Chapter 30

I closed up my notes for the day and got out from behind my desk. So far the first week of school had been uneventful, which was a nice change of pace. The last few years the first week of school had been crazy. I called out a goodbye to my secretary as I walked out of my office.

The hallways were mostly empty since school had ended at least an hour earlier. The only students remaining were one’s on a fall sports team. I stopped and talked to Paige for a few minutes before continuing out to the parking lot. I walked out of the door and dug into my purse for my car keys. When I looked back up, I nearly fell over in shock.

Standing there, leaning against one of the support poles in front of the school was Patrick. His arms were crossed over his chest, one ankle crossed over the other. The moment our eyes locked he beamed over at me. Completely forgetting where I was, I rushed over to him and jumped into his arms with a squeal.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my arms wrapping around him in a tight hug.

“I decided to fly back a few days early to surprise you,” he replied. “Surprise!” I laughed along with him.

“I’d kiss you if I wasn’t still on school property,” I told him, unable to keep the smile off of my face.

“Then let’s go.”

He got into his car and followed me back to my apartment. The second the cars were parked and we were out of them, we were in each other’s arms. I didn’t care that we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk outside my building, I just cared that Patrick was back and his lips were on mine.

We managed to fumble our way into the building, up the elevator, and to my apartment. I felt like a giddy teenager, but didn’t care at all. As soon as we were inside he had my back pressed up against the door, our mouths seemingly unable to pull apart. I felt him untuck my shirt from my pants, and shivered when his hands skimmed over my stomach.

“Have I told you how beautiful you looked yet?” he asked between kisses.

“Have I told you how happy I am to see you?” I returned.

We left a trail of clothes leading from the entryway to my bedroom. My head was spinning like it wasn’t getting enough oxygen, or maybe too much of it. His touch felt electric and I felt like I’d die if he ever stopped touching me.

“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked me later, as we lay tangled up together in bed.

“I was just going to relax after the first week of school,” I answered, placing a few kisses along his jawline.

“Then pack up some stuff. You’re coming to my place, and I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight until Monday morning when you go back to work.”

I did what Patrick said and packed a bag of stuff, including work clothes for Monday. Then I grabbed some of Loxley’s stuff and we headed out. I followed Patrick back to his house, where Loxley was overjoyed to be reunited with Dudley. While they ran around the backyard, Patrick and I sat and watched them, hands intertwined, talking about the past month.

I spent most of the next day helping him unpack and get settled back in for the season. He argued with me through most of it, telling me he could do it himself, but if I was going to stay here, there was no way I was digging through boxes for anything. At one point Patrick stopped me from unpacking a box.

“I have something to show you,” he told me. I looked at him skeptically as he took my hand and led me back towards his bedroom.

“I think I’ve already seen it,” I joked. He just rolled his eyes at me.

To my surprise he took a detour and led me to the door of one of the guest rooms in his house instead of his room. I looked at him in confusion and waited for him to say something. Instead he just smiled at me before slowly turning the doorknob and opening the door. When I looked in, my breath caught in my throat.

The bed that had been in there was gone, replaced by an easel. The dresser was replaced with shelving that held an assortment of paints and brushes. A desk and small couch were the only other furnishings in the room. I stepped in and inspected the selection on the shelves and found that he’d gotten the same stuff I always used.

“It’s so you can paint if you want while you’re here,” I heard him say from the doorway.

Tears filled my eyes at the gesture. He knew how much I enjoyed painting and how therapeutic it was for me. For him to convert an entire room in his house into a studio just for me went above and beyond what anyone had ever done for me. A strange new feeling seemed to overtake me, and I wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“What? How? When?” I blabbered.

“Yesterday while you were at work,” he explained.

“Thank you,” I choked out, when I finally turned back to him.

He closed the distance between us and pulled me into a hug, placing a kiss on my forehead in the process. I clung to him as the tears slid down my cheeks. My whirling emotions were getting the best of me right now and I was struggling to understand what this new sensation was.

