Come To Me (Dare With Me #3) - J.H. Croix Page 0,41

the plane, watching the sunlight glittering on the bay below us, spread out in its sparkling glory with the mountains hugging its edges. “Seems pretty cynical to me,” I offered. “So, Greg screwed around with Elias’s ex and yours. Elias has moved on. Why can’t you?”

Gabriel chuckled. “Really? You’re as cynical as me. Out of all of us, you’re the most likely to fall in love and settle down like your parents. And yet, because your first serious girlfriend pulled a fast one on your family, you won’t even give it a second thought.”

Okay, that stung a little, but I absorbed the sharp blow. “Fair point. Maybe I’m trying to see past that.”

“With Gemma?”

“Sure. Obviously, I don’t know what’s going to happen with her, but I like her.”

“Well, that much is obvious,” Gabriel replied with a sly laugh.

Our conversation was interrupted with a radio in about an extra pickup for some passengers who needed to get across the bay to Diamond Creek for a doctor’s appointment. After that, our day was flat out busy, and we didn’t dwell on our respective relationship issues. I did wonder just how tense things would be back at the resort when Nora and Gabriel were in the same room. But that wasn’t really my problem. My only problem was curbing my impatience to go see Gemma.

My old habit of keeping my distance reared its head though. We landed earlier than expected, and I didn’t know if Gemma was free. I didn’t give in to my impatience and went out to the resort that night. I did make an appearance at dinner there, and Gabriel and Nora were icy-cold to each other. I wondered how long that would hold.

Chapter Twenty-One

Gemma

I walked around the studio, putting away the yoga mats for students who’d borrowed them for class after wiping them down thoroughly with a disinfectant. The bathroom door opened, and Daphne stepped out, smiling over at me. “Thank you. That class was great tonight. I’m on my feet so much with cooking that my lower back gets really tight,” she said, rubbing her palm over the area.

“I’m glad it helps.”

“Would you like to grab some coffee and lunch with me?” she asked.

After a quick glance at the clock, I looked back at her and nodded. “Sure. I don’t have another class for a few hours.”

Daphne’s green eyes twinkled with her smile. “Perfect. Let’s go to Misty Mountain. I need to check in with Cammi about the new system we’ve set up for deliveries.”

We walked out to the parking area together after I locked up the studio. “New system?” I asked as we crossed over to our vehicles. I tapped my key fob, and my car made that soft dinging sound.

Daphne stopped beside me. “Yes. We’ve coordinated to deliver pre-made items. We don’t actually bake them, but the guys drop them off, and she bakes them. I just want to make sure the timing for delivery is working and that they’re turning out well.”

“Does that mean I get to taste one of them for lunch?”

She grinned. “Let’s hope so.”

With a quick wave, she hopped in her car, and I followed her over to Misty Mountain. I was starting to realize I could get used to the small-town life. It felt good to be starting to make friends and to feel like I could belong here.

My mother had called again this morning and got me thinking. My mother always got me thinking, bless her heart. She still struggled to understand how out of place I’d felt for so long. It was no one’s fault. My parents and my brother were academic stars. I was bright enough, but it had taken too long to figure out my dyslexia and my discomfort in school for me to ever really bounce back from that.

Then came the nightmare of the one area where I had excelled in my life—sports—blowing up spectacularly. I still stayed in touch with a few friends from that time of my life, but our camaraderie and friendship had been stained by the actions of our coach. We’d never fully bounced back. Not to mention that not all of my friends shared the same thoughts about how it played out, which complicated feelings on all sides.

When people read the news about respected figures doing inappropriate things, many people assumed that otherwise kind and decent people will be concerned. I learned the hard way that’s not how it worked. Some people refused to believe what happened no matter how much