Indiscretion: Volume Four (5 page)

Max lay underneath me, still rock hard with a satisfied grin on his face. “There is nothing better in this world than watching you come.”

“I disagree. I think being the one to come is actually much better,” I said with sass.

He looked at me, amused, and arched a brown. “Hmm. Let’s test that theory.”

He gripped my hips and held me still while he jackhammered into me from below—over and over until he cried out and emptied himself into me.

I collapsed on top of him in a satisfied heap, both of us panting and trying to catch our breath. We were sweaty, but I enjoyed the feeling of his skin sticking to mine. Max wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled into my hair, inhaling deeply.

Eventually I pulled my head up to look at him. He brushed my hair off my face and held it back, giving me a kiss.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now than right here. No one I’d rather be with,” he said, his voice serious.

I opened up my heart, as difficult as that was, finding the courage to let myself believe him. Maybe I was a fool, maybe I would end up with a broken heart. I couldn’t be sure. But life was full of surprises, both good and bad, and where Max was concerned I decided to throw my tendency of always having a plan and looking ahead at what the future held out the window.

I’d enjoy this and whatever emotions came along with it, for as long as it lasted—and once it was gone I’d enjoy the memory of it. I refused to regret one minute I spent with Max, regardless of the eventual outcome.

He was the one that had helped me to find myself again. He was the one who had given me the courage to allow myself to really feel again. And, as I was discovering, with feeling came the good and the bad. But if you never passed through a storm, than you’d have no appreciation for the rainbow.

Chloe

“You seem distracted tonight.”

I looked across my car at Gabe. We were out house hunting, but my mind had been elsewhere for a good portion of the evening. Max told me that he’d filled Jamie in about the note at the charity gala before we’d left Jackie’s house last weekend. He assured me the two of them were handling it and I was not to worry. Only a few days had passed, and I still couldn’t get it out of my mind, which obviously hadn’t gone unnoticed by Gabe.

“Sorry. A lot of stuff going on at work.” I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. I hadn’t filled Gabe in on any of the other incidents since he didn’t know that Max and I were still seeing each other. I could trust him, but the less people who knew the better. “Here we are,” I announced as we pulled into the driveway of a charming little bungalow.

“It looks pretty well maintained,” he said, stepping out of the car and pushing his rolled sleeves further up his arms. With Gabe’s budget the likelihood of him getting a completely renovated home within close distance to Acadia was unlikely, but he seemed to have grown fond of the idea of putting his stamp on his own place with a home renovation project or two.

“Let’s go take a look.” I made my way up the stone walkway, Gabe following close behind. Checking my phone for the lockbox code, I punched it in and turned the key in the lock to open the door. “Let’s see what we have here,” I said, pushing open the door.

I walked into the slate-tiled entryway, Gabe behind me, his hand on my lower back. I didn’t know why, but something about the gesture sounded off an alarm in my head. We’d been friends for a long time, and it was something he’d done a million times before. For some reason, though, it made me uncomfortable and had me on edge tonight. I casually walked away from him, deeper into the house.

“This place has been empty for a couple months so it’s a little musty in here, but it’s nothing that some open windows and fresh air can’t fix.”

Gabe stood in the living room entrance, his hands on his hips as he scanned the room, taking everything in, me included. “The hardwood is still in good shape.” He nodded his approval. “I wouldn’t need to do anything with it.”

“Great,” I agreed and we made our way through the rest of the house without any more uncomfortable scenarios. I mentally chastised myself for my earlier thoughts. I was probably just overly sensitive with everything that had been going on.

Turned out, Gabe liked the house quite a bit and was considering putting an offer in. We discussed what renovations would have to be done right away and which could wait.

“Did you notice if the roof needed to be done?” he asked.

“No, actually. Let’s go back out and take a look.”

Because of the angle of the roof, we needed to step far back from the house to get a good look at it. I was backing up on the lawn, trying not to let my heels sink into the grass. I craned my neck, trying to get a better look as I blocked the sun’s rays with my hand, when my heel caught on something and I fell backward.

“Aaah!” I screamed before I could stop myself.

Instantly, a set of hands came up under my arms, stopping me from hitting the ground. I spluttered for a moment, my legs all cockeyed. It took me a second to correct them and get my balance so I could stand on my own.

“Careful. You almost went ass over tea kettle there,” Gabe said, his voice low while he helped me to get back on my feet.

I had to catch my breath as my face burned with embarrassment. Gabe may have been my friend, but it’d be nice to appear somewhat professional. “Thank God you were there to catch me.” I tried to laugh it off.

I shifted my feet, my pulse evening out, and we shared a look. Gabe’s pupils dilated and he licked his bottom lip. Like someone had snapped their fingers, the atmosphere around us changed. It was that quick and it caught me completely off guard.

