My Gigolo (29 page)

A warm hand settled on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and shoved out of the booth, heading for the door. “Don’t. I need to think. I…I have to get out of here.”

“Hey, wait up. I’ll take you home.”

“No. Damn it, I need to be alone right now.” Tears stung her eyes again, but she’d already cried once. She refused to do it again, especially in public, so she forced a laugh that was perilously close to a sob. “Besides, I don’t want to destroy your life, too.”

She hit the door running and was distantly glad she hadn’t bothered dressing to go out. Her old tennis shoes kept her on her feet for a good mile before her labored breathing finally slowed her down. She paled to think how many streets she’d thundered across, heedless of traffic. She vaguely remembered a few honking horns. More lives she might have selfishly ruined. God, how could she be so stupid?

Jack had quit. He wasn’t a gigolo. What was he, then? She thought of all the gas money he’d blown to drive down and see her. He’d mentioned an apartment. How was he paying for it? God, she would've run him broke without even realizing it. Why in God’s name had he quit? He actually liked the job…or had before she’d blundered into his life and screwed it all up.

She bent and braced her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. A stitch burned in her side, and her heart refused anything like a normal rhythm. Sweat trickled down her back and streaked her forehead, and her stupid curls stuck to her face. August was too hot, even in the evening, for a mile-long sprint.

Her body reluctantly returned to its normal state, and she cast a desolate look around to see if she even knew where she was. She needed to backtrack a few blocks, but it was only another mile or so home.

And just what would she do when she got there? What
could
she do? Jack had already thrown his life away. She’d never wanted that. She had fought it with every fiber of her being, but it had already been too late even then.

So…what?

A traitorous part of her whispered that since the damage was already done, she might as well enjoy the spoils, but she ruthlessly quenched that part. It was pure selfishness. Without her in the way, Jack could go back to his life. He'd probably even be grateful, once he realized he didn’t really love her. He couldn’t. She was nobody, and he had every woman in the world to choose from.

It was just…fascination. A break in the usual. She could understand him wanting to try something different, but he'd have tired of her eventually. How could he not? He was used to having any number of different women.

The traitor voice scoffed. She ignored it, walking as fast as the stitch in her side allowed. She'd go back to her own life, and he’d go back to his. It was the only way. He would never be happy with boring, plain Gabe Turner, no matter how much she loved him. And she wouldn’t be responsible for dragging him down to feed her own selfish needs.

She loved him too much to destroy him like that.

Jack left another message, then threw his cell phone at the couch. Mike said to sit tight, but how long did it take for a man to become pitiful? How long before he lost his self-respect?

Scowling, he guessed it didn’t matter. He’d love Gabe far longer than his pride would hold out. He couldn’t stop thinking of her face when she’d ordered him to leave. She hadn’t looked angry. She’d looked…wounded.

A knock at the door stopped him from snatching up his cell phone and leaving yet another message. He straightened, ran a hand through his hair and pushed down the absurd hope that Gabe had come to see him, to apologize, to take him back. She didn’t even know where he lived.

He couldn’t hide his disappointment, though, when it was only Regina at the door. “Hey, Reggie.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Not exactly the welcome I was hoping for. Trouble in paradise?”

“Is it written all over my face?”

“Just the left side.” He rolled his eyes, and she smiled. “That’s more like it. Now, tell me all about it.”

She walked in, and he snorted. “Come right in.”

“Offer me a Coke, too. It’s ungodly too hot out there.”

He complied with a cold can from the fridge, then gestured toward the living room. She settled into the sole armchair, so he sank onto the couch with a sigh.

“Why didn’t you call?”

He blinked slowly, much like Gabe frequently did. “Huh?”

“Why didn’t you tell me something’s wrong? I haven’t heard from you forever, and you never answer your phone. I was starting to worry.”

A guilty flush stole up his neck. He hadn’t even really noticed the messages. They weren’t from Gabe.

“I didn’t even think to. I’m not really in my right mind at the moment.”

She frowned. “You really aren’t used to having friends, are you?” She brushed aside his protest with a wave of her hand. “It’s all right. No offense taken. But you can talk to me, you know.”

“It’s Gabe.”

“I gathered.”

