“I’ll help any way I can,” Gabe said. His throat was so tight he could barely breathe.
“Me too,” Angel said.
Nico and Luke grumbled their agreement.
One by one, the brothers left the table, each to deal with the news in their own way. Gabe looked around for his stepdad and his mom to say goodbye and discovered they were in their bedroom with the door shut. He could hear his mom speaking in soft tones. He gave them their privacy. He’d call tomorrow.
Gabe drove straight home and pounded on Zoe’s door until she opened it. He pushed his way in, afraid she’d slam the door in his face again.
“Vinny has stage two cancer,” he choked out.
“I’m so sorry.” She wrapped her arms around him, and he felt like he could breathe again.
~ ~ ~
Zoe let Gabe spend the night. Her anger with him dissolved the minute she saw the devastated look on his face. He was quiet, somber, already mourning his stepdad. He didn’t want to talk about it, so she did her best just to be there for him. Fred was a nice distraction, and Gabe spent a good amount of time tossing Fred his squeaky bone toy. They watched some TV together, and Zoe finally got up the nerve to ask Gabe about his stepdad. “Did the doctor say anything about his prognosis?” she asked gently.
“He has an eighty-seven percent survival rate,” Gabe said, staring at the TV.
“Gabe, that’s great!”
He looked at her. “There’s nothing great about cancer. Especially if he needs chemo too. That’s very hard on the body. Jared’s looking into a second opinion if it comes to that.”
“I know. But honestly I think he’s going to be okay. Those are really great odds.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Do you play the odds?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Do you bet on the long shot, or go for the sure thing?”
Somehow she felt like her answer meant something significant to Gabe. She considered the question, her life spent in pursuit of a dream. “Definitely the long shot.”
His eyes burned into hers. “I go for the sure thing.”
She swallowed hard. “The reward is greater for the long shot.”
“Sometimes.” He pulled her into his lap. “Sometimes you have to balance risk and reward.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I want to go for the long shot.” His arms wrapped around her. “With you.”
“I’m a sure thing,” she joked. “One kiss and I’m mush.”
He cupped her cheek and kissed her tenderly. “Zoe, will you marry me?”
She leaped off his lap. “Why?”
“Because life’s short, and I love you and want to spend the rest of my life knowing I have you to come home to.”
Her heart was racing. She tried to think it through. Earlier he’d been intent on getting her to wear his ring in a fit of jealousy.
“Does this have anything to do with me going on tour?” She paced in front of the sofa. “I mean if we get the gig.”
“That plays a part,” he said. “Maybe I would’ve waited a little longer to ask. But there’s no question in my mind that I would one day ask.”
She stopped pacing. “Why?”
“I just told you why. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before. I’m a sure thing for you. You go for the sure thing, I’ll go for the long shot. Maybe we’ll meet in the middle.”
She wrung her hands together. “You’re saying all the right things, but this just feels wrong. The timing with your stepdad and my tour.”
He snagged her hand and pulled her into his lap again. “You need time to think about it.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed a hot trail along her cheek, her jawline. She tipped her head, relaxing into his embrace, her last thought that he might not be going anywhere, but she was. And then she stopped thinking as he pushed her back on the sofa, taking his time with her as he peeled off her clothes and worshipped her with his hands and mouth.
How could she tell him no when every cell in her body told him yes?
~ ~ ~
Gabe had Zoe right where he wanted her an hour later, naked in bed with him spooning her from behind. Being with Zoe made him feel alive, and he needed that reassurance right now with the way it felt death had caught up with him. He could push the old fear away, keep the panic down when he had her in his arms. It wasn’t that late. Nine or so. He knew he should let her rest, but he already wanted to go for round two.
He pushed her hair back and kissed her temple. “Are you still mad about the ring?”
She looked at him over her shoulder. “Do you still want to say goodbye if I go on tour?”
“No.”
She turned in his arms. “Then I’m not mad about the ring.”
He rolled on top of her, entwining his fingers with hers and pulling them over her head. “Does that mean you’ll wear my ring?”
“Please, Gabe, let’s wait. I want to make sure we’re doing this for the right reasons.”
“We are.”
“It’s too soon.”
He kissed her with all the love he was feeling, and she returned the kiss with equal passion. He couldn’t stop kissing her. Her cell phone rang, and she made a small squeak. He lifted his head, still keeping her pinned underneath him. “Don’t answer it.”
“Jordan said he’d call either tonight or early tomorrow with the verdict!”
He knew it was silly to postpone the inevitable. He let her go.
She rolled out of bed and snagged her cell off the kitchen counter. “What’s the news?”
She yelped and did a bouncing dance in place. Gabe put his arm over his eyes, working hard to move to supportive-boyfriend mode. She did a series of uh-huhs and hung up. “We got it!”
He sat up and smiled. “Congratulations.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Be happy for me. This is what I’ve been working toward my whole life. Big audiences, name recognition, everything! Touring with Hep Six is going to open the door for so many opportunities.”
“When do you leave?” His voice came out harsher than he’d intended. He swallowed past the lump in his throat.
