Page 122 of Every Broken Piece
I look from Gabe, to Pax, and back to Gabe, unsure.
“We’d really like you to come have pizza with us. But if it’s something you’re not comfortable with and you really don’t want to go, we understand,” Gabe says.
“Are you sure?” Memories of being the foster kid that always tagged along bombard me.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” he says softly. “But I’ll respect whatever decision you make.”
Chapter fifty-four
Tess
“Come on, Tess. Have pizza with us,” Pax pleads.
“Don’t push her, son.” The fact that Gabe’s putting this in my hands, giving me the power over the decision makes a difference. However, it’s the love in his eyes and the disappointment I’d surely see if I didn’t go that finally convinces me.
“All right. If you’re sure, then I’ll go with you.”
Gabe’s bright smile convinces me I made the right decision. “Let me change then we can go.”
“It’s so close that we usually walk,” Pax says when Gabe hurries up the stairs. “It’s a hole in the wall, but they have the best pizza, and like Dad said, we’ve been going there forever.”
Pax’s easygoing chatter eases my worry that I’m intruding.
When Gabe returns looking not like a billionaire CEO in worn jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt, we head out. Pax rambles on about some computer program. Gabe seems to understand, and I tune it out, happy to be outside with these two, feeling like I really do belong. Especially when Gabe grasps my hand anddoesn’t let go. I shoot side-glances at Pax. If he looks the least uncomfortable with our PDA I’m pulling away, but he doesn’t even seem to notice and when we enter the small restaurant, Jack is waiting for us.
“Tess!” he yells from across the room, making heads turn and me blush. “I was hoping you’d come.”
He slides over to allow Pax to sit next to him. With a wave of his hand Gabe directs me to take the opposite side of the booth. He follows, settling in next to me.
“We always get two pizzas,” Pax says. “Meat lover and veggie lover because Dad thinks we need to balance all the meat with veggies.”
Gabe hands me a menu. “You get what you want, Tess.”
“I’m okay with meat and veggie.”
He leans close enough that his hot breath against my neck sends shivers down my spine. “No, Spitfire. You get what you want. Unless you really do like meat and veggies.”
I don’t. I’ve never been a fan of either.
Pax taps the menu in front of me. “They have all kinds of different pizzas. Calzones too.”
I lock gazes with Jack, and he grins, tipping his head toward the menu.
The waitress arrives, an older woman with a nametag that says Tina. “Heya, Pax, Gabe, Jack...” She looks at me with a raised brow.
“This is Tess,” Gabe says. “My girl.”
My girl?
Tina grins. “Nice to meet’cha, Tess. Ya’ll want the usual?”
“We’ll take the usual and whatever Tess wants,” Gabe says.
I clear my throat and straighten my shoulders. “I’ll have a calzone with spinach and mushrooms.”
Tina doesn’t write anything down, just gathers the menus. “And to drink?”
The question is directed at me, and I look at the men surrounding me, unsure.
