Playing the Game Read online

  “I think that should do it,” she said with her thick Southern drawl.

  “Tara makes a really lethal eggnog,” Ashley said as Tara handed me a cup.

  “Let me know what you think,” Tara said. “It’s an old family recipe of ‘add enough rum until you can’t see straight.’”

  “Sounds perfect,” I said.

  “Sit,” Ashley said as she sat at the table. “What’s going on?”

  I sighed. The last thing I wanted to do was start whining at a Christmas party. But as I looked across the table at Ashley, I knew I needed to get it all off my chest.

  “I’m just confused, that’s all. I mean he comes over late, he never stays the night, I’ve never even been to his house. I don’t even know where he lives,” I said. “I know you said to listen to my gut, but that stupid thing doesn’t know what’s going on. One second it tells me to trust him and the next, I just don’t know anymore.”

  “What do you think is going on with him?” she asked.

  “Gabriel’s in love with someone else,” I said. “I’m sure of it.”

  “How do you know?” Ashley asked.

  “Did you see him with her?” Tara asked.

  “No, I didn’t. I just know he is. Why else isn’t he here? He said he’d meet me, which I thought was strange, but whatever. But now he’s going to be late. I trust him, but right now I’m having a hard time doing that.”

  I took a sip of the eggnog and shivered from its strength. I felt a strange vibration under my hands and my brow wrinkled as I tried to figure out what it was until I realized it was the phone in my bag that I had placed on the table.

  Shaking my head, I thought about how stupid this ridiculousness with Gabriel made me. If I trusted him and didn’t think too much, everything was fine. But once I started to piece together all the other things, I remembered what Mack said on my first day about Gabriel.

  That man is in deep with someone else.

  Taking my phone out of my bag, I saw Gabriel’s name flash across the screen. I got up and moved to a quieter spot in the kitchen and answered.

  “Hello?” I said, fighting the urge to answer with ‘what now?’

  “I’m sorry, Cassie,” Gabriel said. “This isn’t how I wanted Christmas Eve to turn out.”

  “Yeah well, it is what it is,” I said angrily.

  “We need to talk. Ask your cousin if there’s somewhere private you and I can meet.”

  I handed the phone to Ashley.

  “You talk to him,” I said. “I’m not in the mood for this.”

  Ashley took the phone and I heard her voice as she spoke to him, but I was too preoccupied to listen. After a few minutes, she handed the phone back to me.

  “He’s going to meet you in the gazebo in the rose garden,” she said. “He made me promise you’d be there, he said it’s really important. You can borrow my coat if you need to.”

  “No, I’ll be fine,” I said. “Just show me where to go.”

  I couldn’t help but feel like I was walking to my death. We need to talk. How many times had he said that to me? Nothing good ever came from that phrase.

  As Ashley and I went out the front door, she hooked her arm through mine.

  “Whatever happens tonight, you have to come back,” Ashley said. “We need to spend some time together, just you and me.”

  “We do,” I said. “And thanks for listening to me. Things have been crazy lately and I guess I’m just confused. I haven’t told him yet, but...I love him and I think it’s making me crazy.”

  “I’ve been there,” she said with a smile. “But one thing, Cassie. I know I don’t know him, but just from talking to him on the phone, I could tell he really does care about you. I know you, so don’t take this the wrong way, but just shut up and listen to him, okay?”

  “Okay, okay, I promise,” I said.

  Tiny white lights lit the rose garden, making it look dreamy. Ashley gave me a hug and walked back to the house as I followed the path to the center where the gazebo stood. Gabriel stood in the middle in a black suit with a red tie. In his hands was a large bouquet of red roses. As I entered the gazebo, he smiled.

  “These are for you,” he said as he handed me the flowers.

  “Thank you, they’re beautiful,” I said. “But you’re still late.”

  “I know you’re angry, but you try finding two dozen red roses on Christmas Eve,” he said with a smile. “I’m sorry I’m late, but I promise it’ll never happen again.”

  I nodded and sat down. There was so much on my mind that I had to get out. I needed to say what I was thinking and then, as I promised Ashley, I would shut up.

  “Gabriel, I trust you, I really do, but I can’t keep going like this. There’s too much I can’t ignore anymore.”

  “I know, Cassie,” he said, taking my hands in his as he sat beside me. “And that’s what we need to talk about. I have to tell you something.”

  He looked down for a moment before his eyes came up and met mine. I felt foolish for being so angry and insecure before. His eyes told me everything I needed to know. It was why I trusted him in the first place.

  “You can tell me anything,” I said. “You know that.”

  “I know. And I’m sure I know how you’ll react, but what if I’m wrong? I don’t want to make any mistakes, especially not with you. So I waited to make sure things were right between us.”

  I was sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to hear what was bothering him, what was so huge that he couldn’t tell me until now. There were so many things I wanted to say, but I had promised to shut up so I was doing exactly that.

  “Okay, I’m listening,” I said as I bit my tongue.

  “I love you, Cassie. I know I haven’t said it before, but I’ve been in love with you for a while now.”

  For a moment I was speechless, but then the words flew out of my mouth.