Grunting, he slumped back against the couch’s arm and kicked a leg up to sit sideways. He didn’t want to look at her while he spilled his guts. “I told her I loved her, and she kicked me out.”

“Hateful bitch.”

He shot a dangerous look at her. “No, she’s not.”

“Yes, she is. Doesn’t she know what you gave up for her?”

“No. I never told her.” He huffed something between a grunt and a sigh. “And I didn’t give up that much, anyway. I should’ve been out of the business years ago.”

Sniffing, she crossed her arms and glared. “That still doesn’t give her the right to give you the bum’s rush like that. How could she?”

He shrugged. “I dunno. I guess she doesn’t love me back.”

“To rephrase, how could she not?”

For some reason, that pulled a chuckle from him. “Look, Reggie, there’s a lot you don’t know. Hell, there’s a lot I don’t know. Gabe is…complicated.”

“Complicated usually means a bitch.”

“No, complicated is why I love her.” His lips twitched on a half-hearted grin. “I just shouldn’t have told her.”

Regina softened, shifting to lean on the chair’s arm and cock one foot up under her. “You had to tell her sometime. It’s not right to keep it all bottled up like you were.”

“It was damn hard. With every little thing she did, I wanted to blurt it out.” He crossed his arms and scowled. “Even now, though I want to wring her neck for not answering the damn phone, I only want her to answer so I can tell her again.”

She shook her head. “You’ve got it bad.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Like what the hell I’m supposed to do now.”

She shrugged. “Wait.”

Rolling his eyes, he slumped farther into the couch. “You sound like her sister. I don’t want to wait. This is killing me. I want to be with her right now. All the time. I don’t want to have to leave after the weekend.”

“You want to move to Joplin?”

“I want to marry her.”

He shot her a glance just in time to see both her eyebrows shoot up. She whistled low. “You really do have it bad. Had you made any definite plans?”

“No.” He hated the dejected sound of the word. “I didn’t dare plan that far ahead.”

“Apparently, for good reason.” She frowned in thought, idly tapping the top of her Coke can with a fingernail. “I take it you’ve talked to the sister?”

“Yeah.”

“And she says to wait.”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

“Do you think she has a plan?”

“No.” He tilted his head to one side. “Maybe. I dunno.”

“I hate to say it, Jack, but you may really just have to wait.” She bit her lower lip. “Have you…thought what you’ll do if Gabe doesn’t come around?”

He paled, cold panic gripping his heart. “No. I refuse to.”

“But—”

“No.” He stood, headed for the door. “I can’t think about it, Reggie. I appreciate you coming over to check on me, but I really need to be alone right now.”

“Jack…” He opened the door, and she reluctantly went through. “Call me if you need anything.”

He shut the door without answering. Regina couldn’t give him what he needed. No one could.

It was just like Doug to come over without calling first. She shuffled to the door, mentally preparing for the likely onslaught of pleas for Jack’s return, but her caller wasn’t Doug.

“Oh, kiddo.”

Mike practically flew at her, engulfing her in a bear hug that nearly squeezed the breath out of her. Gabe hugged back, more to avoid being bowled over than in any affection. She was simply too surprised. Mike hadn’t come all the way to Joplin since Gabe first moved into this house.

“What are you doing here?” The stunned surprise faded, and she clung to her sister, suddenly glad that someone she could confide in had finally arrived. Mike would fix everything. “Oh, Sis, I’m so glad you’re here!”

She pulled back just enough to see, and the sympathy in her older sister’s eyes nearly sent her off on another crying jag. It was appalling, really, how hard it was to avoid crying now that she’d indulged the once. Tears pricked her eyes over the stupidest things.

“Phil called. I came as soon as I could get Darren to watch the girls. I wanted to drive down last weekend, but he had to work.”

Sniffing and blinking hard, she shook her head and stepped back, pulling Mike all the way inside. “It’s all right. I didn’t expect you to come at all.” Her heart ached, making her voice choked. “I…I don’t know what to do.”

“First, let’s get you sat down. You look like death warmed over. Why didn’t you call me?”

She led the way through the dining room, pushing Gabe down onto one of the bar stools and continuing on into the kitchen. “Where do you keep your alcohol?”

