Page 80 of Enticed
“You’re going tohim,aren’t you?” Dad questioned, but I ignored him. I didn’t owe him an answer. “I forbid it.”
“I don’t live here anymore. Remember? I don’t have to follow your rules.” I opened the door but paused when he spoke again.
“If you choose that man over your own family, then don’t come back.”
My mother let out a strangled sob. “Elwood, no.”
“Goodbye, Dad.” I shut the door behind me and left the only home I had ever known.
Gabe staredat me in stunned disbelief as I stood on his front porch, suitcase in tow. My chest squeezed and my heart ached at the dark smudges beneath his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, and his normally tanned skin was sallow. He was clearly in as bad of shape as I was, maybe even worse. He blinked several times as though I was an apparition and he was trying to clear his vision.
“Jasmine? Wh-what are you doing here?”
I lifted my chin and injected as much confidence into my voice as possible. “I’m moving in.” He stepped aside withouthesitation like he’d just been waiting for this day to come. I breezed past him, rolling my suitcase behind me.
He shut the door and turned to face me. “What do you mean you’re moving in?”
“I made a choice,” I replied.
“A choice?” he asked, probing for more information. I didn’t want to tell him the rest because I knew he’d be furious with my dad, and I didn't want to cause any more strife between them. It was my sincere hope that they could one day repair their fractured relationship.
“I had to decide if I wanted to stay with my family or keep seeing you. I choose you,” I said, stepping closer and sliding my palm against his stubbled cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch, savoring it for a moment before my words sank in. His dreamy expression turned fierce.
“He made you choose between me and your family?” he asked through clenched teeth. I nodded, and his eyes filled with sadness. Releasing a resigned sigh, he reached for me. “Come here.” He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into my hair.
“It’s not your fault. He chose to be a stubborn ass, not you.” He snorted a laugh and I giggled, breaking the tension.
“What now?” he asked.
“I don’t know. We’re both currently jobless and?—”
“He fired you too?” Gabe asked, pulling away and staring at me with indignation.
“Well, no, but when he told me not to come back if I chose you, and I left anyway, I assumed that included my work at the ranch too,” I said with a shrug. I tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but it hurt. My father was choosing pride and anger over me. He had completely disregarded my feelings and wishes, and when he couldn’t control me, he delivered an ultimatum.Too bad he forgot that I could be just as stubborn as him, and I had no problem calling his bluff.
His shoulders slumped with regret. “I never wanted this to happen. I don’t want to come between you and your family.”
I cupped his face in my hands and looked him square in the eyes. “This is on them, not you. They could have supported my decision. Instead, they tried to force my hand, and it backfired on them.”
“Jasmine,” he began and swallowed hard, guilt flashing in his eyes.
“Don’t. Don’t try to push me away again because you’re feeling guilty. We did nothing wrong.Youdid nothing wrong.”
“We lied to them,” he said.
“We didn’t lie. We just didn’t tell them right away.”
“A lie of omission,” he said, but it lacked conviction. His arms snaked around my waist, and I tangled my fingers in his hair.
“We were trying to see if it would work out before announcing we’re together,” I countered as he tugged me closer, and something shifted in the air around us.
“Is it,” he began, his gaze falling to my mouth, “working out?”
“I’d say so,” I offered playfully.
“Then where do we go from here?”
“I’ve never been in your bed before. I say we start there.” My tone was playful, but there was a hint of pleading that exposed the vulnerability I felt. I needed this. It had been an emotional twenty-four hours, and our connection was the life raft keeping me afloat in a storm that threatened to pull me under. It was the only tether I had to keep me from drowning.
