Page 86 of The Path to Loving Him
“Yikes,” I say with a wince before I take a bite of my cookie, grateful for the distraction from having to talk about Gabby.
Just then, the door opens behind me, the bell jingling.
When I turn to see who it is, the momentary reprieve I had from thinking about Gabby is eliminated as she comes into view.
“Oh,” she says. “Uh, hi.”
“Hello,” Hattie says with a huge smile on her face.
“Hi!” Mac shouts with a wave.
Great.
This is not what I need after everything that happened today.
When I walked into the teachers’ lounge at lunch, I was ready to grab my sandwich and eat in peace, but that all changed the moment I saw Gabby talking with Christian. Nothing against him, he’s an okay guy, a bit of a player, but I didn’t fucking like it. I didn’t like the way she smiled at him, leaned in close, or even joked. I liked nothing about it, and it flipped a switch inside my head, the one I can’t seem to control when I’m around her.
It’s the same switch that almost made me strip her down in my office.
I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but after her speech in my office, I realized I need to get my shit together.
This isn’t about me getting my dick wet. This is about taking care of Mac to the best of my ability and finding a way to work with this woman without acting on these fucking urges.
And that’s what I’m doing.
That’s what I promised myself I was doing when I was showing her around the facilities. She already knew about the field because of Bennett, who she kept talking about. That helped because every time I think about him, I think about how pissed he’d be at me for treating his sister the way I have been.
I just need to shake off the irritation. Start new.
Start fresh.
Erase everything up until earlier when she gave her speech about struggling in life and play off that. Because if I don’t, I’ll get caught up in all the wrong things.
“Hey, uh.” Gabby glances around, confused, and it hits me that she might not know that Hattie runs the shop.
Putting on my big boy adult pants, I say, “Gabby, you’ve met Hattie briefly, right?”
“Yes,” she says, taking a step forward.
“She owns The Almond Store, and together, she and my other sister Aubree—I think you briefly met her as well, she runs the farm—create the products you see here. Hattie, you remember Gabby? She’s the tenant above the garage and my new assistant coach.”
Hattie’s smile only grows wider. “Yes, I remember. How are you?”
“I’m doing good.” Gabby glances at me. “I was told I could find some really good cookies here.”
“You sure can. Come on up,” Hattie says, waving to Gabby. “I actually have some fresh ones in the back. How many would you like?”
“Do they freeze well?”
Hattie nods. “Yes, they freeze so well.”
“Maybe half a dozen, then,” Gabby says.
“Sure, be right back.”
“I’ll help,” Mac calls out, leaving me alone with Gabby. Again.
I finish my cookie and wipe my fingers. When the silence is too much to handle, I mutter, “She didn’t give me a fresh one.”
