Jean-Pierre rubbed his chin. “I think she likes you. I can’t tell how much or how deeply. After all, she could’ve been pretending in front of me. But I had the feeling she genuinely feared that you might choose Aurélie.”
Gabriel’s body filled with an unusual giddiness. His arms and legs felt light like feathers. Tonight he’d heard from two people that Giada might have feelings for him.
Maybe it was true?
He jumped up. “Excuse me, Jean. I need to go and speak to Giada.”
Jean-Pierre winked. “Pas de soucis. If you bump into Aurélie would you send her back to me? I’ll bring her to the dance floor and try to cheer her up. She’s been counting on you choosing her, I think. But I’m happy you didn’t. I do need that position in her dad’s firm.”
“Sure, sure,” Gabriel murmured.
He turned and elbowed his way through the dancers. A strong body odor mixed with smoke wafting off the clothing of the people around him made his nose wrinkle. He kept his head high to reduce the stench and peeked over the crowd in the direction of the corridor where the restrooms were located.
It was empty.
Where were Giada and Aurélie?
He got to the door of the women’s toilet and stopped. He couldn’t step inside, but he didn’t have the patience to wait. His body was burning with the desire to confront Giada. He needed to know what she thought about their kiss.
He was just about to knock, when the door opened and Aurélie stepped out.
“Where is Giada?” he asked.
Aurélie shook her head. “I’m sorry, Gabe. She said she needed to leave. Apparently you did something that upset her. She didn’t want to say what.” She stepped over to him and put a palm on his chest. “At least now we can finish our conversation, right?”
Gabriel shrugged her hand away. “Not likely. I’m not interested to know what kind of plan you and my grandmother figured out. I’m not marrying you. And if you continue with this unacceptable behavior, then maybe even my good cousin won’t be that persuaded to have you. Go back to him and make yourself be forgiven.” He backed a few steps. “I need to find Giada now. Good-bye, Aurélie.”
He bolted to the exit.
Giada must be in a rage to leave him in the club like that. Did she go back to the hotel? He needed to go and apologize for the kiss.
Chapter 15
Giada threw herself at the hotel bed and let her sobs break out. She belonged in a madhouse. She should’ve never played with fire like this. She knew very well that her dream of being with Gabriel was unattainable. She was always going to be only a friend for him.
Why did she tempt him into kissing her? She should’ve imagined what a devastating effect it would have on her soul.
She pressed a hand to her chest. Her heartbeat was weak, as if the sadness had actually shattered her heart into pieces, and the broken fragments couldn’t perform their function properly. Tasting something so delicious as pure happiness and then seeing it slip away does that to a person.
Gabriel has forgiven me. He wants to give us another shot, but he’s afraid to tell you.
Aurélie’s pitiful glance as she’d pronounced these words stung, but it was the last phrase that had knocked the wind out of Giada.
Was Gabriel planning on lying to her? Pretending in front of his fake girlfriend?
If so, there was only one reason he would. He’d figured out what Giada felt for him and didn’t want to hurt her.
Aurélie said that she and Gabriel agreed to keep up appearances with Jean-Pierre and Giada till the planned vacation was over. Once Giada flew back to the States, Gabriel was going to break up with her.
A hysterical laugh escaped from her throat.
Break up? What a joke.
It had all been fake. She was the only idiot who felt any of it was real.
It would’ve been much easier if Gabriel had confessed to Aurélie that he and Giada were acting. Then he could just thank Giada for her help and be with Aurélie. But he probably didn’t want to diminish the importance of the very factor that opened Aurélie’s eyes about her mistake.
Me.
After all, didn’t Aurélie say that seeing Gabriel with another woman made her realize it was a mistake refusing to marry him? Giada buried her face in her palms. She couldn’t believe she was the cause that started this horrific chain reaction. And she’d agreed to do it willingly. If she had just stayed back in the States, maybe Gabriel would be still single.
But would that change anything for me? No, not really. He still wouldn’t want to be with me.
She wiped her cheeks and sat up.
The idea that she was the catalyst that prompted Aurélie to reconquer Gabriel’s heart made her feel like throwing up. She gulped hurriedly to suppress the unpleasant feeling.
She couldn’t continue crying her eyes out. Gabriel would come home eventually. And when he did, Giada had to be ready to talk to him. She needed to save her dignity. She needed to pretend once more, but this time only in front of Gabriel.
She sighed and stood up. She walked to the bathroom and switched on the light.
As soon as her eyes landed on the mirror, she gasped. She bit her teeth together and sucked in a big breath. She let it out. She repeated the process four to five times until her body started to feel like it actually belonged to her.
The puffiness around her eyes, however, would take time to recede. She opened the sink and rinsed her face. The cold water managed to wash off part of her self-pity.
She shouldn’t feel so sorry for herself. It had been a great lesson. Even people you think you know can deceive you.
Gabriel made Giada think that she was the only one he’d shared his troubles with. But Aurélie knew about his father’s problem, too. When did he tell her? Before they left on their trip?
