Chapter 21

Ishould call him. Maybe I'll just text and find out if he still intends on coming with me to the markets. It's not a big deal, but I don't want to sit around waiting for him either. After five more minutes of debating on a phone call versus a text, I decide on the latter. I'm overthinking this whole thing. I'm aware of that, but I still can't seem to stop myself from analysing every word as I type out my message.

Me:

Hey, are you close by? I can meet you there.

I read the text and instantly delete it without sending. "Try again, Daisy. It's just a message."

Me:

Just checking if you're still coming? I'm about to walk out the door.

This time I hit send before I can talk myself out of it again. I slide my socked feet into my boots. The shrill sound of my phone ringing on the coffee table, where I had just discarded it, has me straightening back up again.

"Hey," I answer, trying to sound casual when I see Gabe's name on the screen.

"I'm sorry. I need a rain check on the markets. Something came up," he says.

"Oh. Okay. That's fine," I reply, doing my best to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

"I'm really sorry, Daisy. I can't get out of this thing. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You don't have anything to make up, Gabe. It's fine, really," I tell him. It's ridiculous how disappointed I am that I'm not going to get to spend the day with him. I do get it though. I don't need his attention to be on me 24/7. Honestly, if it were, he'd probably drive me up the bloody wall.

"I want to. Trust me, I would rather be going to the markets with you than doing what I'm doing right now." He sighs.

"What are you doing?"

"Shit, I gotta go. I'll call you later."

I look at the phone. It's dead. He disconnected the call. Guess he really didn't want to answer my question. I fire a message off to the girls. I think day-drinking is in our very near future.

Me:

I'm heading to the markets. Any takers? Also, who's up for some afternoon drinks? @El Can't wait to see your honeymoon tan.

It doesn't take long before their responses come flying in. El and Gio returned from their Fijian holiday two days ago, and I've been looking forward to seeing all the pictures I'm certain she's taken.

El:

I'm down for the markets and day-drinking. Anything to get me far away from this house really. My husband is driving me up the bloody wall.

Claire:

Can't do markets. I'm here for the day-drinking. Name the time and place.

Dani:

I'll hit up the markets with you and I'm so game for day-drinking! Why don't we go to Ophia?

Ophia is a little dive bar we used to frequent back in our college days. I can't recall the last time we went there.

El:

Hold on a sec. Let me make sure it's not owned by the family.

Me:

Is there anything in this city your family doesn't own?

El:

Funny enough, yes, there is. But I don't have the full list memorised.

El:

I just asked Vin. They don't own Ophia, so let's do it.

Me:

Perfect. Meet at the bakery, just outside the markets in twenty.

I get a love heart emoji from all three of the girls. Pocket my phone and grab my jacket and umbrella. It's Melbourne, and chances of some sort of rainy event every time I want to be outdoors are freaking high in this city.

My prediction is right. By the time I make it to the markets, the sky is grey and rain is drizzling down. Dani is already waiting under the doorway of the bakery when I walk up.

"Hey." I hug her with one arm while I perch the umbrella above us with the other. I worked too damned hard on my curls this morning to let my hair get wet.

"You look great. Did you dress up for me?" Dani asks, looking me up and down.

I'm wearing a black knit dress that stops midthigh with knee-high black boots. It's a little much for a weekend stroll through the markets, but I was under the impression that Gabe was going to be with me. And, yes, I did dress to impress him. I know I shouldn't need to do it. But, let's be honest, we have all dressed to impress our partners. Although I do think I could wear a potato sack and Gabe wouldn't care. He'd rip it off me just as eagerly as a designer label.

"I was supposed to be coming here with Gabe," I admit.

"Oh, so we're second best then. Where is lover boy?" she asks while looking behind me like he's going to suddenly appear. Then again, I wouldn't put it past him.

"No idea. He just said that something came up." I shrug, trying my best to play it off. Pretend I don't care. I don't. Not really. I'm just disappointed. That's all.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." El comes jogging down the sidewalk, closely followed by James and Dan. Her two bodyguards.

"You're not late. Couldn't ditch the tail?" I ask her.

El shakes her head. "Not for a lack of trying, trust me. Ever since… well, Gio has tightened up security."

"Good. I'm glad. I like knowing you're protected," I tell her.

We take our time looking at different little trinkets from each market stall. When we get to a second-hand book vendor, I take my time digging through the romance section. I pick up a book titled When It Raynes by Montana Fyre. Read the blurb on the back and smile. This could be exactly what I need to read right now. A dark mafia romance. So I hand the girl a twenty and walk off with my new book in tow.

"Why are you smiling like you just got the golden ticket?" El asks me.