Gabe surprised herself further by laughing. “You want to get drunk?”

“No, I want to get you drunk. You’ll never talk, otherwise. I know you.” She opened and shut several cabinets until she crowed in victory. “Good taste. I didn’t know you liked wine.”

When she saw the bottle, her eyes burned again. “Jack picked it out.”

Mike bit her lip. “Oh. Well, he does have good taste. After all, I hear he loves you and I can’t think of a better endorsement than that.”

Grunting, she propped her elbows on the breakfast bar and slumped. “Did everyone know but me?”

“Pretty much.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” She knew she was whining, but she couldn’t help it. Surely, she could have stopped this before it began if someone had just kept her in the loop.

“Would you have listened?” Mike poured two tea glasses three-quarters full and doled them out. “Drink up, and we’ll talk.”

“I like white better.”

“White needs to be chilled. I don’t want to wait. Drink.”

She complied with a snort, grimacing at the bitter taste. “I can’t believe you’re trying to get me drunk.”

“You don’t have to drive anywhere, so why not? I hear you’re a little looser of tongue when you’re soused.”

Putting the wine down, she scowled. “And just who told you that? How did you know about any of this?”

Unrepentant, Mike had the gall to smirk. “Like I said, Phil called me.”

“He—”

“And then I called Jack.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You talked to Jack? What did he say?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re drunk. And yes, I talked to Jack. I talk to him quite a lot, actually.”

Her jaw seemed in danger of dragging the breakfast bar. Not only had her best friend snuck around and tattled to her sister, but Jack had, too. Did she have no privacy anymore? It was like having a Greek chorus around, wailing about what would happen next to anyone that would listen. Disgusted, she took a big drink and nearly gagged at the pungent flavor.

Mike relented and leaned down on her elbows. “I just wanted you to be happy, Gabe. He asked for my help. When I realized how serious he was about you, I couldn’t help but try.”

“The whole time?” Ah, she could still speak. Excellent. “You’ve been in on it since the beginning?”

She flushed. “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘in on it’. It sounds so…covert.”

“It
is
covert. How could you? You know how I feel about—”

Mike broke in. “Yes, I do know how you feel, but I don’t know why. I know you’re lonely. I’ve never made a secret of wanting you to be happy someday.”

“I was happy.”

“You were not.” Frowning, she stood straight again. “I know you thought you had everything you needed, but you couldn’t hide the truth from me. At first, I admit it was something of a joke. A prod to get you to think about dating someone more…suitable. But Jack has done so much to—”

Gabe stood, too, slapping her palms down on the bar. “I never asked him to. I never wanted him to change a damn thing about himself.”

“You’re not listening. He quit the escorting before he even called for your number. He knew I’d never let him near you like that, so he—”

“I know all that—”

“So he got a real job.”

Silenced, she sat back down.

“Didn’t know that, did you? I’d bet a monkey you wouldn’t let him tell you.”

Maybe it wasn’t so bad, then. He had another job, so he wouldn’t have starved. Small relief. She took a big swig of wine, barely noticing the taste. Somehow, she’d already managed to drink nearly the whole glass.

“He surely couldn’t get anything that would pay as much.” It was almost a plea, and when Mike offered to fill her glass again, she didn’t protest. “He hadn’t had another job in years. What could he get besides something entry level?”

“A friend put in a good word for him and got him a help desk position.” Mike shrugged. “I imagine it doesn’t pay as well, but it’s only temporary. When he finishes his degree, he’ll make a fortune.”

She blinked. “When he what?”

“Good grief, did you guys spend all your time in the sack? He’s going back to school to finish his degree.”

But that was one revelation too many. She tried to sink down onto the bar stool, missed and ended up on the floor. Luckily, she’d left her wine on the counter.

Mike peered over the bar, her eyes concerned. “Are you okay?”

She blinked. Was she? How the hell should she know?

“Gabe?”

He’d given up a lucrative job he loved for a crappy, probably low-paying help desk position. He was going back to school, adding that expense to everything she’d already cost him. Figures danced mockingly through her head, and she wished she’d never gotten that stupid birthday present in the first place. Who gets a gigolo for her birthday?