Tangled in His Embrace

by Sherri Hayes

  Grace allowed her a couple of bites before diving in. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Gabby shoveled another forkful of food into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before continuing. “Jax and I are going to give it another try.”

  Her sister’s eyes went wide. “As in . . .”

  “As in, we’re going to try being a couple again.”

  “Wow.” Grace took a moment to gather her thoughts. “I mean, wow. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “Yes.” Gabby paused. “No. I don’t know.”

  Grace snorted.

  “I know. And that’s the problem.” Gabby kept her voice low. “I thought I’d gotten over him, put my feelings for him behind me. But then he came back and . . .”

  “And you slept with him.”

  “Yeah.” Gabby slumped in her chair and pushed her food around with her fork. “But it’s not just the sex. I . . . I still love him. And as mad as I was—I am—at him for leaving, that doesn’t change the fact that even now, in the back of my mind, I’m thinking about when I’ll see him again.”

  Her sister was silent for a minute or two and Gabby took the time to finish her food. She rinsed her plate in the sink and loaded it into the dishwasher before returning to the table.

  “You don’t want Mom to know,” Grace said. It was a statement, not a question, although Gabby heard the other unasked questions behind it.

  “No. Not until I figure this out. I told him we could try, but that doesn’t mean I’m not terrified he will break my heart all over again.”

  Grace placed her hand on top of Gabby’s. “Did he say why he left?”

  “He thought he was dying.”

  “What?” The shock of her response came out louder than Grace had intended. “Sorry. I just . . . what?”

  “He found out he had a mass on his spine or pressing against his spine or something. He kept getting these headaches and apparently that was why.”

  “So why didn’t he tell you what was going on?”

  Gabby tried not to let the anger she still felt take over. “He says he did it to protect me and Taylor. That he didn’t want to put us through watching him die, or even having to go through months or years of physical therapy.”

  “Bullshit.”

  That made Gabby laugh. It wasn’t often her sister cursed. “Alexander is rubbing off on you.”

  A blush crept up her sister’s neck. “Maybe. But that doesn’t make it less true.”

  “I know. Which is why I’m still ticked.”

  Movement in the living room let them know they were about to get interrupted. “If you need to talk, you know where I am.”

  “Thanks.” Gabby stood and gave her sister a hug. “I’m glad you moved back to St. Louis. And I’m glad you found Alexander.”

  A few moments later, both Alexander and their mother ambled into the room. Gabby and Grace stepped apart. Their mother gave them a quick once-over again and went to the refrigerator. “Who wants some pistachio fluff?”

  ***

  It was almost six by the time Gabby left her mom’s house. Kathy Brooks had called about a half hour ago to let her know they were home. She and Nate were going to feed Taylor dinner and then drive her home.

  Gabby pulled into her driveway, turned off the engine, and carried in the leftovers her mom sent home with her. She wouldn’t have to worry about cooking tonight, or probably tomorrow at lunch either. There was more than enough food.

  About fifteen minutes after she walked in the door, she heard a car pull up. She turned off the news and went to answer the door.

  Taylor was happy, but she looked as if she was about ready to drop. Kathy gave Taylor a kiss on the cheek and handed her off to Gabby. “She woke up early this morning, so we did a little sightseeing before we left. She drifted off a few times in the car on the way back and was doing pretty good until we ate dinner.”

  “Her bedtime isn’t that far off anyway. Thanks for feeding her,” Gabby said as Taylor wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and rested her head on Gabby’s shoulder. Her daughter was tuckered out.

  “No need to thank me. She’s our granddaughter.” Kathy reached out to brush the back of her hand over Taylor’s cheek. “We’ll see you next weekend, sweetheart.”

  Taylor nodded but didn’t say anything. She really was exhausted.

  “Call me if you need anything,” Kathy said to Gabby as she opened the door to leave.

  “I will.”

  Once Kathy left, Gabby carried Taylor into her bedroom. She deposited her backpack on the floor in the corner—she’d deal with that tomorrow—removed a pair of clean underwear and pajamas from her daughter’s dresser, and headed for the bathroom. Something told her that as soon as her daughter’s head hit the pillow tonight she’d be out.

  The most challenging part of Taylor’s bath was trying to get her to stay awake. Normally, she loved to play with her toys, but tonight all she wanted to do was lie back and go to sleep. Gabby worked to get her body and hair washed as swiftly as possible, get her dried off, and then she tucked her into bed.

  By seven thirty her daughter was asleep, which meant Gabby had the rest of the evening to herself. She decided to use the time to go over what she’d written earlier and see if any tweaking needed to be done before she sent it off to her editor.

  Gabby had only gotten through the first page when her phone rang. She rushed to get it before it could wake Taylor. Although, considering how tired her daughter was, she didn’t know if anything short of a freight train would rouse her sleeping child.

  Her heart rate sped when she saw Jax’s name on the caller ID. He said he’d call, so she shouldn’t have had such a reaction, but it was there all the same. “Hi.”