Gabe brought his hand to my cheek. “Chloe, haven’t you realized that I’ll always be there to catch you if you fall?” He leaned forward, and before I registered what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around me and was kissing me. It took me a couple of seconds, but I came to my senses and pushed him away.

“Gabe! What’re you doing?” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “We’re friends.”

“I want us to be more than friends,” he said with a serious voice. “I care about you.” His gaze was intense. More intense than I’d ever seen in all the years I’d known him.

I blinked, surprised. I’d never gotten this vibe from him. I knew he was fond of me but I always thought it was in a friendly way only. “How long have you felt this way?”

“For a while now. I realize you may not feel the same, but maybe if we tried…went on a couple dates together, you could feel differently.” His eyes were pleading with me.

My brows drew together, and I pursed my lips. I felt horrible. He was my friend, and I didn’t want to hurt him, but I needed to make it clear that I didn’t feel that way about him. I wasn’t going to give him any false hope.

“Gabe, you’re one of my closest friends and I care about you, but not in that way. I look at you as more of a brother, not a love interest.” I bit my lip, hoping that didn’t come off harsh. I didn’t mean it that way.

He grimaced and ran a hand through his sandy-colored hair. “Ouch.”

“I’m sorry.” I pressed a hand to my forehead. “That came out all wrong.”

“No, you were just being honest,” he said, though I sensed the hurt behind his words. “Do you think if we were to try going out, you might feel differently?” There was clear hope on his face, and I hated being the one who had to wipe it clean off.

I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry. You’re a wonderful man and I value our friendship, but it’ll never be anything more than that for me.” I reached for his forearm and squeezed.

He put his hands in his pockets and stared down at the ground for a while, looking dejected. Finally he raised his head and looked at me in earnest. “Well, I’m still glad I at least tried.” He shrugged. “Worse than getting rejected would’ve been to look back and never know what might’ve happened.”

I understood that statement more than I could possibly tell him.

“I don’t want this to affect our friendship, Gabe,” I pleaded. “I’m not sure what I’d do if you weren’t in my life, I just…I don’t have those kind of feelings for you.”

He nodded with a furrowed brown. “I understand. I don’t want anything to happen to our friendship either. I’ll get over it. Don’t worry about me.” He kicked at the grass with the toe of his shoe.

I gave him a small smile. “We good?” I held my breath waiting for his answer, anxious for confirmation that I wasn’t losing a good friend.

“Yeah, we’re good,” he insisted. “I don’t want things to be strange between us, so let’s pretend this never happened.” He hooked his arm around my neck in a friendly gesture as we made our way back to the house. “You’re still gonna help me with the housewarming party after I buy this place, right?” he asked with a tentative grin.

I laughed, internally exhaling. “Of course. We wouldn’t want everyone to have to deal with only pizza and beer at the party, now would we?”

He turned to me with a confused expression. “There’s another option?”

I was really laughing now. “Oh, Gabe,” I said patting his shoulder. “We really do need to find you a woman.”

He shoved me playfully to the side, then tucked me under his arm again as we continued back up to the house so I could lock the door. “Easier said than done.”

Chloe

The following week I was helping some potential buyers in the showroom when my phone started buzzing in my purse. Whoever it was could wait, this couple were hot buyers, and I was only a handful of deals away from making my bonus. My phone pinged once to indicate a voice message, and a minute later it began buzzing again.

Whoever it was certainly was persistent. It didn’t surprise me when the showroom phone started ringing only a few moments after the buzzing in my purse stopped.

I gave the couple an apologetic smile. “If you could excuse me a moment, I’ll be right back.”

They nodded politely and went back to perusing the brochure as I made my way toward the desk. The moment I had the phone to my ear, Jackie said my name in a panic. My stomach clenched at her tone, but Jackie had always had a tendency to be dramatic so I figured whatever it was could wait.

“I’m with some clients right now. I’ll call you back in a bit,” I spoke in a whispered rush so the couple wouldn’t overhear.

“No, no, no! Don’t hang up!” She was frantic. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m at work and someone just called in and said there’s been an accident at Richfield Developments.”

“What!” I shrieked. My stomach dropped and my heart pounded hard in my chest. I was breathing heavily, but I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. I glanced over at the couple, who were eyeing me with concern, and gave them a small reassuring smile. “What happened?” I asked with as much control as I could muster.

“I don’t really know, but from what I gather, part of the structure collapsed.” She drew in a deep breath. “I wanted to let you know right away.”

Collapsed?
My head suddenly felt like it was swimming. “I’m headed over there right now, thanks,” I said quickly, then slammed the phone down. I grabbed my purse and hurried over to the people that were my potential pay check and my hope for securing my future. But none of that mattered right now. “I’m sorry but a friend of mine has been in an accident and I have to go. Maybe we can meet back up in a day or two?” I asked, hope and panic both edging my voice.

“Of course,” said the woman, a note of concern in her voice. “I hope your friend is going to be okay. We have one of your cards. We’ll call you in a couple of days.”