  “I love you too, Gabriel,” I said, unable to stop myself from smiling. “Now please, tell me what’s going on. You’re making me nervous.”

  “I know you think there’s someone else in my life, and it’s true, there is, but not like you think. I have a daughter.”

  The tenderness in his eyes when he spoke about his daughter was enough to make me understand his feelings for her. He was in deep with someone else, his child. How could I not admire that?

  All my insecurity and anger was for nothing and as quickly as it had escalated, it vanished just as fast. Hearing those four words, everything suddenly made sense.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? Is she here? What’s her name? How old is she? I have so many questions,” I said excitedly. “I want to meet her.”

  “Slow down,” he said, laughing. “Wendy’s inside with Ashley. She’s been dying to meet you.”

  “Really? You told her about me?”

  “Of course I did,” he said. “It was important to me that she knew what was going on and that she was okay with it. She’s only nine, but she’s mature for her age.”

  “But wait, were you married? Are you married? What about her mother?”

  “No, no, Dakota and I grew up together. She had been through a lot and I was her crutch. She didn’t have anywhere to go so when she told me she was pregnant, I moved her into my apartment, a dive near the old gym. It didn’t matter that the baby wasn’t mine, I loved Dakota and wanted to take care of her. I couldn’t love Wendy more if she was my own flesh and blood.”

  “But then how is Wendy your daughter?”

  “Dakota is a free spirit,” he said. “She can’t stay in one place for very long and she knew it was bad for a child. I wanted to make sure Wendy got the best of everything, so I built the MMAC from the ground up. Then four years ago when Dakota asked me to adopt Wendy, I didn’t even hesitate. I said yes. I changed my life for her. So when I met you, it was important that she was okay with me dating.”

  Everything with Gabriel had happened so quickly, but for the first time, it all fell into place for me. I realized that even thoug
h things had happened so fast, one thing remained clear -- I was in love with Gabriel, and learning about Wendy didn't change that. If anything, it made me love him more, the way he could take care of a child that was not his own showed me just how much love he had to give.

  “Then let’s go inside,” I said, standing. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Gabriel took my hand and we followed the path back to the house. When we came inside, Ashley was waiting by the door.

  “Well?” she asked. “Everything okay?”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” I said, hugging her.

  “Wendy is in the living room playing with the other kids,” Ashley said as she pointed to the room ahead of us.

  As Gabriel and I entered the room, a pretty young girl with her long black hair in a headband stood up. She was wearing a red dress with white faux fur around the collar, cuffs, and hem. Her smile lit up her face and she rushed over and gave Gabriel a hug before turning to me.

  “You must be Cassie,” she said. “I’m Wendy. Did you like the roses? I told him he had to bring you flowers.”

  “Thank you, Wendy, that was very thoughtful of you. They’re beautiful. Did you pick them?”

  “I helped, but he’s a little stubborn and doesn’t take my advice often,” she said with a shrug.

  “She definitely knows you,” I said to Gabriel.

  “I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while, but Daddy thought we should wait. I kept telling him to invite you to dinner.”

  “Wait a second,” I said. “Dinner? So you’d eat dinner with Wendy and then have dinner with me?”

  “Why do you think I spend so much time working out? I had a lot of calories to burn off,” Gabriel said, laughing. “What can I say? It made sense at the time.”

  “I think Wendy and I have a lot of talking to do,” I said.

  “You wouldn’t believe the things I could tell you,” she said, grinning.

  Ashley’s toddler son, Jacob, came up and tugged at Wendy’s dress then grabbed her hand. As they walked away, Gabriel wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

  “Wendy and I discussed this earlier, and we’d love it if you stayed the night and spent Christmas with us,” he said.

  I didn’t know what came over me, but my eyes misted over and I had to blink back tears. I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than spending Christmas with Gabriel and his daughter. I hoped it would be the first of many mornings together.

  * * *

  By the end of the evening, Wendy was sitting on the couch looking sleepy. My old insecurities crept up again as I watched her lay her head on the arm of the couch. She seemed to be excited to meet me earlier, but what if she didn’t mean it?

  “Hi Wendy,” I said, sitting beside her.

  “Hi,” she said with a yawn. “Are you sleeping over tonight?”

  “Yes, if that’s okay with you. You can tell me if it’s weird or you don’t want me to. I’ll understand.”

  “I don’t mind,” she said with a shrug. “You seem nice. Dakota always had all kinds of people around and never asked me what I thought. I mean Mom.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder if deep down she was hoping her parents would end up together. Before I could stop myself, the words spilled out of my big mouth.

  “Did you ever wish your parents would get together?”

  Wendy cracked a big smile. “You’re funny,” she said, then shook her head. “I never really thought about it before. I don’t even remember them living together when I was little. Mom drives Daddy crazy, and I think it’s better that they’re not together. I’ve never seen him smile at her like he does at you.”

  Really? I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t. That was crossing the line. But maybe another time.

  “Where’s Dad? I want to go home,” she said, yawning again.

  I looked around the room and noticed Gabriel by a tall window talking to a man with longer dark hair and a closely cropped beard. I didn’t need an introduction to know that it was Xander Boone, Ashley’s husband. But as much as I wanted to meet him, I knew Wendy needed to get home to bed.