  “Hi. Is this a good time or are you trying to get Taylor to sleep?”

  “No.” Gabby realized he might take that as it not being a good time. “I mean, it’s a good time. Taylor’s already asleep. She barely kept her eyes open during her bath.”

  “Mom said she was pretty tired when she dropped her off.”

  “She was.”

  They talked a little more about Taylor, and then he switched gears on her. “I was wondering if I could take you out on Wednesday night.”

  The breath caught in Gabby’s throat, making it hard to answer. “Out?”

  “Yeah. Out. As in a date. Just you and me. I already asked Mom and she said she could come by and watch Taylor if you wanted. I didn’t know if your sister or your mom would be available on such short notice. And I figured you’d want someone to watch her at the house so it doesn’t mess with her bedtime.”

  Gabby realized he was rambling, which meant he was nervous. The thought eased some of her tension. Even though she’d agreed to give them another shot, he wasn’t sure she’d say yes. The slightly vindictive part of her kind of liked that he was suffering and wanted to drag it out a little. “What kind of date did you have in mind?”

  “I was kind of hoping to surprise you.”

  “I see.”

  He was quiet for a few moments. “Did you change your mind? About us, I mean?”

  She sighed. It was no good being petty. It wasn’t going to solve anything. “No. I didn’t change my mind.”

  “Good.” Gabby could feel the relief washing over him through the phone. “So Wednesday?”

  “What time?” she asked.

  “I was thinking about seven. That way you and Taylor can eat together. Mom can come over a little before then, say around six forty-five.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “It’s a date, then,” he said, a smile in his voice.

  His happiness was contagious. “It’s a date.”

  ***

  Gabby didn’t hear from Jax again until Wednesday afternoon when he sent her a text confirming he’d be there to pick her up at seven. She’d tried not to think too much about their date or where the night might end up going. Her body was already singing with the thought of being with hi
m again.

  At six forty there was a knock on her door. Kathy greeted her with a smile and a bag of cookies for Taylor. “If you don’t want her to have them tonight, I can tuck them in my purse and leave them on the counter after she goes to bed.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Gabby said as she motioned Jax’s mother inside. “She ate her dinner, so she can have a cookie if she wants.”

  Kathy set the bag of cookies on the table and hung her coat on the back of one of the chairs. She didn’t say anything about Gabby’s impending date with Jax, which was good. Gabby really didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Taylor’s playing in her room. I laid her pajamas out on her bed already and her toothbrush is on the sink in the bathroom.”

  Kathy smiled. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. If not, I have your number. Just go have a nice time.”

  As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Gabby could already feel her palms getting sweaty. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t done this before.

  “I’ll get it,” Kathy said. “Why don’t you go say goodbye to Taylor?”

  Happy for a couple of extra minutes to prepare herself for seeing him again, Gabby went to find her daughter. She was sitting on her bed, legs spread out in front of her, flipping through one of her favorite books. “Hey.”

  Taylor looked up.

  “Grandma Brooks is here to watch you while Mommy and Daddy are gone.”

  “Okay,” Taylor said, not seeming to be the least bit bothered that her mother was leaving.

  Gabby walked over to the bed and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. “You be good for Grandma and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Taylor rose up on her knees, letting her book drop to the mattress, and circled her arms around Gabby’s neck. Her daughter planted a loud kiss on her mother’s cheek and released her. Almost immediately she reached for her discarded book again and went back to what she was doing as if nothing had happened.

  Gabby chuckled and shook her head as she backed out of the room. “Love you.”

  Her daughter’s face lit up as she stared back at her. “Loves you, too, Mommy.”

  She stepped out into the hallway and came face-to-face with Jax. “Everything all right?”

  “Um. Yeah. I was just . . .” She gestured toward her daughter’s bedroom door. “I was just saying goodbye to Taylor.”

  He grinned and she felt the butterflies begin to dance in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know how he did it or why her body had such a reaction to him, but she was done fighting it. “I figured I’d pop my head in and say good night before we leave.”

  “Okay,” she said to an empty hallway.

  Kathy was sitting on the couch, watching television, when Gabby walked into the main room. She switched it off and stood.

  Jax appeared a few seconds later and strode toward her with all the confidence in the world. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure.”

  He removed her coat from the closet and helped her put it on.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” Jax opened the door and waited for her to go through it.

  “Have fun,” Kathy said as they walked out the door.

  Jax put his hand on Gabby’s lower back and the contact sent warmth through her bones. The door closed behind them and he leaned in to whisper in Gabby’s ear. “Fun is guaranteed.”

  Chapter 11

  Jax had given a lot of thought as to where to take Gabby. He’d known she’d want to have dinner with Taylor, so that was out of the question. Dessert was an option, but he wanted to do something a bit more festive.

  They were almost there when Gabby figured out where they were going. “Are we going to the zoo?”

  He glanced over at her and grinned as he maneuvered into the turning lane. “What? You don’t like the zoo?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I just wasn’t expecting us to be outside for long periods of time. I would have dressed warmer.”

