Page 26 of This Kind of Forever

I glance over my shoulder at the door to the backyard.So close. I was so close to making my escape. And now my body is betraying me by listening to his command yet again. I follow him and sit on one of the stools at the island while he crosses to the stove.

I watch the muscles in Gabe’s back move as he grabs a plate and starts to arrange whatever food he made.

“Oh,” I say, when I see what he’s plating. “Bacon. I don’t?—”

“You don’t eat meat. I remember.” He turns from the stove and slides the plate toward me. “It’s veggie bacon.”

My jaw drops. “How did you get that? I asked Gordon if he could order some for the store and he said no.”

Dealing with the crotchety manager of the only grocery store on the island is one thing I did not miss while I was gone. When I was a teenager, working for Gordon was horrid. Safe to say he’s only gotten worse, if that situation with the Alpha-getti is anything to go by.

Gabe shakes his head. “He said the same thing to me. So I asked my mom to grab some when she was on the mainland a couple days ago.”

My heart squeezes inside my chest, and tears threaten to prick at my eyes. Kindness like this was familiar to me at one point in my life. I’ve been without it—been without Gabe and the rest of the Bowmans—for so long, it feels foreign now. Strange. Like it’s too good to be true.

“You can’t do nice things like that, Gabriel.”

Amusement dances in his eyes. “Why not?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

Because you’ll make me fall in love with you all over again.

I shake my head as I bite into a piece of veggie bacon, taking out my frustration. It has the audacity to taste good, too. “Thank you,” I say after I’ve finished chewing.

He chuckles. “You’re welcome.” After grabbing his own plate, he comes to sit down beside me at the island. “How did you sleep?”

My cheeks heat again.The best in a long time, I want to say. “Good. I’m, uh, sorry about all that last night.”

Gabe pins me with a stern look. “Don’t apologize. I was only asking because I’ve been thinking about something, and I want to talk to you about it.”

I eye him warily. “Okay…”

He sets his fork down, swivelling on his stool to face me. “I don’t want you to live in the guesthouse.”

My whole body deflates at his words. “Oh.” I push my eggs around on my plate, my appetite suddenly vanished. I knew this was a bad idea, that Clara and Maggie were too pushy. “That’s okay. I’ll figure it out. I can go back to Clara’s until?—”

“No.Shit.” Gabe runs a hand down his face as he lets out an exasperated breath. “I’m sorry, Foster, that’s not what I meant. I’m not kicking you out.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I want you to move in here.”

My jaw drops. “What about fixing up the guesthouse?” I ask. “I’ll really be fine out there, Gabe. Last night was a one-time thing.”

“But what if it’s not? The guesthouse still needs a lot of work. I wanted you to have your own space, but after last night…” His eyes turn pleading. “Please, Hallie. I can’t stand the thought of you being out there, alone and scared.”

My breath catches. I was so worried I would come back to Kip Island and find indifference in Gabe. That he had written me off all those years ago and wouldn’t care anymore. It’s less about me thinking the worst of him than it is my brain preparing me for every reality, even the hard ones. But he has proven me wrong at every turn.

I twist my fork, round and round, between my fingers. “This is really important to you?”

“It is. The room beside Abbie’s is a blank slate, so you can move in there and decorate it however you like.”

“Will you still let me help you with the guesthouse?”

He nods. “Yeah, we can still work on it. I really have been meaning to fix it up.”