“Three weeks,” she said, her smile fading. “Jordan says they want us out there for two weeks of rehearsal before we start the tour. April twenty-fifth through the end of July are confirmed. They might add August dates back in the States if there’s interest.” She looked at him; her earlier happiness faded.
He hadn’t meant to make that smile dim. He pushed down his own feelings. “C’mere.” He opened his arms to her with a smile.
She ran back to him and leaped on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her. She propped herself up on his chest and stroked his hair, probably trying to soothe him. “Please be happy.”
“If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“I am.” She beamed. “Gabe, I’m so, so happy.” He wished his marriage proposal had made her this happy, but he could wait. He had to wait.
“Then I’m happy too.” He rolled, pinning her beneath him, wanting to cement his hold on her. “We’ll marry as soon as you get back from your tour.”
“We’ll talk about it.”
He kissed her. “You always say yes when I’ve got you naked in bed.”
“That’s because I can barely speak.”
He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent, trying to memorize all of her. He kissed her again because his body told her better than his words how he felt. He claimed her, thoroughly, desperately, with the unsettling feeling that no matter how much he hung onto her, she would still slip through his fingers.
Chapter Sixteen
“I’m ho-o-o-me!” Zoe called as she let herself into her parents’ house for lunch on Monday.
“In the kitchen!” her mom said.
Zoe rushed into the kitchen, already smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. “We did it! We’re going on tour with Hep Six!”
Her
mom whooped and hugged her.
“I knew it!” her dad exclaimed, wrapping his arms around both of them. “Finally! Jordan really came through.”
Zoe pulled away. “What do you mean Jordan came through?”
“He got you the gig, didn’t he?” her dad asked.
“He got them to listen, but it was our sound that they liked.”
“We’re so happy for you,” her mom said, smoothing things over for her dad as usual.
“I knew your break was just around the corner,” her dad said. “You finally made the big time.”
Zoe tensed. “So if I didn’t get this tour, would you say I was small potatoes?”
“Now, Zoe—” her mom started.
Her dad frowned. “I don’t know what’s got you all worked up, girl. This is a happy occasion.”
“I am happy,” Zoe said. “I just…I don’t know. I hope you didn’t see me as a failure up to this point.”
“Why would you think that?” her mom said.
Zoe felt tears threaten, and she forced them back. “Just because you were in the movies, Dad was on TV, Jaz was on Broadway, and I was playing clubs and waitressing.”
“But you were working, following your dream,” her dad said. “And it paid off.”
“What if I had gone indie? Just put out my own album online.”
Her dad’s brows drew together. “Like anyone with a computer could do? You’ve worked much too hard to settle for the likes of that. After this tour, the record companies will be calling you, mark my words. You’ll have a label behind you like that.” He snapped his fingers.
Zoe deflated further. “And what if I don’t?”
“C’mon, let’s have lunch, and you can tell us all about the tour,” her mom said.
Zoe followed her mom to the kitchen table, feeling somehow like her good news was too little too late.
~ ~ ~
Gabe went in to see his stepdad at the hospital as soon as he was allowed visitors. He stopped short in the doorway. Vinny, who’d always seemed larger than life, looked almost fragile tucked into the hospital bed. His mom and his brother Vince were already there.
He crossed to his stepdad’s side. “How’d the surgery go?”
“Hey, Gabe,” his stepdad said in a tired, weak voice. “Went all right.”
“Do you need chemo?” Gabe asked.
“Still waiting to hear on that,” he replied.
“The doctor said the surgery went very well, and they think they got all of it,” his mom put in. “That’s the best news we could hope for.”
“How’s Zoe?” his stepdad asked.
“She’s good, Dad.”
“You deserve to be happy. I couldn’t have asked for a better son.” He closed his eyes.
Gabe’s heart clutched. His stepdad had been saying a lot of things lately that sounded like heartfelt goodbyes. He glanced up to find his brother glaring at him.
“What about me, Dad?” Vince asked, but their dad didn’t respond. “Your firstborn.”
“I think he needs to rest,” their mom whispered. “I’ll call you when he wakes up.”
Gabe took one last look at his stepdad and left. Vince went with him a moment later.
“How’s it feel to be the golden child?” Vince asked.
“I’m sure he would say the same to all of us,” Gabe replied calmly. “He’s tired from the surgery. Give him a break.”
They stopped in front of the elevator and waited in tense silence. Then they got on with a few other passengers and took the ride down.
Vince waited until they got to the parking lot before saying, “I came here to see my father and instead I get pushed aside for the golden child, the rich lawyer. Why can’t you be more like Gabe? he asks. Why can’t you study harder? Go to college like your brother.”
Gabe turned, surprised. “He said that?”
“Yeah, thanks for that. Thanks for being the perfect son he never had.”
“I’m not perfect, Vince.”
“You know how badly I wanted to kick your ass growing up?”
“You did kick my ass.”
“Nah. Not really. Not nearly as much as I wanted to.”
“Well, we’re at the hospital.” He spread his arms wide. “Take your best shot. I’ll just check into the E.R. when you’re done.”
Vince got up close. “You think I won’t?”