She squinted, trying to recall what Gabriel told her about his meeting with Aurélie while Giada had been packing. He said that Aurélie had her moments, all-in-all, but she’s a good person.
That should have really rung an alarm. Maybe Gabriel already had his mind set on stealing Aurélie back from his cousin even before they came to Aix?
There was a knock on the door.
Giada’s muscles tightened. Who could it be?
Before she could go and check, the click of a key sounded and the door opened.
Giada barely had time to pull the bathroom door shut.
She couldn’t let Gabriel see her with red eyes. She had nothing else to save at the moment but her pride. Whatever else she did, her heart was lost forever.
Chapter 16
Gabriel stepped into the room, still panting after jogging the whole way from the club to their hotel.
The loud slam of the bathroom door made him pause.
“Giada, are you inside?”
There was a silence, but the sound of running water escaped from under the door. Maybe she was having a shower.
He took off his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt. It was sweaty from the run. He slipped out of it and threw it on the chair. He was reaching for a T-shirt when his phone beeped.
He grabbed it and saw a text from his father.
“Son, did you speak to Mother? Time is ticking, I need the money.”
Gabriel snorted. So typical. Only thinking of what he needed from Gabriel. Just like Mémère. It was no surprise those two couldn’t stand each other. They were in many ways very similar. His grandmother also only cared for her own ideas and plans.
How could she go around Gabriel’s back and encourage Aurélie to press him with his father’s misfortune?
He deleted the message without even answering it.
Tomorrow he’d call his mother and break the news to her. He was done playing the games of others. He had his own problems to take care of.
His eyes darted to the bathroom. The sound of water had stopped a few minutes ago, so why was Giada still locked inside? Was she avoiding him?
His fingers wandered to his lower lip as the memory of the
ir kiss returned.
She must have enjoyed it, too. At least it seemed like she did. But was it only a physical reaction? Or did Giada actually feel something for him?
His eyes glazed over and he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. He’d been staring at the door so intensely, he’d forgotten to blink.
The door creaked.
Gabriel jumped up. “Oh, hi. Did you shower?”
Giada’s hair glistened moistly, which deepened the dark hue of her tresses even more. She wore the same pajamas he’d seen on her before. “Mhm, I couldn’t stand the smell of smoke on my skin.”
He forbade his gaze from dipping below her face, knowing that the sight of her lean legs would only unsettle his stomach more than it already was.
Giada’s eyes drifted to his chest.
Right, he was still without a T-shirt. He flexed his back, hoping it would make his abs more chiseled. He was in a great shape, thanks to his work, but for the past month he hadn’t done much activity besides go to his therapist and take long walks in the park.
Giada fetched his T-shirt from the bed and handed it to him. “Here you go.”
He quickly put the T-shirt on and hopped on the bed.
Giada also sat down, but she kept a considerable distance from him, crossing her legs in a half lotus pose. “How come you’re home so early?”
Gabriel wrinkled his forehead. “I wanted to ask you the same question. You disappeared without saying anything. Aurélie said you were upset with me about something.”
At the mention of Aurélie’s name, a shadow passed through Giada’s face, but then she smiled. “No, no. She must have misunderstood. I only said I was upset. But not with you.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “Ah, really? Then why?”
“I got some disturbing news from Nathalie. The work in the atelier’s storage room isn’t proceeding well. Some of our material got spoiled. It’s kind of a mess. Plus, Greg needs to travel to his parents because his father had a heart attack.” She waved with her hand. “Long story short, they need me back earlier than I planned.”
Gabriel studied Giada’s face. She answered his gaze with a serene expression.
Was that really the reason she fled the club?
“That’s not good. But of course, if you need to return sooner, then we’ll look into changing our tickets,” he offered promptly.
She shook her head. “No, no. No need for you to come, too. You can stay. Maybe you’ll still manage to change your grandmother’s mind about granting you money. Or you could find someone else to lend you the sum.”
Gabriel snorted. “I seriously doubt it.” He shifted his weight so that his body approached Giada’s. “Listen, Gia’…are we going to talk about what happened between us in that alley?”
Her smile wavered and she blinked twice. She bowed her head and picked at her nails. “What do you want to talk about? Nothing really happened.”
Gabriel’s heart dropped. Nothing? What did she mean? Something very serious happened there. Something that turned Gabriel’s entire universe upside down. He was still pulsing with the vibrant memory of it in each of his molecules. He cleared his throat. “I don’t think that we should label it nothing.”
Giada slowly raised her chin. Her expression was hard as steel. “Okay, Gabe. Let’s call it what it was. A kiss. But it wasn’t anything special we need to worry about. We were joking and fooling around and somehow it escaped.”
“Ah, so that’s what you thought about it?” His ribcage seemed to crash against his lungs because they weren’t able to expand.
Giada folded her arms across her chest. “Yes, sure. Don’t worry, I didn’t see any deeper meaning in it. After all, you played spin the bottle as a teenager, right? Don’t tell me that you discussed every kiss you gave.”
Spin the bottle?
Disappointment snaked through Gabriel, taking possession of each part of his body. How could Giada say this?
