Back To Us (Dare With Me #4) - J.H. Croix Page 0,14

though.”

Cat grinned. “I think Tanner was surprised, and I told him off right in the cafeteria. I don’t care if I embarrassed him. I always promised myself I was never gonna be like our mom. She was literally a freaking doormat for our dad. Fuck that.”

Daphne and I opened our mouths simultaneously before our gazes collided. I thought Daphne had been about to correct Cat’s use of language, just like me. I shrugged. Sometimes the occasion called for it.

“Can I have some wine?” Cat asked next.

“No!” Daphne and I exclaimed in unison.

Cat burst out laughing. “I thought I’d try. When you dump a guy, it’s good to have a drink and feel better, or something like that.”

My hand slid off her back as I chuckled. “Sure, a glass of wine can help you relax here and there, but it’s definitely not necessary. I’d rather have a friend be there for me than that.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “Sure. Says you, who pours extra wine whenever Gabriel spends too much time around you.”

Daphne bit her bottom lip, standing quickly and striding into the kitchen. Her shoulders were shaking, and I knew she was laughing. Of course, my very perceptive younger sister would’ve noticed a detail like that.

I decided it wasn’t worth engaging in that dialogue and snagged another fry to pop into my mouth.

“I’m going to start teaching Nora how to cook. Want to help?” Daphne called over.

Cat brightened and straightened in her chair. “Yes. You can’t have my job, though.”

I laughed softly. “Sweetie, I don’t think I’ll ever get good enough at cooking to steal your kitchen job. I’m thrilled Flynn officially has you on the payroll.”

Cat stood and skipped over toward the kitchen counter when Daphne began pulling things out to finish prepping for dinner. Guests would be returning from wherever they’d spent their day over the next few hours, and she would have dinner ready. Meanwhile, I needed to decide if I wanted to deal with seeing Gabriel tonight. I was leaning toward not when Cat called, “Come help me now. I’m going to prep a few game hens for roasting.”

I was swept into being Cat’s assistant for the next hour or so. When Gabriel arrived, I purposely didn’t pour extra wine for myself. I could handle him, or so I told myself again and again. And again.

It didn’t help that I felt the heat of his gaze on me. It definitely didn’t help when he slipped onto a stool beside me at the counter surrounding the area where Daphne was working.

“Your plane’s good to go,” he said, his low, gravelly voice sending shivers chasing over my skin.

When I risked a glance at him and ran right into the intense beam of his gaze, butterflies took flight, spinning wildly in my belly while I tried to catch my breath.

I was so screwed.

Chapter Seven

Gabriel

“What?” Diego asked.

He leaned against the plane, crossing his arms over his bulky chest and lasering me with his way-too-perceptive gaze.

“I told her I loved her,” I said, practically itching all over with the discomfort at saying that word out loud. It had come easy when I said it to Nora, but it made me feel a little crazy with anyone else. All of my friends knew I’d never planned to get serious with anyone.

Diego pinched the bridge of his nose as his head dipped down, and he let out a sigh. “And then what?” His eyes lifted to mine again.

I closed the small storage compartment underneath the plane and turned the latch to lock it before straightening. “I told her I wanted us to try again, or something like that,” I mumbled.

Diego regarded me with that quiet intensity he always carried. “Dude, I love you like a brother, but that was stupid.”

“How was that stupid? I was telling her how I felt.” Defensiveness flared inside.

“It’s not a magic word. The last time you two had a serious conversation about the state of your relationship, you told her you could never be serious with anyone, especially not her because she’s Flynn’s sister,” my friend pointed out. “So you open with, ‘I love you,’ and assume that’s just gonna solve it all.” He snapped his fingers in the air for emphasis.

“Dude, I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never been serious with anyone. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Because that definitely didn’t work,” I said flatly.

Diego chuckled, running a hand through his rumpled dark hair. “I don’t have all the answers.”

“Yeah, but