“The point is,” Gabe drawled. “I don’t care. In fact, you’d be doing me a favor.” He’d rather have his body hurt than the wrenching pain in his heart over his stepdad in the hospital and Zoe about to leave him. He raised his chin. “C’mon, hit me.”
Vince pulled back his fist and feinted a punch to the jaw, ending with a soft nudge. “You didn’t flinch.”
“I told you I don’t care.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? You should care. I’ve got serious body mass on you. I could take you down in two seconds flat.”
Gabe shoved him away, but Vince didn’t budge. “You know, just because you can’t love anybody but yourself doesn’t mean Dad is the same way, you selfish bastard.”
Vince shoved Gabe, but Gabe stood his ground. “I never once complained about you calling my mother Ma,” Gabe said. “Yet you still can’t deal with your father being Dad to the rest of us.”
“I didn’t have a mother,” Vince spat. “You had a father. Why do you get to have both?”
“It’s not a zero-sum game,” Gabe said.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Vince hollered.
“It means me gaining a dad doesn’t mean you lost a dad.”
“That’s bullshit. You got two dads, and I got a lot less of my one dad. Don’t tell me that’s not a zero sum. I lost, and you won.”
Gabe gave up trying to get through Vince’s thick skull. His brother was stubborn, and if he hadn’t gotten over the stepbrother thing by now, he never would.
“Bye, Vince.” Gabe headed to his car.
“Don’t you walk away from me!” Vince hollered.
Gabe kept going. If Vince was going to lay into him, he would’ve done it by now.
“I still want to kick your ass, golden boy!” Vince called.
Gabe gave him the one-finger salute and got into his car.
~ ~ ~
Zoe woke up Saturday morning with a smile on her face for several reasons—all due to Gabe. First of all, he was doing his best to be supportive of her going on tour, even though she knew it was hard for him. And last night he’d gone to rehearsal with her and praised her up and down as the next big thing. Not to mention how he surprised her when they got back to his place.
He’d installed a pet door right off the kitchen. “So Fred can come and go whenever he needs to. I’ll, uh, watch him when you’re away. He already knows me, and he’s used to it here—”
She threw her arms around him. “Fred would love that. Thank you!”
He shifted her and pointed out where he’d placed baby gates to keep Fred confined to the kitchen area at night or when they were out.
If she hadn’t been falling for Gabe before, that sealed the deal.
Now she snuggled into Gabe’s arms. He was, as usual, spooning her from behind. She was so used to that now it was going to be hard to sleep alone again. She turned in his arms. His eyes were still closed. “Gabe, you awake?”
He didn’t respond.
“I love you so much,” she whispered. “I have this stupid idea that we have to make it past eight weeks before it’s real. Just because it seems like everything ends then, and wouldn’t you know it, I’m leaving on our eight-week anniversary, but I’m not going to worry about that anymore. I’m just going to enjoy every single minute we have left.” She took a deep breath. “And I’m going to look forward to the day I see you again after my tour. Though I’m still hoping you’ll visit. Please visit.” She wrapped her arms tight around him, and he mumbled something.
She pulled back a little. “What’d you say?”
“Mmm…today
’s going to be a good day.” He stroked her cheek. “Especially since I’m not letting you leave this bed until we visit my stepdad.”
“Gabe! I can’t stay in bed all day.”
“I want you,” he growled, pulling her leg over his, making her feel how much he wanted her.
“Can I shower at least?” she asked in mock outrage.
“Of course you can shower.” His hand slid over her bottom. “With me.”
“You’re hard to refuse,” she breathed.
He yanked the covers off her. “I only want to hear yes.”
“Yes.”
He flashed a quick smile before dropping down to her ankles, where he began kissing his way hungrily up to her inner thigh, using his tongue and teeth, with occasional nips that had her jolting. Then he settled between her legs, pulled her legs over his shoulders, and pushed forward, spreading her wider with his shoulders. “Scream my name,” he ordered.
“Yes,” she hissed out as his mouth closed over her throbbing sex.
She gave him everything he wanted every time. And loved every shuddering minute.
Much later, after they’d showered and she was a limp, clean noodle, she wrapped herself in a robe—Gabe liked to keep her in as little clothing as possible—and headed down to the kitchen, where Gabe had started breakfast. He had pancakes going.
“I smell bacon,” she said in wonder. “I thought you didn’t cook.”
He turned, one corner of his mouth turning up. “Shane gave me a cooking lesson on Wednesday when you were working. Surprise.”
“Are you serious?”
“I have to keep up your strength.”
She shook her head with a smile and sat at the kitchen island. Gabe delivered a thick mug of divine coffee to her and returned to the stove. She wrapped her fingers around the mug, feeling all kinds of content. Usually she was so restless, always looking for the next big thing. With Gabe, she felt settled. A short while later, he motioned for her to follow to the dining room, placing a stack of pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of her. There was a swirl of whipped cream on top. She could get used to this. She dug in. He went back to the kitchen to get something. Syrup, she figured. Then she startled when she heard a pop. Was that champagne?
“Champagne at breakfast?” she called to the other room. “Is this heaven?”
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