  Gabriel looked towards us and smiled, then his face filled with concern as he watched Wendy drop her head onto the arm of the sofa. He shook Xander’s hand and came over to us.

  “Let’s go home,” he said. “Tomorrow’s a big day.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cassie

  We rode in the back of the limo in silence while Wendy slept, her head resting on Gabriel’s lap. For once, I had nothing to say and it made me glad. Gabriel twined his fingers with mine as we held hands and whenever I looked up at him, his eyes told me what I wanted to know--he really did love me.

  Looking into the darkness, I felt the sway of the road as we climbed up a hill. It was an area of Canyon Cove I had never been to before. On each hillcrest were massive estate homes with soft golden lights illuminating them. Despite my mother reminding me of the wealth in Canyon Cove, it wasn’t until that moment that I realized she wasn’t exaggerating.

  You know what they say, you can’t turn around in Canyon Cove without bumping into a billionaire.

  I laughed, hearing my mother’s words in my head. Gabriel tilted his head and his dark hair fell onto his forehead. His brow wrinkled and his eyes scrunched before he leaned towards me.

  “What’s so funny?” he whispered.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Just thinking about something my mother told me.”

  Luckily, he let it drop and I went back to gazing into the darkness. The limo turned onto a narrow road then stopped. Even though it didn't matter to me if Gabriel lived in a box at the side of the road, I was still curious to see his home. I was probably even more curious after living in his penthouse apartment all this time.

  Ahead of us was a large iron gate that slowly began to open. Other than the trees lining the driveway, I couldn’t see much else. I tried to look ahead, through Stan’s windshield, but his headlights didn’t reveal anything.

  The car drove on for what felt like forever before curving in front of the house. And I was happy to see that it was a house. Despite how large it was, it was homey in comparison to the mansions I saw earlier.

  Gabriel’s mansion was a grey stone colonial with a circular portico at the front door. The tall windows were accented with off-white window casing that stood out from the stone. The wooden double door had glass panes with wrought iron bars covering them. Hanging from the portico was a bronze lantern-styled lamp.

  I had never seen a house like this before and as I turned to look at Gabriel, I wondered how he went from a fighter who worked out at that old gym by my apartment to the man who lived here.

  As Stan stopped the car in front of the house, Wendy’s head popped up. Her face was groggy as she looked out the window then opened the car door. Gabriel stepped out behind her, then held my hand as I exited the limo.

  I followed Wendy into the house as Stan handed Gabriel a shopping bag with Joyeux across the middle. The entry hall was wide with a curving staircase on one side and a swirling wrought iron rail across the balcony above. The floors were white marble and black inlaid squares and the walls were a soft white color. Hanging in the center was an antique bronze and crystal chandelier. Wendy went directly to the curved staircase and began to head upstairs.

  “I’ll be right up, Wendy,” Gabriel said, his voice echoing.

  He put his arm around me and led me through the open double doors leading to the back of the house. Grabbing a remote, he turned on the fireplace at one end of the room, then lit the tall Christmas tree at the other end. The room had thick beige carpeting and light cocoa-colored walls. A large couch faced the fireplace and above it hung a TV. While the room was large, it felt warm and homey.

  “Make yourself at home,” he said. “There’s a bar to the left with soda and juice. Down the hall is the kitchen. The bag is for you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  He kissed the top of my head before leaving me alone
. I was too overwhelmed to do anything but stand there for a moment. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be standing in a mansion. And despite my mother’s jokes, I certainly never thought of my boyfriend as a billionaire.

  I pushed it all out of my head. I couldn’t let this place overwhelm me or make me feel out of place. I wouldn’t allow that. Especially not when I was spending the night with Gabriel for the first time. This night, meeting Wendy and knowing I would be sleeping in Gabriel’s arms, was special, and that was all that mattered to me.

  In front of me was the Joyeux bag. I picked it up and carried it to the plush couch and sat down. After kicking off my shoes, I tucked my feet underneath me and peeked into the bag. It was full of clothes.

  One by one I pulled out each item. A cotton pajama set with cherries on it was followed by a silky red sleepshirt with white trim. After that was lacy lingerie in several colors, then a pair of jeans, a dark purple sweater, and even black yoga pants and a purple sweatshirt similar to my favorite ones at home.

  “I had to guess your size,” Gabriel said as he entered the room again. “But I knew if you said yes, you wouldn’t have anything to wear tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do this.”

  “It’s what I do, Cassie. I take care of the people close to me.”

  He removed his suit jacket and sat beside me before pressing a button on the remote. Soft music filled the room. His arm slipped behind my shoulders. Gently, he touched my cheek as he lowered his head towards mine. I tilted my head up, waiting for his kiss.

  “What were you laughing about before?” he asked.

  My eyes flew open and met Gabriel’s blue eyes. With a wide grin, he raised his eyebrow up and I laughed.

  “I told you before, nothing.”

  “I heard you say nothing, but you also said it was something your mother said. With the few things you’ve mentioned about her, I know it has to be something good. Spill it.”