  Turning into the parking lot, Jax paid the guy in the little hut and started looking for a spot. “Don’t worry about that. I promise I’ll keep you nice and warm.”

  She didn’t have any comeback to that, and he had to work hard not to laugh at the look of deep concentration on her face.

  For a Wednesday night, there were quite a few people out. Then again, it was a beautiful evening. All the ice from the weekend had melted as milder temperatures moved in. There was still a chill in the air—it was December—but they would be able to spend an hour or so walking through the zoo without being in danger of frostbite.

  He bought their tickets and they made their way inside. All the trees and bushes were draped in lights for the holidays. It was beautiful.

  “I haven’t been here in years,” Gabby said as they began to walk along the path.

  “Neither have I. We’ll have to bring Taylor one of these days.”

  Gabby smiled, the first time since he’d picked her up. “She’d love all the lights.”

  They stopped at the petting zoo and fed the goats. The brown one followed Gabby around. Every time she tried to feed another goat, the brown one would push the other one out of the way and snatch the food from Gabby’s hand. Jax tried to keep from laughing, but it was impossible. The entire thing was too funny.

  Once they were finished with the petting zoo, they continued on, stopping at each of the exhibits to see the animals and take in the lights. Even the exhibits that were empty because the animals were inside were decked out in lights.

  As they strolled, they chatted about the lights, the animals, and even the weather. It was all very civilized and he was pleased to see her relax and enjoy herself. They crossed over a bridge filled with huge fish. She knelt down to get a closer look, rubbing her hands together in an effort to warm them up.

  “How about some hot chocolate?” Jax asked. “I did promise to keep you warm.”

  She stood and shoved her hands back into her pockets. “That sounds great.”

  They changed direction and headed toward the food court. Jax walked up to window and ordered two hot chocolates and a soft pretzel. After paying, he guided them over to a bench and they sat down to sip their drinks. He tore off a piece of the pretzel, popped it into his mouth, and offered her some. “Having fun?”

  A slight blush colored her cheeks as she pinched off a bit of the warm bread for herself. “Yes.”

  “Good.” He was unable to hide his grin.

  They sat people-watching for several minutes, not speaking and finishing off the pretzel.

  “I wanted to ask you something.”

  He took a drink of his hot chocolate as he tried to ignore the way his pulse picked up. Was this just another way of saying ‘we need to talk’? That was never a good sign. “Shoot.”

  Gabby rolled her cup in between her hands several times. “Where do you think we’d be right now if you hadn’t left three years ago?”

  “That’s easy,” he said without any hesitation. “We’d be married and Taylor would probably have another brother or sister.”

  She looked over at him, her eyebrows raised slightly. “You sound confident about that.”

  “Well, I already had the ring. I was just trying to find the right time to ask you.”

  “And the other part?”

  He shrugged, unaffected by the direction the conversation had taken. “I figure nature would have taken its course with that one. It wasn’t as if we ever had trouble in the bedroom.”

  The blush was back. This time it colored both her neck and cheeks. She glanced around, but no one was paying attention to them.

  He reached over and ran the back of his hand along her jaw. Gabby shivered. “Cold?”

  “No,” she whispered, shaking her head.

  The look in her eyes told him all he needed to know in that moment. He could feel the pull between them and needed to touch her more than he needed his next breath.

  Cupping the side of her face, Jax closed the dis
tance between them and brushed his lips against hers. He kept the kiss light and PG rated considering they were in public and there were children around, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t convey what he was feeling through the kiss.

  She released a soft sigh when he pulled back enough to meet her gaze. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, unable to stop touching her.

  Gabby searched his eyes as they sat there in the cool night air, surrounded by people. She scraped her teeth over her bottom lip. “You really had a ring?”

  “I still have it.” There was no need to deny it and, in any case, he didn’t want to.

  She sucked in a harsh breath. “Why?”

  Jax shrugged and trailed his fingers down the side of her face. “I guess one day I was hoping I’d get to come back to you, to have the life I dreamed about.”

  “Where . . .”

  He knew what she was asking. “The ring is in my dresser at my apartment.”

  The vein in the side of her neck was pulsing out of control and all he could think about was kissing it. He knew how much she liked it when he paid attention to her neck. She was so sensitive there.

  Without much warning, Gabby stood, nearly knocking his hot chocolate out of his hand. She glanced around, looking flustered, and he couldn’t help but feel quite pleased with himself about that.

  He eased himself off the bench. “Something wrong?”

  Gabby shook her head but wouldn’t look at him. “No. I just thought we should probably get moving again if we’re going to see the rest of the exhibits. I’m sure your mother doesn’t want to be out all night.”

  The rest of the walk through the zoo was filled with tension—a stark contrast to how things had been before their conversation. His revelation that he’d been about to ask her to marry him and still had hopes to do so had clearly thrown her, and as much as he wanted to push her to talk to him, he was giving her some time to process what she was feeling. He was the one who’d screwed up. Not her. As hard as it was, he was going to have to let her set the pace.