Second Chances (48 page)

That night Gabriel was waiting for her on the patio.  He gazed out at the water, watching the sun sink lower on the horizon, but turned as he heard steps approaching.  The girl confidently strode over to him, flicking her hair over one shoulder seductively.  Isabella, who had just parked, watched from the car, rooted to her spot, unsure of what would happen next.  This tall, lean, blond girl happened to be everything that Isabella wasn’t.  She seemed really sure of herself as she laced an arm around his waist.   Isabella’s heart began to race nervously.  Gabriel stepped away from the girl.  Isabella tried to concentrate on his face, his lips.  She could usually pass for a pretty good lip reader, but the distance made it difficult for her to be certain what was said.  Gabriel shook the girl’s hand and seemed to say that it had been a pleasure to make her acquaintance, but he would be meeting someone special here shortly.  The girl appeared surprised to be turned down, but Gabriel was so nice about the situation that she had maintained her dignity.  Wow.  Isabella sat for a moment to regulate her breathing before crossing the gravel parking lot to meet him.

That was when he spotted her.  A broad smile spread across Gabriel’s face.  He left his drink on the railing as he walked across the parking lot to meet her with open arms.  “Hello, Bella,” he said warmly, “You are just in time to watch the sun set with me.”  He hugged her close, causing shivers to race up and down her spine.  Even as he released her body, he held her hand as they walked to the deck of The Naked Turtle. 

“You know who you remind me of sometimes, Bella?” The question came after Gabriel had been staring at her for several minutes.

“Who?”  Isabella asked, completely caught off guard.  She couldn’t imagine who she might be likened to, but it certainly wasn’t the person he announced.

“My mother.”  The words were spoken with surety. 

Isabella waited for an explanation.  He said nothing.  Finally she blurted, “Well, I would love to know how I remind you of her.”  She hoped this would turn into a compliment, since she happened to be more than a little concerned as to how she compared to a fifty year old woman.

“Well, I know I don’t speak about my mother often.  You know that my parents divorced when I was very young.”  He paused, waiting for a reaction.

Isabella nodded, but hoped the connection ran deeper than the divorce aspect also.

“I don’t see her much either, but she is petite like you.  She has these amazing eyes, similar to yours, but different just the same.  You have this light in your eyes, this sparkle.  I can always tell you have about a million things going on in your head.  You are so alive, yet so timid.”  He paused for a moment.  He must have seen something in Isabella’s face.  “I don’t know.  Maybe that isn’t the right word.  I get my languages confused.”

“Yes, how many languages do you know again?”  Isabella was teasing him now.

“Four, but I want to learn Italian.”  He took a sip of his drink.  A slow song came on, one that they danced to on their unplanned date, “Hero.”  The minute Enrique Iglesias whispered, “Let me be your hero,” women all over the bar started pulling men from their seats. 

“Come on.”  Gabriel lured Isabella from her chair.  She began to pause where everyone else stood huddled on the small dance floor in front of the 95TripleX D.J., but Gabriel continued to pull her out the door.  “I want you alone, under the stars, dancing beside the water.”  He swiftly led her down the deck stairs to the water’s edge, a beautiful, secluded location.  Isabella stood next to him practically shaking.  Gabriel must have noticed because he rubbed his hands up and down her arms for a moment.  “Are you cold, Bella?”  Again he found himself in unfamiliar territory.  He truly cared for this woman already and worried over her comfort. 

Isabella numbly shook her head.  She was nervous, maybe even scared.  Here he was this perfectly nice, handsome man and she feared being alone with him, feared facing her feelings.  He held one hand tightly against his chest, just as he did that first night.  She could feel the rhythmic beating of his heart.  It had such a soothing effect that Isabella forgot herself for a moment and struggled to resist the desire to rest her head upon his heart, in order to really hear it. Without thinking, she gave in to impulse and laid her head against his broad muscular chest.  She felt his muscles twitch.  And suddenly, Gabriel’s previously rhythmic heart gave a few erratic thumps. 
He isn’t as calm as he pretends to be
, Isabella thought, smiling to herself.   His hand moved slowly from her lower back to the back of her head, holding her tightly against his chest.  Isabella closed her eyes, savoring the moment, wishing the song would never end. 

Naturally it did, yet Gabriel seemed reluctant to relinquish his grip on her.  Slowly he pulled back, taking both of her hands in his.  “So, do you want to go back or sit here and talk?”

She pondered the question for but a moment before giving her response.  “Neither,” Isabella replied, shaking her head.  She had another idea. 

They paid their bill then they walked out to the end of one of the docks and sat dangling their feet over the water.  Feeling the need to explain, Isabella turned her body to face Gabriel.  “I just wanted you to myself for a little while.  I want to talk.  Is that okay?” 

In the background, the music could still be heard wafting over the water.  The stars were twinkling in the sky above.  The temperature happened to be perfect, just cool enough to be refreshing, but not so cool to require a jacket for another couple of hours. 

“Tell me about your family, Bella.”  He used her name every chance he had, which made Isabella smile.

“What do you want to know?”  She didn’t want to share anything too intense, anything he might not be ready for.

“Well, what was it like growing up?  You haven’t told me anything about your parents or your siblings, or your ex-husband.” 

Isabella looked down frowning, and focused on tracing the lines in his palm with her right forefinger, while holding his hand with her left.  “He’s not my ex yet, remember.  I don’t know what to tell you. My sister, Angelica, and I have never been close, especially lately.”  She smirked sadly as she remembered the last time she saw her sister.  “I haven’t seen her since right after mid-terms.  My mother and I used to be close.  We used to be really happy, but then my parents split up.  She changed.  Or maybe I just noticed it more without my father there.  Daddy and I were inseparable.”  She paused for a moment and took a deep breath.  Gabriel seemed to notice her becoming emotional and enclosed her entire hand within his fist.  The gesture touched her, so that without thinking she crushed his fist to her chest, hugging it to her heart. 

