Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,104
turned down a job when you were trying to figure things out about us. I thought it would only muddy the issue. The job means nothing to me. The only thing I want, and have ever wanted, is you.”
Her legs shook, and the truth of his words crashed into her. She took a step forward, but he kept speaking. “But you already know that, Bella. You must. I’ve been telling you my feelings from the beginning, waiting for you to catch up. But tonight, I realized I’m not the right man for you—I’ve just been too damn pigheaded to accept it.”
Panic nipped. What was happening? How had everything been suddenly flipped around?
“You’ve been looking for an excuse to pull away since the beginning. First it was Marlaine, then Devon, now the job. It’s the gossip at the PTO and the way this town makes you feel because you’re dating me. It’s how you’d rather be dating someone other than the crowned beach bachelor.” His face broke, and she caught a glimpse of a deep pain that tore her apart. “You need someone you can be proud to be with, and I need a woman who accepts all of me, no matter what the world tells her.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want another man. And God, yes, I’m proud of you—I just got confused,” she whispered. Tears stung her eyes. “I don’t want to lose you.”
His smile was heartbreakingly sad and final. “We were never each other’s to lose. Not yet. I love you. I will always love you, but I can’t keep doing this.”
“Gabe—” She was breaking apart. She took a step forward, desperate to touch him, but he remained stiff and unyielding.
“Do you know what it feels like to want someone to love you so badly, you’d do anything? Change who you are, make compromises, live on hope even when the reality reminds you you’ll never be enough?”
“I didn’t want to do that to you,” she whispered in horror, wringing her hands together.
“You didn’t. I did that, Bella. By placing unfair expectations on you and not remembering my promise. See, after my father, I swore I wouldn’t settle for anything less than someone who truly saw me—the whole me, good and bad, right and wrong, and all the mess in between. It’s a lot to ask someone, though, and I want so much more than you can give.” He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “I gotta go. I hope you find what you need. We’ll be okay—it’ll be hard for a while, but I care about you, and we’ll find a balance eventually. Right now, though, I need some time alone.”
She watched him leave, frozen in place. Tears ran down her cheeks. Agony tore through her. Yet she didn’t go after him.
She’d managed to hurt the only man who’d begun to heal her and teach her about real happiness.
She’d managed to lose the man she’d fallen in love with.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The knock on the door surprised him. At first, his entire body clenched with anticipation, hoping and dreading to see Bella at his door. If she apologized again and tried to get him back, was he strong enough to say no?
Relief and disappointment merged at seeing his guests. Pierce and Carter stood at the door with a bottle of tequila, a bag of limes, and a gallon of cookies ’n cream ice cream. “You gotta be kidding me,” he said, shaking his head. “What are you doing here?”
“Chicks don’t get to claim the entire market on heartbreak,” Carter said.
“Yeah, dudes feel shit, too. We’re here to help,” Pierce said.
Torn between laughter and the awful threat of sentiment, he went with the former. “Get your asses in here. Who told you?”
They came in and dumped the stuff on the table. Pierce got busy grabbing glasses, and Carter began dishing out ice cream.
“No one,” Pierce said. “But I saw you fly out of the Lobster House looking sick, and no one’s heard from you for the past week.”
Carter dumped some spoons out and dispersed. “Avery said Bella’s working around the clock, taking a bunch of Taylor’s appointments and shutting herself in the house with excuses. It screams of a bad break.”
Pierce cut the limes and dumped them in with the tequila. “Look, you don’t have to tell us anything. We just want you to know we got your back, and if it hurts, get drunk. It’s always better in the morning.”