Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,83
Angie asked.
“Yep.”
Angie paused on the line. Gabriella imagined her taking a moment to survey every detail of the photo. “I’m fanning myself. She’s the most glamorous construction worker I’ve ever seen.”
Gabriella grinned. “Except she’s entirely no-frills. She just wakes up like that. It’s not fair. Except now it is, because I get to wake up next to her and benefit.”
“That’s a definite bonus. I’m glad you’re having some fun. “
Gabriella told her sister about softball, Ryan’s mom, her lake house, and how sweet Ryan was to Dale.
“That’s all well and fine, but has the other shoe dropped?” Angie went big sister on her. “She sounds too good to be true, and we all know what that means.”
Gabriella nodded as she made her way to the couch, prepared to be honest. When she talked with her sisters, who knew her better than anyone on the planet, she didn’t have to pretend or sugarcoat. Yes, they’d speak their minds, but maybe she needed to hear it. “Well, she’s five years younger than I am.”
“Matty is seven years older than me,” Angie said, referencing her husband. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”
“Okay, well, she’s also been known to play the field. She’s never been big on committed relationships. In fact, she’s stayed away from them for the most part.” She winced and waited.
“Is it?” Gabriella asked. “She says she’s ready. That I make her want something different.”
“You gotta be careful. I don’t trust those types. Been there. Done that.” Angie had been divorced once and didn’t mince words about her hound dog ex-husband. “Especially not when you have someone so nice and dependable like Madison.” Her voice took on a wistful quality when she said that last part. Gabriella frowned. This wasn’t what she was hoping to hear.
Gabriella swallowed and explained. “My heart is dragging me to Ryan.”
“You sure?” Angie asked. “You don’t ever wonder if you and Maddie should give it a go now that time has passed? You’ve both grown and matured. Smart and dependable, that one. I heard she was on the cover of one of those lifestyle food and wine magazines in the Finger Lakes.”
“Yeah, she was. She’s been all over the wine world.” Gabriella was about to say something that she’d not fully admitted, even to herself. But it was there all the same. “Sure, I wonder. More now that Madison’s mentioned it, the concept of us, but I’d tucked that part of us away, Ang. We broke up for a very good reason, and we’re the same people even though our lives have been transported across the country.”
“I don’t think that’s it. She’s not as exciting to you as this Ryan is,” Angie said. “I get that. But sometimes, safe and a little less exciting pays off in the end. This isn’t a sprint. It’s your life. Plus, it’s Madison, and the whole family loves her.”
Gabriella blinked up at the ceiling, her head swimming. Those words hit her harder than she’d expected. Why was this Madison thing messing with her head? Would Ryan wind up burning her in the end? Did Angie have a point? Maybe she was on the wrong path and needed to take a good hard look at her life. She reached for her glass on the coffee table and took a swallow of wine. Maddie’s wine. “You were supposed to help settle me down, not pose more questions than answers.”
“It’s your decision,” Angie reminded her. “But if you’re asking? I vote for keeping an open mind about Madison. That’s all. I want you to be happy.”
“I love you and the rest of the family to the end of the Earth, but we’re not voting on my life.”
“Okay, fine. Then show me more of the hottie’s photos,” Angie commanded. “You’ll come around to my side sooner or later.”
Gabriella laughed and tried to ignore the second part of that statement. She sent more photos of Ryan and regaled her sister with more stories of the two of them, halfway trying to persuade her that Ryan was, in fact, amazing. Later, as she cleaned up from her successful focaccia bread audition, Gabriella couldn’t shake Angie’s words from her head. She usually trusted her sister’s wisdom, relied on it. In fact, Angie had never steered her wrong. Did that mean Ryan was too good to be true? She refused to give too much attention to the sinking feeling she couldn’t seem to lose. She texted Ryan good night and stared