Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense April 2016, Box Set 2 of 2 by Laura Scott

Author:Laura Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781460396209
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Gabriella wished she could roll down the grass hill and pretend she was young, carefree and without worry. If she could do it all over again, she’d do everything differently. Maybe she’d never have disobeyed as a teen, and her mother would feel she could share everything with her, trust Gabriella with her secrets. And somehow this could all be avoided. She’d insist her mother go in for her yearly checkups, and the heart attack that stole her would be prevented. Her mother avoided doctors, as much as law enforcement, so who knew if it could’ve been stopped without a medical history to examine.

His voice pierced through her thoughts. “But it takes two people to lose a friendship. What am I saying? You never lost my friendship. You avoided me as much as I avoided you. I never chose to stop being your friend.”

“It was so easy to be around you before that. You had to push. You had to make it awkward.” Anger she thought disappeared long ago resurfaced. Her throat burned. She hated to admit it, but the memory still hurt. The remaining months of college had been lonelier than ever.

“Sometimes the thing we dread discussing is the conversation we most need to have.” He released an exaggerated sigh. “Gabriella, I’m sorry. I’ve never been good at timing. With Rose, with the media thing, with needing some closure between us...”

She frowned. “What do you mean with Rose? How was that bad timing?” Gabriella took a step back and tilted her head. “Wait a second. Did you know about her and Thad before I did?”

He shook his head. “No. I tried to tell you back then, but I didn’t handle it well. I had intended to break it off with Rose before we ever found out her and Thad were together behind our backs. And if I had broke up with her, maybe they wouldn’t have kept it a secret, and we could have found out in a much less painful way. I’ve always regretted that.”

They reached the second river. She tugged on his shirt to help him keep his balance and led him to the dirt trail next to the bank. “You meant to break it off with Rose earlier? Why?”

He kept his head down, but his eyes darted her way. “I had no idea she was cheating, but something felt off.”

“How?”

He rolled his eyes. “You’ll think I’m shallow.”

She rolled her eyes. “Spill.”

“Fine. I knew things weren’t right between us when she stopped laughing at my jokes.”

Gabriella’s breath hitched. She looked away from him so she could wipe the giant smile off her face before he spotted it.

“You’re laughing at me, aren’t you?”

She shook her head, staring at the skies in hopes she really didn’t laugh. “I don’t presume to know how guys work, but it just seems a bit cliché.”

“How so?”

“Not that you were wrong, but in the future, you know, if you find the right girl... What if your jokes just aren’t that funny?”

“Too far.

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