All I knew was that my heart was pounding, my head was spinning, and I felt nauseous in an almost pleasant way. This was something I’d never felt before and I wasn’t used to not being able to rationalize my emotions. I pulled back a little and looked up at him. As I looked into Patrick’s eyes he took a hand and gently wiped the tears away.

I saw something then, swimming in his eyes that made me understand. I felt like it was suddenly plain as day and like I should have known all along. The word pounded through my brain. Love. This was what being in love felt like. I let my hands fall away from around Patrick as I tried to swallow back the lump forming in my throat. Suddenly the nausea wasn’t so pleasant feeling anymore.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concern replacing what I’d just seen in his eyes. I nodded even as I backed away from him.

“Yeah. I think so. I’m just so surprised,” I lied. He smiled at me again and pulled me back in to him.

I had been hit way too suddenly with this realization to be okay in the least bit. He tilted my chin up so that I was looking at him again and he lowered his mouth to mine. As I kissed him back I fought the urge to pull away and run. I wasn’t prepared for this. I wasn’t ready for this to be happening.










Patrick lay awake, Gabrielle in his arms. She was tucked into him, fitting together like two puzzle pieces that belonged. He could smell the light flowery scent emanating from her hair, and while that usually was enough to put a smile on his face, it wasn’t doing the trick tonight. Instead he was wondering if he’d gone too far.

He didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to him that setting up an extra room in his house strictly for Gabby’s use would get to her. At the time he’d just thought that she’d appreciate what he’d done for her. When he saw her reaction he knew what he’d actually done. It was like he could actually see every emotion she was feeling clear as day.

At first when she’d seen the room, he could see how happy and appreciative she’d been. She’d been shocked and yet overjoyed by it. When she’d clung to him, the tears in her eyes, he’d been right there. He’d almost blurted it out. He’d almost told her that he loved her, forgetting what she’d said to him months ago.

He knew she felt it too. He could read it in her eyes when she’d looked up at him and he’d wiped the tears away. He could feel her rapidly beating heart as she was pressed against him. Seeing that look on her face, in her eyes, had almost cost him all the progress he’d made with her.

It sounded strange, but he felt like she knew he was about to say it. His mouth was about to open to tell her when he saw fear wipe away all other emotions on her face. Her body had stiffened and she’d backed away from him. He could see the inner turmoil over what was happening written all over her expressions. She’d told him that she was okay, but he knew that was a lie.

He also knew that calling her out on it would have been an even bigger mistake. She’d told him not to fall in love with her. It was too late for that, but then again he’d always felt that she’d actually meant she didn’t want to hear him say it. Now he knew that she wasn’t ready for it. She wasn’t ready to hear him tell her that, even if he was positive she felt the same way.

And that was something else. He didn’t think anyone else got to be as lucky as he was. He got to actually witness the moment when the girl he was in love with fell in love with him. He could see it happen. It was a moment he wouldn’t soon forget.

Suddenly, he was yanked out of his thoughts when Gabby bolted upright in bed with a yell. She ripped herself from his grasp and struggled to get her ragged breathing under control. He could see sweat glistening on her brow in the moonlight shining into the bedroom.

“Hey, Gabby, it’s okay. I’m here. You’re okay,” he told her gently, calmly, as he reached out for her.

She let him pull her back into him. He held her as her body shook from whatever nightmare she’d just had. Like he’d done a few times before, he pressed his forehead against hers and placed her hand on his chest. He didn’t have to say anything. She understood what he was doing and her breathing soon returned to normal.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized in a whisper.

“You don’t ever have to apologize to me,” he responded.

She looked up at him for the first time and he saw it there again in her eyes. This time he wasn’t going to make the mistake. He didn’t want to see her love for him disappear again. Instead he placed a kiss on her forehead, the tip of her nose, and then her lips before pulling her back down to the bed. He wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head on his chest. He waited until she couldn’t see his eyes again before he let the thought run through his mind. I love you, Gabby.