Page 35 of Mine to Love
But of what?
“Charlie shouldn’t have told you that,” she said. “I should have and I’m sorry I didn’t sooner.”
“I don’t understand. What did he do that was so bad? I mean… I know… I saw some things and I… I… I… know you cried a lot. But Charlie says he loves you.”
“He doesn’t love me.” Liberty took Gabriel’s hand. “That is not what real love looks like. I get this is confusing and it’s not what I brought you here to talk about, but I’m glad we did.”
“I want to know what Charlie did,” Gabriel said. “Please tell me.”
She nodded. “But not right now. Not here. Let’s do it tonight after dinner.”
“Okay.”
“I’d like to switch gears and chat about something else.”
“Is this going to be heavy too?” He folded his arms. “This is why I feel like there’s a big storm coming.”
“It’s not some big thing, but it is something I wanted to discuss with you before it happened.”
Gabriel sighed. “What is it?” he said curtly, lowering his gaze.
She might as well go for broke. “Miles asked me to go on a date with him.”
“Did you turn him down again?” Gabriel dunked a fry into the ketchup.
“No. This time I accepted.”
He dropped the fry in his lap.
Liberty wanted to laugh, but she refrained. Instead, she handed Gabriel a napkin, opting not to treat him like a child and clean it up for him.
“Why? When?” Gabriel lifted his head.
“Because I kind of like him.” She found herself smiling. “And he wants to take me to dinner tomorrow night. His brothers Rhett and Jameson have offered to take you fishing while this date happens.”
Gabriel narrowed his stare. “I don’t need babysitters.”
“I know. That’s not what this is. They’re going anyway and thought you’d like to come.” For obvious reasons, she left out the fact she didn’t want him to be alone because of Charlie. “It’s up to you,” she added, hoping that would be all he needed to make the right choice.
“I like Miles’ family. And like fishing. It’s fun.”
“Then it’s settled. Rhett will pick you up at the shop when you’re done working tomorrow and bring you home later and I’ll go on a date with Miles.” She bit into her burger.
“He likes you. A lot.”
“And what makes you say that?”
“A man knows these things.” Gabriel waved a fry in the air and smiled a cheeky grin as if he held all the answers. This was the Gabriel she loved. The one who went through life like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Do you really like him?”
“I wouldn’t have agreed to go out with him if I didn’t.”
“You went back to Charlie after you lost the baby and you didn’t like him,” Gabriel said. His words were laced with thick emotion. He’d been the only one to stay by her side when she lost her little girl.
She blinked. They hadn’t talked about the baby she lost in a long time. It had not only been too painful for her, but Gabriel had blamed her for what happened. He’d been poisoned by Charlie’s lies. Gabriel had cried for days over that loss and when he’d finally been able to put it behind him, they never spoke of it again. Of course, she was too scared to bring it up.
“Things were complicated,” she said softly. “We all needed a little time to heal before we could leave.” That was about as good of an answer as any.
“But you still didn’t like him. Or love him.” Gabriel continued to munch on his fries. “And I want to know why.”
