the table at me, he gave a dismissive shrug. “There’s not much to say. She’s fine. Why do you want to talk about her? It’s not like you discuss your father that much.”
His words felt barbed, but I held my ground. “My father’s dead. If he were alive, I’d probably have more to say about him. You know everything there is to know. He was hardly around and cheated on my mom a lot. That about sums it up.”
Gabriel’s eyes searched mine. “My mom is fine. We’re not close,” he finally said.
I didn’t know what it was about this topic, but it felt like it represented something important to us. “I know you’re not close, but why are you so defensive when I ask?”
“I’m not defensive,” he countered, his tone belying his words. It was sharp, pointed, and clearly annoyed.
“How do you know you love me?” I asked next because that was a smart thing to do. I didn’t even know that question had been hovering in my thoughts, but now it was out there.
His eyes widened. “What the hell do you mean? Is this some kind of test? If I don’t bare my soul to you about my mother, then I don’t love you. What the fuck, Nora?”
Anxiety coiled tightly in my chest, and I felt hot and cold simultaneously. “It’s not a test. But how do you know? If we can’t even have a simple conversation about your mother, how are we going to handle things that aren’t easy?”
Gabriel’s eyes widened and then narrowed. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just know I love you. I don’t really understand what’s happening right now,” he muttered.
“You know what? I don’t think you’re ready. Or maybe I’m not ready.” I stood abruptly from the table, an unsteady sensation racing through me as my stomach clenched with dread.
“What do you mean, Nora?” Gabriel stood with me, and we stared at each other across the table.
“I don’t really know. I just know this doesn’t feel right. We need a break.” My words tumbled out.
“A break?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gabriel
Nora’s brown eyes were wide, and color flagged high on her cheeks. “Yes, a break. I was already stupid once with you. I don’t want to be stupid again.”
Panic churned in my gut. In the span of only minutes, Nora punched the biggest button I had—my mother. I fucking hated talking about my mother. Now, Nora wanted a break and wanted to know how I knew I loved her? I didn’t even know how to answer that question.
Anger flashed cold and then hot inside me. “Fine. Fuck you. If you don’t want to believe me and you don’t want to give us a chance, then it’s not worth it. I’m not going to grovel for you.”
With anger driving me, I stalked out of her house. The cold frost on the ground crunched under my feet as I walked through the trees. I felt sick inside.
I loved Nora. She didn’t even understand how much I loved her. I didn’t know what to do with her frustration, but I didn’t want to discuss my mom, who had never been there for me and likely never would.
I made my way back to the staff house and grabbed my bag, then headed out for my flights that day.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nora
“Oh God, it’s a little icy,” Cat said.
“It is, but you’ve got it.”
Cat glanced my way quickly, her eyes wide. “Maybe I should pull over, and you should drive.”
I looked ahead at the perfectly level road. “No, I think you should drive. The speed limit is twenty-five here, and it’s not that icy. You drove over a patch of it because of the shade back there.”
Cat pressed her tongue into the corner of her mouth, something she did when she was stressed and thinking hard. Her hands were clenching the steering wheel.
“Are you sure?”
Although I knew she needed to learn to handle ice when she was driving, if Cat actually fessed up to being nervous, she was really nervous. My little sister was the most stubborn human being I’d ever encountered, and she hated, absolutely detested, admitting she was nervous.
“If you’re not comfortable, just pull over. Up there at the grocery store would be good.”
Cat did as I instructed. Once she was parked, she climbed out as if she were a scalded cat. She practically ran around to the other side of the truck. I hopped out, and we switched seats. I had to slide the driver’s seat forward a little.
“You’re