Page 49 of Every Broken Piece

Chapter forty-six

Tess

M y back is pressed against the padded headboard, my knees tight against my chest and chin.

The softest sheets I’ve ever felt surround me and my yellow blanket covers my legs.

I’m in the most sumptuous bedroom I’ve ever been in, and I feel like that little girl who never truly belonged anywhere.

Sure, I knew Gabe was rich, but knowing and seeing are two different things.

Rich doesn’t even begin to define what this is.

It’s so far out of my comfort zone that I’ve been fighting the urge to run all night.

I kissed a billionaire who lives in a penthouse apartment that’s six times the size of my apartment.

I’m sure he was laughing at me all night.

About an hour ago, just when the sun crested the top of the mountain outside my window, I heard Gabe’s bedroom door open.

His soft footsteps made their way to my door while I held my breath, waiting for a knock.

I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to see him.

I can’t face him. I regret this stupidly impulsive decision to fly all the way out here to stay in an apartment I’ll never be able to afford in ten lifetimes.

I thunk my forehead on my knees twice for good measure because maybe it will return my sanity, but all it does it make my head ache.

How laughable is it that I hadn’t been prepared for Gabe’s immense wealth. I feel like an idiot to have thought for even a small moment that maybe a guy like Gabriel Strong could want me.

Eventually, and to my great relief, he retreated and about twenty minutes later the front door opened and softly closed.

I don’t know how long he’ll be gone since he has his big meeting today. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or what his expectations are. It’s always different each house I’m placed in.

Stay small. Don’t bring attention to yourself. Don’t be a burden. Help out where you can.

The three rules I quickly learned as a foster child.

You’re a thirty-year-old woman, Tess. You were invited here. You’re not a burden and you hurt Gabe’s feelings when you withdrew from everyone.

I saw the hurt in his eyes. I heard the confusion in his voice. I felt the bewilderment in the hesitation of his touch and yet I couldn’t stop my own reaction because it’s so ingrained in me. Today I’ll be better. Today I’ll be the adult I know I can be.

With those thoughts bolstering me, I slide out of the softest bed I’ve ever slept in and head to the poshest bathroom I’ve ever been in to take a shower.

But as I reach for my toothbrush my hand stills.

Sitting next to my toiletries is a tube of toothpaste.

Not the tube I brought from home. This tube.

.. I blink. This tube is bubble gum flavored.

Gabe made sure I have toothpaste that won’t send me spiraling into a dark place.

I open the tube and sniff the childhood scent, then laugh softly. Who cares if he’s richer than... I don’t even know who’s he richer than. He bought me bubble gum flavored toothpaste.

After my shower I root through my suitcase and pull on my best jeans and a t-shirt that says When In Rome...

Appropriate.

Before I leave my room, I send Gabe a text.

Me: Thank you for the toothpaste

I add a toothpaste and heart emoji then pull in a breath for courage as I open the bedroom door. The apartment is the kind of quiet that says no one else is here. Good. That’s good. I won’t have to face Pax or Jack. Although Jack is probably at the meeting with Gabe.

In the kitchen, I open the refrigerator and study the contents. It looks like Gabe had the fridge stocked with anything a body could want to eat, yet nothing sounds good.

“I have a stash of the bad-for-you cereal if you want some.”

I yelp and spin around, slamming the refrigerator door hard enough that bottles clank inside.

Pax is standing at the bottom of the steps, dark hair standing up in all directions, scratching his chest through a white t-shirt. He’s wearing black joggers, but his feet are bare.

He grins and it reminds me so much of Gabe.

Along with the smile, he has his father’s eyes, that bright blue that probably makes all the girls swoon, a chiseled jaw and broad shoulders. He hasn’t filled out like Gabe, but someday he will, and he’ll be a heartbreaker just like his dad.

“You like the bad-for-you kind of cereal?” He opens a door that reveals a pantry the size of my kitchen back home that’s completely stocked with boxes and cans and bags of food.

“It depends on the type,” I say.

“Cinnamon Toast Crunch?”

I lick my lips. “My favorite.”

He pulls a big family sized box off the shelf. “Mine too. Dad says it’s not good to coat your teeth with sugar first thing in the morning but he’s wrong.” He shakes the box and grins. “Want some?”

“Yes.”

We never had the expensive kind of cereal when I was growing up. When I moved out on my own, I could never afford the expensive kind of cereal, but sometimes if it was on sale I’d buy a box and eat it slowly, savoring it.