At that he inhaled sharply.  Isabella quickly released his hand.  She wiggled nervously, suddenly self-conscious of her gesture, and prepared to apologize when Gabriel interrupted her.

“No, Bella.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to startle you.  I just...,” his voice trailed off.  He couldn’t seem to find the words he needed, so he simply pulled her toward his chest for a moment.  Gabriel didn’t know how to explain that these simple uncalculated gestures moved him more than all the scheming sophisticated women he typically encountered.  He leaned back to look her in the eyes, wondering at the emotion he saw there.  It was time to change the subject.

“Is your behind going numb here?  Because mine is.”  Isabella giggled and nodded.  “I have an idea.”  He led her back down the dock toward the parking lot.  “Here,” he said, pointing toward a grassy spot with an enormous oak tree.  “The ground will be softer because of the grass.”

Isabella laughed.  “I’m sure you’ve spent all kinds of time in grass,” she said sarcastically.

“Hey,” he responded, “I had one really great nanny.”  Gabriel sat down beneath the tree with his back against the trunk, spread his legs and patted the ground to demonstrate where he wanted her to sit.

Eyeing the ground nervously, Isabella lowered herself reluctantly to the spot he suggested.  As soon as she was settled, Gabriel gently gathered her in his arms.  She stiffened at first, but then relaxed against his chest, happily allowing his warmth to permeate her thin cotton tank top. 

“So, tell me about your father,” he murmured into her hair while inhaling her scent.  She smelled like vanilla and flowers.  It was an intoxicating combination and he knew he could get lost in the smell of her for hours.

In the past, when her father had been mentioned, Isabella had been nearly brought to tears.  This time, however, from within the safety of Gabriel’s arms, Isabella finally found the strength and the courage to speak about the man who had shaped her life without even being present for most of it.  For some reason she was able to tell Gabriel what she could never share with anyone, even Jessie.

“I get really scared sometimes.  I feel guilty because I can’t remember him as clearly as I used to be able to.  I used to smell Old Spice and be able to recall every aspect of his face, remember how it felt to have him hug me.  I was his special girl, and Angelica was his special tomboy.”  She paused to chuckle.  “He had the best of both worlds I guess.”  She snuggled into Gabriel, turned to bury her head into his neck. 

They remained in that pose for but a few minutes before Gabriel sat up abruptly.  He could feel his body reacting to her in a way that he hadn’t anticipated.  The heat in his groin intensified as his pants grew tighter.  Why couldn’t he just seduce this woman and be done with it?  Once he had her, he was certain these feelings would pass.  They always had before.  Yet he knew that because he didn’t want that with Bella, wanted instead to slow his usual pace and see what happened that he couldn’t just bed her.  He had to act before she noticed his conflicted emotions.

“Bella, I love that you are starting to feel more comfortable with me, and I love having you in my arms, but I think we should go back inside.”  He spoke the words more hastily than he intended and regretted it immediately.

Isabella pulled back with a slightly wounded look on her face that remained nearly undetectable in the darkness.  What happened?  One moment she was letting her guard down, and giving in to her very basic need for some TLC and the next he was pushing her away.  Had she scared him off all ready?

He stood up and offered her his hands to help get up. Once again they found themselves in the meat market that was The Turtle.  From behind him, Isabella could see girls smile at Gabriel until they realized that he wasn’t alone.  He seemed utterly unaware of the attention.  Once he had ordered them two Pepsis, he broke his silence.  “I was afraid of getting too comfortable.  Do you understand?  I was picturing Jessie waiting up for you and becoming frantic because we fell asleep under an oak tree and no one would know where to look for us.”  He paused and a smile crept over Isabella’s face as she pictured the fuss that would cause.  He continued, “Then, I think about how you still have a long drive home and I don’t want you falling asleep behind the wheel.”  He reached over and grabbed her hand, preparing her for the first truly honest admission he had made to a woman.  “I care about you, Bella.  I want to keep getting to know you.  I would feel terrible if anything happened to you.”  He squeezed her hand, becoming animated.  “So, what if we sit and talk while we caffeinate, eh?”

Isabella nodded.  He cared about her.  She didn’t scare him off, even though she certainly scared herself. 
Remember
, she told herself,
don’t be too quick to let your guard down
. 

“I don’t suppose you would want to tell me anything about Jack?”  Gabriel bent his head to look her in the eyes.

“Checking out the competition?”  Isabella attempted a joke.  Then she recognized the anxious look in Gabriel’s eyes.  He really did have concerns about Jack.  He needed to know.  “Jack and I won’t be getting back together, if that’s what you are wondering.”  Gabriel visibly relaxed.

“I don’t want you to know too much about him, or the nature of our relationship and its demise,” Isabella explained, “I don’t want you to hate him because of anything I may say.”  She looked down at her drink, swirling the ice nervously with her straw. 

Gabriel reached over, gripped her hand, and she stopped.  “I won’t hate him,” he whispered.  “I will pity him for not knowing what he had.  And if I ever meet him, I will thank him.  His stupidity has brought me great fortune.”  Isabella brightened and became embarrassed at the same time.  Gabriel quickly changed the subject.  “So, can we set up another date now, or have you had enough of me?”

Seizing the ideal opportunity, Isabella opened her purse, whipped out the number, and slid it across the table to him, removing her hand for him to see.  He picked it up slowly, a huge smile on his face.  “How about if you call me when you decide to set up another date?  I would even be open to other locations, unless you are hooked on this place.”  Proud of the enormous step she had taken, Isabella sat back positively beaming.