"I just found a book I want to read." I flip the cover around so she can see it.

"Oh, what's it about?" Dani asks.

"It's a mafia romance." I grin wider, and we all burst out laughing.

"You don't think the one you're living out is enough?" El lifts a questioning brow.

"I'm not living in a mafia romance. I'm dating a businessman," I deadpan.

"Good answer. Gabe tell you to say that?" Dani asks.

"No, I'm just not an idiot." I shake my head.

Two hours later, we're sitting in Ophia with our first round of drinks, waiting for Claire. "This place hasn't changed one bit," I say as I take in the rustic interior.

"It really hasn't and, god, now I feel old." El sighs.

"You're not old."

"I'm married," she says, holding up her left hand and flashing the huge rock on her finger.

"We know. We were there," Dani says before grabbing hold of El's hand and pulling it down. "Put that thing away before we get rolled."

"Oh, please, like they're going to let anyone roll us." El waves at Dan and James, who are standing within earshot of our whole conversation.

It's a little odd, having them shadow us. El doesn't seem to mind at all. And I want to be able to hang out with her, so I'm dealing with it. If it were me being shadowed all the time, though, I'm not sure I could actually put up with it.

"I don't know how you do it," I tell her. "Being watched constantly."

"It's comforting," she whispers. "And if it gives Gio peace of mind, then I'm okay with it too."

Claire finally appears, and we order another round of drinks. "What kept you away all morning?" I question her.

"Don't ask," she says.

"I just did."

"Wait, you look… Oh. My. God!" Dani jumps up from her chair and points a manicured finger at Claire. "You had sex," she yells loud enough that the whole bar hears.

Dan and James exchange a look with matching smiles on their faces before their features smooth over again, and they reclaim the don't fuck with us vibe they've mastered.

"Shhh. Why don't you put up a billboard, Dani. Jeez." Claire covers her face with both hands.

"Dani, sit down. You're causing a scene," El hisses at her.

"Fine, but I want details," Dani tells Claire, who drops her hands and sighs in response.

"There are no details. I did not get laid."

"What happened?" I ask her.

"We've done everything but sex."

"Whoa, back this train up. Who is we?" Dani asks.

"Jack. I met him two weeks ago. We've done everything and I do mean everything except for actual intercourse."

"Why not? And where did you meet this Jack we're only just hearing about now?" I continue with the interrogation.

"He's… waiting for marriage. I met him at church," Claire whispers.

I look to El and Dani. Surely, I misheard. Because it sounded like Claire just said she met a guy at… church.

"When exactly did you start going to church?" El asks.

"When I followed Jack into the building. I don't know why I did it. But I saw him on the street and something pulled me towards him. I was curious." She shrugs.

"So, you're what? Going to church now?" Dani asks. "Not that there's anything wrong with that if you are," she adds.

"If you saw him, you would have followed him too. He's a pastor. Way out of my league," Claire says.

"Fuck off. No one is out of your league," I tell her.

"Thank you."

But our conversation quickly comes to a halt when three tall, dark, and brooding men in extremely well-fitted suits walk into the bar. Gio, Gabe, and Marcel.

Gio's eyes zone in on Eloise, and he heads right for her. Gabe looks around the entire place before he starts for me, while Marcel heads over to the bar. He greets the pretty bartender with a hug, one that tells me this isn't his first time at Ophia.

"Why are you here?" Gio asks El.

"Because I'm meeting my friends. You remember them, right? Dani, Claire, and Daisy?" El points to each of us.

"Why this bar?"

"Why not this bar, Gio?" she counters.

Gabe positions himself behind me, wraps his arm around my shoulders, and pulls me back against his chest. His head dips down and his lips press into that spot right behind my ear. "We need to leave," Gabe says in a low tone, so low only I hear him.

I look back, ready to argue with him. Tell him where to go. Until something in his eyes stops me. Instead, I nod my head and push to my feet before landing my glare on the girls. "Thanks for the drinks. I'll catch you all later."

"What? No. Gabe, you're not stealing her," El says.

"Let's move this party to our place, Ellie," Gio suggests.

"Why?"

His jaw tightens. "I'll explain later."

"I actually have to go." Claire stands and collects her jacket and bag from the back of her chair.

"Have fun at church," I sing after her.

"Oh, I plan to." She blushes as she pulls each of us into a hug.

"I'll come with you. Sorry, El, I have heaps of work to do," Dani says.

"What's the point of screwing the boss if you can't get out of working on weekends?" El pouts.

"It's because I'm screwing him that I work so much." Dani laughs.

As we're led out of the bar, I notice that same bartender watching us go. And see a sadness on her face I can't quite explain.