Pax places two huge bowls that are more like small mixing bowls on the counter and fills both to the brim. It’s like three bowls of cereal for me.

“I don’t think I can eat all that.”

“Sure you can. Don’t be a quitter, Tess.” He pauses in his pouring. “Is it okay if I call you Tess? This is a little weird for me. Dads never brought a woman home before.”

“Oh. I’m not... I mean... It’s not like that.”

He tilts his chin so he can side eye me and raises a brow. “Isn’t it?”

“No.” Is it?

“I think Dad would be disappointed to hear that.” He pulls a gallon of milk from the refrigerator, splashing it in both bowls, then adds a spoon to each before sliding a bowl toward me.

He hops up on top of the breakfast bar and starts shoveling cinnamon squares in his mouth while swinging his feet.

I pull my bowl closer and scoop up a bite.

“Dads in meetings all day,” he says around a mouthful of cereal.

“I know.”

“It’s my spring break but I don’t know if I’m gonna to stick around here all week. Might head back to school.”

I put my spoon down. “Please don’t leave on my account.” The last thing I want to do is take time away from Gabe and his son.

“Nah.” He waves his spoon. Milk droplets splatter on the counter.

I rip a paper towel from the roll and wipe them up.

“It’s just more fun at school. Plus, there’s this girl I have my eye on.

Works at the campus Starbucks. Kami.” He frowns.

“Kenzie.” Then smiles. “Yeah. Her name’s Kenzie. I’m gonna ask her out.”

He sounds so confident that I have no doubt Kami/Kenzie will say yes. I bet not many girls say no to Paxton Strong.

“Then I wish you luck.”

“What’re your plans for the day since Dad basically abandoned you.”

“I don’t mind. He has to get back to his business and I need to find a place to live and a job.” Because after last night it’s obvious I can’t stay here for long. I feel like the outsider, a person to be tolerated. Besides, I’m crazy uncomfortable in this opulent apartment.

Pax stills, spoon halfway to his mouth, milk dripping into the bowl. He finishes his bite and studies me while he chews. “I thought you were living here.”

“Oh, God, no. This is just temporary. Until things...settle down.” I gesture to my injured wrist, not knowing how much Pax knows of what happened and not willing to tell him anything.

Pax eyes the wrist. “Dad know you’re moving out?”

“I haven’t moved in.”

“But does he know you’re moving out?”

He’s so much like his father but I’m not going to voice that. I think most kids hate hearing they’re like their parent. I certainly would have.

“He knows I’m looking for an apartment, yes.”

“Here? In Denver?”

I hesitate. “I don’t know yet.”

Pax tilts his bowl and drinks the milk from it. When he pulls it away, he has a milk mustache, and I hide my grin by taking another bite of cereal.

“Where you looking for a job?”

“I don’t know that either. I need a work from home job and those can be hard to find.”

“Why?” He slides off the counter and rinses his bowl before placing it in the dishwasher.

“Why what?”

“Why work from home?”

“I do much better not in an office environment.” No way am I telling him about my crazy mother.

He leans against the sink and crosses his arm. His bare foot rubs over the top of his other foot. “Dad would hire you in a heartbeat.” He squints. “Weren’t you his assistant? Did he fire you and that’s why you need a job?”

I laugh because this guy, he’s a hoot. “He didn’t fire me, and I didn’t actually work for him. I worked for a company he contracted with, and I was assigned to him.”

“So the company fired you.”

I pause as a wave of grief washes through me. Because losing a job you love is like grieving. I miss my other clients. What did they think when I suddenly disappeared like that? “Yes. The company fired me.”

He pushes away from the counter. “I bet Dad was pissed because he liked you better than the other assistants.”

“Yeah?” I try not to smile but I can’t help it. I take pride in doing a good job and Gabe was a difficult client at first so I’m glad he liked working with me.

“He’ll find you a job in his company. I wouldn’t worry about looking for one. He’ll also be pissed if you move out. He likes you.”

“Pax...” I don’t know what to say to that.

“I thought it would be weird having one of Dad’s girls here, but you’re kinda cool.”

“Thank you?”

“He’s never brought someone home like this.

He thinks I don’t know that he’s dated, but it’s kinda hard to keep that a secret when I come across pictures on social media.

Of course he doesn’t have social media, so he doesn’t know the women he dates put pictures up.

They just want to brag that they’re with him. ”

Every word is like a tiny slice to my heart. Of course, I knew Gabe dated. I saw the pictures Pax is referring to, but to come face to face with its a different story.

“Do you mind?” I ask softly. “That he brought me home?”