were fighting back feelings, or at least I was fighting against my own.
He nodded.
“Yeah, she knew from the moment I called her after our meeting to tell her I wanted you to handle the account. She saw what was happening between us. Though never disclosed or seen, she just knew.”
Turning to face me, he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“It’s the secrecy that hurt more than anything, Gabriel. I told you things about me I hadn’t told anyone, other than Kylie and Quinn. It hurt, Gabriel. It really hurt me.”
“I’m so sorry, princess,” he whispered, moving a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“I don’t think I could ever be with a man who held something like that back, Gabriel. I don’t ever want to feel like that again. My heart couldn’t take it,” I said quietly, standing from the bed.
“Do you know why I was here a couple of weeks ago?” he asked out of nowhere.
I shook my head as I stood in front of him.
“I spoke to your parents for a reason. That reason would lead to my past being revealed to you, I just didn’t think my past would creep up on me sooner than I planned. I knew the minute you’d find out about it, you’d run here. That’s why I left the envelope.”
“What are you saying, Gabriel?”
“Payton, I came to your parents' house to ask your father for his blessing.”
“I… YOU… WHAT?” I stammered, trying to process what on Earth he’d just told me.
“I asked your father for his blessing. I want to marry you, Payton. I want you to be my wife,” he said, standing from the bed. “I need you in my life.”
“Gabriel—” He shook his head.
“Do you need me to beg? For you, princess, I’ll beg.” He arched his brow. “No doubt to your amusement, but I’ll beg.”
“Gabriel, you kept something from me, something that would change everything. You lied to me,” I whispered.
“I’ve known love, Payton. I’ve been there with Melissa. The highs, the lows and the moments you’ll always remember. But with you... it’s never felt like this. Fuck, it’s never felt so damn good. Payton, I love you. I love your sass, your stubbornness, your brashness, your need to put others before yourself, the way you drive me crazy, how you call me out on my bullshit. I love you because of those things and so many more. You challenge me, you’re not afraid to work hard, your cowboy boots, the way your Southern accent appears when you’re angry, and you call me Mr. Black.”
My tears were flowing freely now down my face as I stared at him in shock. He’d just declared his love for me. This man loved me. Could I really trust him after he crushed me so deeply?
“You hurt me,” I whimpered.
“And I’m so sorry, princess,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight. “I’m so sorry.”
I allowed myself to hold onto him, to feel the warmth which radiated from him as he held me close. Then I was hit with a familiar scent: autumn rain. I inhaled deeply as the scent invaded my senses and I realized why I was so addicted to his scent. It was the smell of Kentucky I could never put my finger on, the scent that’s evaded me since I lived in the small town. He smelt like home.
My grip tightened as he bowed his head, his lips a breath away from my ear and whispered, “Fairy tales exist, princess.”
“Fairy tales are for morons,” I whispered.
“Then I guess we’re morons.” He laughed, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
We stayed in an embrace for what felt like hours but was only minutes, just holding onto each other as both of our worst fears had come to light: him breaking my heart and me running away the moment I found out about his past.
I still couldn’t really get my head around it. Gabriel had been married; he’d been married for five years to Melissa. Then I thought about the tragedy following. He’d lost the woman he loved and was blamed by her family for it, and through it all, he still asked his sister-in-law to run the PR side of his business out of, what he thought was, obligation. He was hurting just as much as I was.
“I’m sorry about your wife,” I whispered. “I’m sorry about Melissa.”
“Thank you. I know I hurt you and I’m sorry. I was going to tell you after the opening, I swear. Kate caught me off guard with her usual confrontational guilt. You were never meant to hear that conversation.”
“I believe you.” I sighed, remembering what had happened in his office. “I can’t bel
ieve I told her to stick her job up her ass.”
“I believe it was 'stick your job up your implanted ass.'” He chuckled warmly. “I was so proud of you for that.”
I looked at him. “For becoming financially unstable? Gabriel, you know I can’t go back to New York, right?”
“What’s stopping you?”
“I have no job, so I can’t cover the rent on the apartment. I can’t go back without a place to stay or a job to cover it.” I paused, wondering what the hell I was going to do. “I think I’m going to stay here for a while. You know, help Momma and Daddy with the house. I’ll get a job at the local bar and help them out with the bills. I’m sorry, Gabriel, I’m not coming back.”
“You’re going to probably slap me for saying this, but you are fully aware of my financial situation, right?” he said, arching a brow. “Payton, I’ve already got contractors on their way over here to help your parents.”
“What?!” I shrieked, looking at him as if he’d just grown two heads and was really a woman. “Why would you do that?”
“Why do I do anything when it comes to you?” He shrugged. “Because that’s what you do when you’re so deeply in love with someone and you want to spend the rest of your life with them. You’re it for me, Payton. You’re my princess and with that comes your family, not to mention your friends.”
“Gabriel,” I whispered, “What have you done?”
“I’ve spoken to your parents. They don’t want to move out of the home they raised you in, so I suggested… expanding it. Although the house is small, they have an acre of land that they can use. The contractors should be here in a couple of hours to discuss it with your parents. They have full rein on what they want, although I know whatever they want will be with taste and modesty. They’re fully aware there is no budget.”
“Then there’s Quinn.” He laughed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “He’s your best friend, princess, and like us all, he has a dream. You know which dream I’m referring to, right?”
“Vogue.”
“Yeah, Vogue.” He chuckled. “I have a good relationship with the editor in chief of the magazine since I’d been asked to do some fashion shots with Gucci's business line a couple of times. I told her about Quinn’s skills in hair and makeup. He starts next week.”
Once Upon A Time Page 22
