Page 106 of Guarded Knight

Gabriel raises a brow. “Could you agree on one plant?”

They glance at each other. Suspicion flares.

Gabriel sits back with a grin. “The plant is the real test. If you can keep it alive together, then maybe you’re ready for a goldfish.”

Daisy huffs, but there’s no real disappointment. “What kind of plant?”

Gabriel lifts his coffee cup. “A cactus. They’re stubborn and dramatic. Like you two.”

That earns a giggle—and a glare from Poppy.

“You’re not funny,” she tells him.

He shrugs. “Tell that to my cactus.”

My chest tightens, not only because it’s sweet, though it is. But because I recognize this side of him. The quiet problem-solver, the man who gives without taking, who measures his worth in how well he cares for the people he loves.

He would probably love being a dad.

And I would have loved to be a mom.

My throat tightens. Cystic fibrosis means a lot of things, including that the odds aren’t in my favor. I don’t even have a period every month.

But I’m thinking way too far down the road with this. G and I haven’t even decided what we are, but one thing is fairly certain. We won’t be parents together. Maybe I’m stealing more from him than I think.

That thought sticks, sharp and heavy. When I’m gone, if I’m lucky, we’ll both be fifty or so. Gabriel wouldn’t start a family then.

Suddenly, insecurity flares in my gut, filling it with ugly questions.

Xander and Gabriel start catching up about Xander’s job while Gabriel plays X’s and O’s with Daisy.

My brother and G go way back. Will Xander hearing about this change their relationship? They need each other. Xander is a closed book and doesn’t confide in many people, and G is a carbon copy. Will I put a rift between them?

I know my brother, he will think this is the worst time in the world for me to be getting involved with someone, given I’m being stalked.

Xander will be worried about me being hurt, maybe even be angry at G, thinking he crossed the line at the worst possible time, that he should be focused on the danger…

Maybe I should have insisted we keep it a secret back in the bedroom.

The drinks and muffins arrive, and Gabriel dramatically whips open the girls’ napkins to place them on their laps. “Señorita…”

“Gracias, gran monstruo,” Poppy says with a sassy smile on her face.

Gabriel’s smile is shocked and bright. “Hey, when did you learn that?”

Xander sips his coffee. “When I first asked you to get them speaking Spanish, I didn’t think they’d get so into it. Thanks to you, I’ve had to start Duolingo myself just to make sure they aren’t scheming behind my back.” Xander points his finger between the girls with narrow, suspicious eyes.

“Nunca,” they reply in unison.

“You say never? You’d never scheme?” Xander blows on the top of his mug, trying to hide his amused, loving smile. “Lies. You two can’t be trusted.”

Daisy takes a huge bite of her muffin and lets the crumbs fall. “Mmm…”

Gabriel pretends to try and steal Poppy’s muffin, and Xander considers him. A quiet, assessing look that cuts deeper than his words.

Xander already knows. He really does.

My heart stumbles.