His back felt heavy and his legs seemed to turn into lead. But the worst was the pain in his chest, as if somebody ripped his flesh open and tore out his heart. It was an ache that only someone in love could feel.
In love?
He grabbed at his chest. Was this what had been brewing inside him?
Yes, now that he thought of it, he had no doubt that’s what it was. He was in love with Giada. And Giada apparently didn’t consider him anything other than a friend.
Giada reached out and brushed against his arm, which was still squeezing the T-shirt on his chest.
“Are you okay?” she asked. Her voice sounded worried.
He quickly dropped his hand back to his leg and plastered on a smile. “Oh, yes. I am. Sorry, I was just surprised how easy it was to clear up this misunderstanding between us. I thought you were angry because I kissed you. I had all these funny apology verses composed. I’m glad I don’t need to make a fool out of myself and recite them.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t want to torture you like that. Giordano would never forgive me if I humiliated his best buddy like that.” Her lips pressed together.
Gabriel chuckled. “Don’t worry, you didn’t.”
You only broke my heart into a thousand pieces.
As soon as the thought came, he kicked himself inwardly for it. It wasn’t Giada’s fault in the slightest. She had done nothing wrong except be there for him when he needed her. It was all his doing. He was the one who misconstrued her affectionate but friendly ways. All the blame was on him.
Giada stirred. “Hey, Gabe. Would it be okay if we call the airline in the morning? Maybe they’ll have a cancellation and I could fly back sooner?”
Gabriel swallowed. His first reaction would have been to say no. He didn’t want Giada to leave. But perhaps it was for the best. He wasn’t sure he could endure more than one night staying in the same room with her.
Traveling back to his grandmother would be even worse, because he would either need to tell everyone about their fake arrangement or keep on pretending. With Jean-Pierre knowing the truth, the latter wasn’t even an option.
He nodded. “If you want, I can even try to call them now. They have a 24-hour hotline.”
Giada jerked back but then bobbed her head. “Yeah, okay. Now is good.”
After twenty minutes of waiting on the line, Gabriel got to speak to a happy-go-lucky airline employee. How could a person be this hyper at a call center? The guy searched through all available flights, and in the end, changed Giada’s booking to a plane leaving the next day from Marseille.
While he was on the phone, Giada gathered her things.
Was she this impatient to fly back? Was it only the problem with her atelier that made her want to go?
Gabriel studied how she folded her clothes into her luggage, while the guy on the phone finalized the ticket changes. Could she have lied to him? Maybe she was upset about the kiss. Perhaps she realized that it meant the end of the friendship they had?
“All is set, sir. Wishing Miss Biagi a pleasant flight.”
The dispatcher’s greeting tore him from his suspicions. He thanked him for his help and hung up.
Giada clicked her luggage closed and came over to him. “Thank you, Gabe. I hope I don’t create any problems with my early departure. You know, for the engagement party and everything.”
There was something weird in her amber glance. Was it a hint of sadness?
No, he was probably imagining things like he had been all along. She was just nervous about the flight. The image of Giada gripping his hand on the way to France flashed in his mind, and he reached out for her.
She twitched but didn’t wiggle away from his touch.
He took her hand between his palms and lifted it to his lips. He gave her knuckles a soft kiss and then let her go. “Not at all. Thank you for everything, Giada.”
She stared at him wide-eyed, her breath hitching.
For a moment, Gabriel thought she was going to say something, but then she just smiled. “No problem, that’s what friends are for.
”
Friends.
The word flew to his heart like a dagger. Why did it hurt so much? They’d been friends for over a decade. Yes, but now he wanted something more. He wanted to be for Giada what she had become to him. The love of his life.
Afraid that his voice would betray him, he pasted on a grin as an answer.
She stepped to the bed and slid underneath the blanket. “Will you switch off the light when you’re done?”
Gabriel did. In the dark it was easier to hide his emotions. He went to the bathroom and quickly prepared himself. When he was ready, he stumbled to the bed and got in.
He paid attention not to touch her warm body. He pulled himself to the side and turned his back to her. He listened to her breathing in silence.
Rhythmical and deep. She was asleep.
He raised himself on his elbows and looked at her. His gaze followed the trail of her soft neck, lips, and closely shut eyelids. His heart squeezed at the sight.
Would it have made a difference if he’d realized sooner just how special Giada was? Could it be that at some point in the past he had a chance with her?
These were futile thoughts. Only the present counted. And right now, Giada didn’t want anything from him. Tomorrow she was going back home.
Perhaps he shouldn’t sleep tonight. This was the last night he could see her like this, sleeping in his bed. He should use the time to imprint each detail of her lovely, serene face in his mind, so that when the morning came, he could live off the memory.
Chapter 17
Giada got out of their Renault and sucked in a big breath. As her lungs expanded, the tension in her neck subsided.
Ah, I made it. She got through the morning, lunch, and the entire car ride to the airport without crying once. There was only the good-bye left, and then she could abandon herself to the dark void she felt inside. She still had time before the flight to close herself in a bathroom and sob.
Saving The Brother's Best Friend (Gems 0f Love Book 4) Page 11
