23. Point Made

23

Point Made

W e spent the day in bed, napping, making love, and watching movies with our limbs tangled together under the sheets.

As the credits rolled Gabe sighed and ran his hands through my hair. “We need to get up. They’re going to be here soon. And as much as I’d like to keep you here until the very last minute, I’m thinking you’d like to be dressed when you meet Zoe for the first time.”

I stiffened involuntarily.

“Shae,” he reprimanded, his voice low. “You have nothing to be concerned about. We were over long before you came back, and we were never anything to begin with.”

I pursed my lips. “You have a child together. That has to mean something.”

He snorted. “Yeah, it means I fucked her, and she got pregnant.”

I cringed.

Gabe’s hands tightened in my hair. “Shae—” he began impatiently.

“Would you like me to talk to you about how many times I ‘fucked’ my ex-fiancé trying to get pregnant?”

The muscles in his chest bunched.

“Point made,” he bit out.

“Good,” I clipped back. “I don’t want Dylan to be a constant reminder of what someone else gave you that I can’t. I want Dylan to just be Dylan. So don’t rub my face in the fact that Zoe warmed your bed for a lot longer than I have up to this point.”

He wrapped his arms around me, eyes squeezed shut, mouth twisted in distaste. “I’m sorry. Stop talking. It turns my stomach to even think about being with anyone else.”

I grunted grumpily.

“From here on out, Dylan was delivered by stork. I just happened to be here and signed for the parcel,” he teased.

I snorted out a laugh. “Now there’s a narrative I can get behind.”

Reaching down, he squeezed my ass cheek. “I have a narrative I’d like to get behind.”

“Oh, I know you do,” I retorted, twisting out of his arms and slipping from the warm bed. “You put it on my bucket list.”

I turned to speak but the words on my tongue died at the sight.

Gabe lay sprawled, glorious ink on display, one muscular arm folded behind his head. His sleepy, satisfied gaze ran up and down my body.

The man was the very definition of temptation.

I raised my knee to climb back in.

His eyes snapped to mine, a wide, knowing grin on his handsome face.

Rolling my eyes, I wrenched my mind, kicking and screaming, out of the gutter and headed for the bathroom.

Because no matter how we joked, no matter how he reassured me, until I saw for myself that this woman was not a threat, I was living this dream on borrowed time.

Less than an hour later, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I knew that to be a fact.

Dylan ran up the path to the steps, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Gabe standing in the open doorframe.

“Well, hey there, Daddy!” His smile flashed on her little face.

Gabe met her halfway down the steps and scooped her up, sticking his nose into the curve of her little neck and nuzzling her as she laughed.

When he put her down in the front hall, she made her way over to me. “Well, hey there, Shibaby,” she paused. “You want to play mommy with me?”

Her words did not pack the same visceral punch as they did the week before, but Zoe’s snort did.

My eyes snapped up to find her coolly assessing me as she stepped over the doorframe, one sleek eyebrow arched in question.

I returned my attention to Dylan. “We’ll play mommy in a few minutes. Why don’t you go check on your babies?”

Her eyes lit up. She held her poor Barbie up by the hair. “Her needs a nap.”

“And a hair transplant,” Zoe joked.

I breathed in.

Perhaps this would not be so bad.

Gabe walked away from Zoe and stood at my side, casually slinging an arm over my shoulders though his expression was anything but.

Ignoring him, she continued to size me up. Her cool blue eyes, so unlike Gabe’s fiery sapphire, hardened.

“So, you’re Shae-baby,” she challenged, holding out her hand.

“Good to meet you, Zoe,” I said as my hand clasped hers.

It wasn’t.

Not at all.

And from the icy look on her beautiful face, she felt the same.

“Gabe’s long, lost love,” she murmured.

Gabe tightened his hold on me, not so subtly drawing me away from her. “Not lost anymore,” he stated bluntly.

Her gaze flickered to his, and she laughed. “Oh, relax. I’m not going to cause any trouble.”

Her smile dimmed as she looked back and forth between us, giving a short nod. “I’m going to spend a few more minutes with Dylan before I head out.”

Gabe didn’t say anything until her footsteps faded, then he blew out a breath and fell into the living room chair and pulling me into his lap.

I looped my arms around his neck and hung on.

He tightened his hold on me and nuzzled his face into the side of my neck. “That didn’t go as expected.”

My mouth twisted to the side. “What did you expect?”

He lifted his face and looked at me, his mouth grim. “Not that. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “You’re not the one who should be apologizing.”

He studied me for a moment, then patted my butt to get me to move. “Come with me.”

We walked to the kitchen at the back of the house, and he pulled a stack of papers out from under the fruit bowl on the table and sat down.

Voice gruff, he asked, “You want to help me with these?”

“Of course.” Taking the chair beside him, I carefully slid the stack closer. It took a lot for Gabe to ask for help and I didn’t want to spook him. Still, my eyebrows shot up when I read the title and looked up at him. “A psych screening for Dylan? Isn’t it a bit early?”

He shrugged, looking miserable. “I don’t know, is it?”

I hummed. “Usually, they wait until they’re hitting grade one before they start initiating any of this,” I muttered. “Did they tell you why they’re concerned?”

“Non-compliant, won’t sit still, talks out of turn, doesn’t like to share,” he bit out their litany of complaints.

“Well, she’s three,” I scoffed, flipping through the pages. “At least she’s not biting.”

His face looked pained. “That was last year.”

I laughed and turned my attention to the questionnaires. “Yeah, we can do this. It won’t take long.”

Gabe snatched the papers from my hand, shoving them back under the fruit bowl as Zoe entered the kitchen.

“I’m heading out. Gabe, I’ll call you tomorrow to come see Dylan.” She turned to me, her gaze focussed over my right shoulder. “Nice meeting you, Shae.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I answered.

Her eyebrows flew up, disappointment flickering across her face. She met my eyes, “Excellent.”

She stalked down the hallway, and the front door slammed closed behind her.

Gabe sat staring at the floor, his knee bouncing. Suddenly, he slammed his palms down on the table. “This is bullshit. I’ll be right back.”

He flew out the door behind her.

Following slowly, I stood in the living room, a perfect view of them together on the driveway.

Gabe stood with his arms crossed, a heavy frown on his face.

Zoe waved him off with a laugh, but he grasped her elbow.

Looking down into her face, he shook his head and said something else that had her nodding and backing away with a much more subdued wave.

Gabe stomped up the front path and into the house, his face set in a scowl.

Spotting me, his eyes flew open. “You spying?”

I shrugged. “A bit.”

He laughed and threw his arm around me. “Come help me with these papers. They want me to meet with them tomorrow and bring the completed questionnaire.”

I hugged him back as we walked back to the kitchen. “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

“It’s not necessary,” he stated mulishly.

“It’s not, but I still want to go with you. Let me, Gabe. Let me in.”

Those words snagged his attention. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “I want this.” I swallowed and tried again. If there was a time to fight, it was now. “Her. You.”

Turning me into his chest, he cupped the back of my head and tucked me under his chin. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.”

The rest of the evening unfolded with laughter, cuddles, and my legs caught between his through the night.

It wasn’t until the next morning that we hit a snag.