Accidental Fiancé
Page 97
"Exploits?"
Gabriel looked vaguely uncomfortable and took a long sip of his water, ignoring my question. The waiter came to the rescue again, setting a plate of tiny appetizers in front of each of us. I wondered if he was conveniently positioned so that he could swoop in at Gabriel's signal.
"So, how is Kathy?" he repeated.
The conversation had been reset once again.
"To be honest, Mom’s not doing very well," I said. "She's been sick for a while now and things were looking up for a little bit, but she's recently taken a turn for the worse."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," he said. "Do the doctors know anything?"
"She did some tests a few weeks back and we're still waiting to hear about those. Hopefully they'll be able to figure out what's been going on with her cancer and get her on some new therapies, but honestly, we're running out of options... and money. That's actually what brought me to work in your fine establishment. I really needed a job."
"Not because you wanted to work for me?"
He said it playfully, trying to put me more at ease.
"As much as I would love to say that I was so overwhelmed by the impressive work your company has been doing that I couldn't bear the thought of spending another moment working for someone else… no. Sorry. I lost my job. And even before that, I wasn't making enough to take care of mom."
"What happened to your job?"
"Well, that particular point is a bit up for debate. We'll just settle on the fact that they no longer saw themselves as a good employment opportunity for me. It was kind of a culmination of a lot of bad things."
"What happened?"
I took a bite of one of the phyllo-enrobed morsels on my plate and nearly groaned at the delicious flavor that filled my mouth. I was so distracted by it that I temporarily lost control of the conversation.
"A week before I lost my job, I also managed to lose my fiancé. I also lost my mind and might have thrown a peach or two at him, but I am fairly confident that my sanity has been somewhat restored."
"What happened with you and your fiancé?" Gabriel asked.
I wished I could shove all the elegant, bite-sized appetizers into my mouth so that I had an excuse to not answer him, but I got myself into this mess and knew that I couldn't stop now. I spilled the entire embarrassing story to Gabriel, finding it strangely cathartic even with the lingering sting of humiliation.
"I was really thinking about just becoming a hermit and giving up on society for the rest of my life," I told him. "But Mom needs me, so I don’t really have a choice. And that was what brought me to your office, even though I didn't know it was your office at the time, for an interview."
"Why didn't you tell me?".
I looked at him strangely.
“I told you. I didn't know it was your office," I said. "The name of the company didn't sound familiar to me at all. It was just an open position that I thought that I could make the most of, that is, if I could convince someone to hire me."
"No," he said. "Why didn't you tell me before? Why didn't you let me know what was going on with your mom so that I could help you out or at least get you a job?"
The humor drained from me and I shook my head, turning my attention to the next course that the waiter was bringing over. He really did have good timing.
"I couldn't do that," I said.
"Why not? I know you said that you didn't know I was back in town, but you could have found a way to get in touch with me. You could have reached out to my father. You should have known he would be able to find me."
"No," I said. "I couldn't ask you for help."
"Why?"
"I would never be that presumptuous," I said. "At that point, we hadn’t talked in years, Gabriel. None of this is your problem anyways, so you shouldn't feel responsible to fix it."
"I don't feel like I have to," he said. "But it wouldn't be presumptuous. Your family treated me like one of their own for most of my life. I would do anything to help you, Cherry... To help you and Kathy. You know I love her like she was my own mother. Just say the word."
"I know she would appreciate that," I said. "But I need to do this on my own. It's just the two of us now, and she needs to know that she can rely on me."
"Alright," he said.
The evening didn't really have a chance to rebound after that. We fell into a conversation that was almost as generic as the one we had in the car earlier. We filled each other in on what we had been doing the last few years without getting too personal or detailed. Neither one of us brought up Brent again. I could tell that Gabriel was thinking about my brother, but I wasn't going to talk about it. Brent’s death must have been as hard on Gabriel as it was on me, but he didn’t have a chance to work through the grief with a support system like I did. He suffered with his own demons from that night and refused to talk about what happened with anyone. He completely closed himself off from the world. When Brent died, it was like a part of Gabriel did too. Even now, I could tell that Gabriel has never recovered, at least not fully. Although I could see that same, familiar look of mischief sparkling in Gabriel’s eyes, it was dull and muted compared to what I was used to.
When we finished eating, he escorted me back down the stairs and into the waiting limo. I was glad that the evening was winding down, but at the same time, I didn't want it to be over. Not yet. It felt so good to be with Gabriel again, even if my stomach felt tight all evening and my heart had been pounding non-stop since I first opened my door and saw him there, waiting for me. I couldn’t help but think about the night he had turned me down. I felt like there was still a part of me that was that insecure, fragile girl. Part of me was still standing in that bedroom, in the lingerie that didn't feel like me, silently crying out to be comforted, to be reassured, to be loved. I was in so much pain and I was spiraling out of control. I thought that I would find what I needed to feel better in Gabriel's arms, but all he did was cause me even more pain that night. Even though years had passed, and the sting of his rejection had lessened, I often wondered what went through his mind when he saw me there, and what he was thinking when he walked away.
Gabriel walked me up to the door when we got back to my apartment. I felt breathless when I turned around after unlocking the door. He was standing so close that I could feel the heat of his body. I had been wondering about this moment from the second he picked me up. This moment would define the evening, and I still wasn’t sure what would happen here. He stared down at me for several long seconds and the unfathomable expression in his eyes made me feel like he was searching to find the right words to say to me, but failing. Finally, he reached up and ran his fingertips along the curve of my cheek and my jaw. He tucked his fingers beneath my chin and tilted my face up as if he was trying to burn it into his memory. Then he smiled at me softly, bid me goodnight, and walked away into the night.
See how Gabriel and Cherry’s story unfolds. Get The Wedding Proposal HERE
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