Rush (Breathless #1)(73)

He didn’t like feeling this way. Hated that he was somehow dependent on Mia for the peace of mind he only felt when she was near. It made him feel like a needy, grasping fool, and with his age and experience he shouldn’t be responding like this.

He grimaced when he saw that it was his mother calling. He let it go to voice mail as he got onto the elevator, resolving to call her back in the privacy of his office. What she had to say wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have in public. Or what he imagined she would say.

The offices were empty and silent as he made his way down the hall to his own. Mia wouldn’t be in for another hour and a half, and already he was antsy with anticipation. He flexed his hands, curling them as he sat behind his desk. He should have just gone by her apartment on his way in. He should have just sent a car for her after she got finished with her dinner with Jace. But he’d been determined to prove to himself that he didn’t need her. That he didn’t think about her when she wasn’t with him. He needed this space between them, because she was fast becoming an addiction he had no hope of surviving.

Yeah, that wasn’t working out so well for him so far.

He picked up his phone and dialed his mother’s number, waiting as it rang.

“Mom, it’s Gabe. Sorry I didn’t answer. You caught me on my way up to the office.”

“You won’t believe this,” she said, distress clear in her voice. She wasted no time getting to the heart of why she’d called.

He sighed and leaned back, already knowing what was coming. But still, he asked, pretending ignorance. “What’s going on?”

“Your father said he wants to reconcile! Can you believe that? He was here last night.”

“And what do you want?” he asked softly.

She sputtered a moment and then there was a long silence. Clearly she hadn’t expected him not to react. Or maybe she hadn’t even thought about what she wanted yet.

“He says he didn’t sleep with all those women. That he loves me and wants me back and that he made the biggest mistake of his life,” she raged. “He bought a house, Gabe. A house! Does that sound like a man who hasn’t moved on and isn’t over his marriage to me?”

“Do you believe him?”

There was another distinct pause. Then he could hear her sigh heavily, and he could picture her sagging, her face crumbling.

“I don’t know,” she said, upset radiating from her voice. “You saw the pictures, Gabe. Everyone thinks he was with those women even if he wasn’t. And now he comes crawling back to me because he made a mistake. After all the humiliation I’ve suffered and all he’s put me through, he expects me to just simply forgive and forget and move forward like he didn’t walk out on me after thirty-nine years of marriage.”

Gabe held his tongue because there was nothing he could say. It wasn’t a decision he could make for her, and he couldn’t very well advocate her taking his father back because Gabe knew all too well how she felt. How ironic that his own ex-wife had come to plead her case at the same time his father was pleading his. There was no way in hell he’d ever take Lisa back so he understood his mother’s reluctance where his father was concerned. He’d be a huge f**king hypocrite if he nudged her in that direction. He wouldn’t do it, even if in his heart he wanted his parents back together. His family. Two people he’d looked up to his entire life.

“I understand why you’re angry,” Gabe said. “I don’t blame you. But you have to do what you want, Mom. Decide what makes you happy and damn what anyone else thinks or says. Do you still love him?”

“Of course I do,” she said in agitation. “That doesn’t go away in a month or two or even a year. You don’t give thirty-nine years of your life to a man and get over him just because he decides he no longer wants you.”

“You don’t have to make a decision right away,” he pointed out. “You’re in the driver’s seat on this one, Mom. He’s got a lot of making up to do with you. There’s no crime in taking your time and weighing your options and your feelings. No one says you have to take him back overnight.”

“No,” she agreed. “And I wouldn’t. There’s too much we’d have to work out. I love him, but I also hate him for what he did and for the way he did it. I can’t forget all the pictures of him with those other women. I can’t look at him without seeing him with someone else.”

“I just want what’s best for you,” Gabe said gently. “Whatever that is. You know you have my full support no matter what you decide.”

There was another sigh, and then he could hear the tears in her voice. It made his jaw clench and his fist curl in anger. Damn his father for what he’d done to her.

“I appreciate that, Gabe. Thank God for you. I don’t know what I would have done without your support and understanding.”

“Love you, Mom. I’m here any time you need to talk.”

This time he heard her smile as she returned his love.

“I’ll let you get back to work,” she said. “But you’re in awfully early this morning. I think you should consider taking that vacation we discussed. You work way too hard, Son.”

“I’ll be fine. You just take care of you. Okay? And call me if you need me, Mom. You know I’m never too busy for you.”