Chapter 13

13

CALEB

S omething is up with Gabriella, she’s acting differently, and it's driving me crazy. There is a distance between us. And it’s not me that’s placed it there. I felt the difference when we returned home and began putting the finishing touches on the living room.

She had been incredibly excited about this particular tree, but that excitement has now faded. We didn’t even get to it. We got everything unpacked and ready, but then Gabriella said she was tired, so I got us dinner before she soaked in the bath. Then she passed out while we watched another holiday movie.

This is the quietest she’s been since I met her. Usually, I’m a big fan of people not talking to me, but it’s the opposite when it comes to her. Her silence is fucking torture. It’s all I could think about while we watched the movie. I don't remember anything about it. All my attention had been on her.

I’m used to solving problems. That's how I earned my wealth. I often take over companies and either make them thrive or rip them into parts and sell them off. Now I stand in the doorway of one of the spare bedrooms, watching a couple of girls do Gabriella’s hair and makeup.

I wasn’t too keen on the idea of having people in our home, but I am less keen on the idea of Gabriella going somewhere. Especially with how things have felt off. I knew I didn’t want anyone in our bedroom, so this was really the only option. She doesn’t notice me standing there. Even now, I can sense the tension in her body. There’s worry etched on her beautiful face.

I have to fix this.

“Would you like us to help you get dressed?” one of the girls asks Gabriella.

“I’ve got it,” I say, cutting in.

Gabriella gives me a smile, but it doesn’t meet her eyes. Her full lips are painted a deep red, making her eyes stand out even more. They didn’t overdo her makeup, only seeming to highlight her features.

It’s quiet while the girls pack up. Gabriella isn’t her chipper self. When I return, she’s still in the spare room.

“Hey.” I clear the space between us.

“When do we need to leave?”

“Whenever.” At the moment, I don't give a fuck about anything else but her and me.

“What do you mean? Don’t you have to meet the Greens?”

“What I need to do is figure out what is wrong with my woman.”

Gabriella’s eyes widen. “What do?—”

“Don’t.” The single word sounds harsher than I intended. Gabriella's bottom lip puffs out, and I want to kick my own fucking ass. “Shit, sorry.” I run my fingers through my hair. I’m terrible at this shit. “Please.” I try again. “I’ll beg. Is that what it will take?” Pleading with her isn’t above me. I’ll do it. She’s the only one that would ever get that from me.

Here I thought I was going crazy when I found Gabriella. That I wasn’t myself anymore and doing things I never had before. No, now I’m going crazy. After less than twenty-four hours of her being a bit standoffish, I'm reaching my breaking point. I swear to God it feels like I’m coming apart at the seams.

“It’s nothing, really. My own stuff when I really think about it.”

“Your stuff is my stuff,” I tell her. “We’re together, right?”

“I think.” Her eyebrows furrow as if she's deep in thought.

“Think? I came inside you yesterday,” I remind her.

“Caleb!” Gabriella gasps, her cheeks turning a shade pinker.

“Didn’t I?” I take a step toward her. Gabriella might need a reminder of how together we are.

“You did.” It comes out in a whisper. Then it hits me hard. I thought when I’d done it, maybe I went too far, but in the moment, she’d been with me, and even after. She got a pleased expression when I told her to keep my cum on her.

“Or you didn’t want it?” Had she just been in the heat of the moment and now she regrets it? Is that what this sudden change in her is about?

“I didn’t say that,” Gabriella rushes to say. That gives me a momentary sense of relief, but I find myself back where we started, unsure of what is causing the problem. “I just, ah—” She glances around.

“Don’t know what you’re looking for, but it better not be the door,” I warn her. It’s a dick thing to say, but it’s the truth. Gabriella isn’t going anywhere. I don’t care how crazy that makes me. Gabriella narrows her pretty eyes on me. Fucking good. Rather them on me than looking for an exit. I’ll take it.

“You made me sound like a whore, okay?” she blurts out. Her words shock the shit out of me.

“What are you talking about?” I suppose I'm not the only one who's gone insane. “Is this because of what we did in my office, then?” Did I cheapen our lovemaking? We might not have gone all the way, but it’s still that to me.

“It wasn’t what you did. I loved that. It was hot; it was what you said.”

“You have to fill me in here, babe. I’m fucking lost.” I’m not used to that shit either.

“That I was your personal assistant for home. The way you said it.” All right, maybe I could see that. She had been sitting in my lap.

“Fine, then.” I turn and storm out of the bedroom. I head toward the master and grab the box. When I come back, Gabriella is standing in the hallway.

“Are we breaking up then? Am I fired?”

“You’re insane,” I tell her. Breaking up is the absolute furthest thing from what I have in mind.

“Then you’ve made me insane.”

“Feeling is fucking mutual,” I tell her when I come to a stop right in front of her.

“You know what—” Gabriella stops speaking when I drop to one knee in front of her.

“There.” I slide the ring onto her finger. She stands with her eyes bouncing from me to the ring. “Okay, shit, not there .” I grab Gabriella by the hips and pull her down into my lap. “I just fucked that up.” A small smile pulls at her lips. “I don’t know about labels or whatnot, but you’re mine. That’s all I care about. The personal assistant thing was bullshit; it was to get you here. That’s all I cared about.”

“Did you just ask me to marry you?”

“Not really asking.”

“Because you came inside of me.”

“Gabriella,” I growl, and it makes her giggle. Fuck yes. I needed that sound right now. She’s coming back to me.

“I don’t know about this stuff either. I’ll admit I think I might have taken the comment too close to heart because Lauren is so pretty, and there was a weird tension, so I thought maybe she assisted you at one time too.”

“No one compares to you, and there is only you. Lauren is nothing but someone who works for me.” I want to tell her I think she’s bland and rather fucking annoying right now, but Gabriella is so sweet I don’t think she’d care for the remarks. “You hear me?” I cup her face in my hand. “Only you.”

“Only you, too.”

When she smiles this time, I get the dimples.

The last twenty-four hours have almost killed me, but it was worth it because now I’ve got my ring on her finger.