Bitter Sweet Heart (Lies, Hearts & Truths #2)(76)

My mother waves a hand in the air. “A while back. Early October, maybe. We were at the same restaurant. They invited us to join them.” Again, there’s apology in her voice.

I wonder if that’s how Gabriel found out I was in Chicago. It would make sense, timeline-wise. As upset as I’d like to be, I’m aware that Gabriel is very good at getting information out of people and then using it against them. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask my mom. I could really use that drink now.

“You weren’t being very reasonable at the time, were you, now, love?” Gabriel cuts in. “I was still hoping things would change.” He crosses the room and folds my hands around the glass, his gaze dropping to my throat. He reaches out and fingers the crane charm on my necklace, and it’s everything I can do not to throw the wine in his face and slap him.

“Don’t touch me,” I grit through clenched teeth.

The right side of his mouth quirks up in a smile as he lets it drop back into place. “Is that new?”

“It was a gift from Sophia.” I clasp it between my fingers.

“Hmm . . . Interesting. Seems a very intimate gift from a friend.”

“We’ll give you two a minute,” my mother says.

“I’ll be right out to join you,” I call after her. As soon as I hear the door to the back porch close, I take a step back.

"Where did that necklace really come from?”

I ignore the question. “You need to leave. Now.”

“That would be rude, considering your mother invited me to stay for a drink.” He picks up his glass of scotch, ice tinkling as he takes a sip. “She’s very worried about you, you know.”

“You need to stay the hell away from my family.” I remind myself that he likes to twist words, and that he’s likely trying to stir up shit and make me question my parents’ loyalty. “And me.”

“Darling, you need to calm down. I came here because I wanted to wish you a merry Christmas. It’s the holidays. I’ll have this one drink and leave.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond, just turns around and heads for the back porch. And he doesn’t stay for one drink. In fact, he stays for dinner, because his parents celebrate on Christmas Eve and they’re out with friends tonight, he explains. And he doesn’t really give my parents an opportunity to say no.

During dinner, Gabriel presents as the charismatic man I naively fell in love with, and it’s infuriating. The only person who seems to see him clearly at the moment is my brother, Blaine, but when his girlfriend ends up sauced before dessert, they head back to their hotel, leaving me with Gabriel and my parents.

I help my mother clear the table, and my dad, ever oblivious, invites Gabriel out back to look at his new lawn tractor. It’s the first time since Gabriel arrived that he hasn’t been glued to my side—apart from the two minutes I was in the bathroom.

My mother looks over my shoulder, making sure we’re alone, but I shake my head and grab her hand, pulling her down the hall to her bedroom. I close the door behind us, lock it, then continue to the bathroom, putting the barrier of extra doors between us and prying ears.

I hate how paranoid I am right now.

“What’s going on?” Mom asks as I press my back against the door.

“He makes me feel like I’m losing my mind.”

“Honey, are you okay?” Her hands come to rest on my shoulders. “What is happening right now? I thought you two were getting a divorce. Did you change your mind?”

I’m relieved to hear that the optimism her voice once held during conversations about Gabriel is no longer there. I shake my head. “No! Gabriel showing up out of the blue seems to be his new go-to tactic. Why didn’t you tell me you ran into him in the fall?”

She drops her hands and clasps them in front of her. “You were so happy about your position at the college, and I didn’t want to upset you. It seemed coincidental. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything.”

I nod. “It’s okay.”

Her fingers go to her lips. “I shouldn’t have invited him in for a drink. I was just surprised, and I thought . . . I don’t know. He acted like you were expecting him. I’m so sorry, Clover. I didn’t realize he was making this so difficult.”

“It’s not your fault. He’s good at manipulating people and situations and turning on the charm when he wants to.”

“Do you want me to get your father to ask him to leave?”

I shake my head. “It’s fine. I can tell him.”

But when Gabriel finally does leave, he returns a minute later to report that he has two flat tires and needs to call AAA. It’s another three hours and going on midnight before the tow truck finally comes. I end up having to tell Maverick I can’t call and not to message until I contact him.

By the time Gabriel is gone, it’s after one in the morning. And then I can’t find my phone, so of course I start panicking. My paranoia reaches new heights when I find it in the driveway, the screen cracked. Did I drop it, or did it end up under Gabriel’s tires on purpose?

The next morning, I drop my phone off to be repaired, but my mom has a day planned for the two of us, and by the time we’re done, the store is already closed, so I’m not able to pick it up until the next day. It puts me on edge because it means I can’t reach out to Maverick to let him know what’s happening. I fake exhaustion early that evening and disappear into the bedroom so I can finally call him.