I grunted as I got out of the truck and dragged my ass up the stairs to Gabi’s place. I was positive she was down in the bakery, so I let myself in and headed to her room. I needed a hot shower and a bed.
Her voice drifted into the room as I came to a stop. I slowly made my way over to the balcony. The door was cracked open enough for her voice to carry inside.
She was upset.
“I understand. Yes, Antonio, I don’t need a lecture from you too. I messed up. I had no idea they would do that. I’m very aware of that, thank you very much.”
I frowned. Who was she talking to? There was no way this was a business call. Whoever she was talking to, she knew them personally.
“I’ve already received a lecture from father on this. I don’t need one from you as well.”
My breath stilled. Her father? Her parents were dead.
“I’m already beating myself up for letting this all happen. It got out of hand and I let my guard down. It won’t happen again. Now, can we please change the subject?”
What in the hell is she talking about?
The glass on the door showed her reflection. She was sitting down and a slow smile moved across her face.
“I am excited about Italy. I cannot wait to see you, Antonio. You have no idea.”
A stabbing pain shot through my chest.
Who in the fuck was Antonio?
“No, I just told Charity and Nic that I’m going to visit where I used to go with my family. Charity wanted to come with me, but I told her I needed to do this alone. I’ve told them both I have extended family in Italy. Well, of course I know that.”
I stumbled back. Gabi was lying to both me and Charity. But what was she lying about?
“I love you too, Antonio and I can’t wait to see you.”
And there went the twist of the knife. Turning, I wanted to walk to the front door and leave, but I went to her room instead. I stripped out of my clothes and crawled into her bed. My mind was spinning, and I was too tired to even take a shower.
Who was Antonio? Gabi told me her parents died when she was in high school. Were they alive? Why would she lie?
“I love you too, Antonio and I can’t wait to see you.”
My chest tightened. Maybe he was an old family friend.
The door to her condo opened and closed. She must have been done with the call and headed back to the bakery. Forcing myself to get up, I headed to her bathroom and showered.
Wrapping a towel around my waist, I stared at myself in the mirror. The cold shower woke me up enough to do what I knew I shouldn’t be doing.
I spun on my heels and headed out to the kitchen. Glancing down at Gabi’s itinerary, I took a picture of it with my phone and sent it to Scarlett. Her best friend owned a travel agency.
Me: Can your friend get me on these flights and find me a hotel?
Scarlett replied back within a few minutes.
Scarlett: She said if the flights are full, do you want the closest times to it?
I dragged in a deep breath then whispered to myself, “Why don’t you just ask her, you idiot?”
From the moment I’d met Gabi, I knew she was hiding something. If I asked her, she might make up a story.
No. I needed to see for myself what she was going to be doing and who she was going to be seeing in Italy.
Me: Yes. I need to be there either when this plane lands or before.
Scarlett: Gottcha. On it.
Me: Thanks. I owe you one.
Scarlett: Well, I know how you can repay me back. It’s been a while, Nic.
I didn’t respond. Scarlett knew I was seeing someone, couldn’t believe it, but she knew.
Heading back to Gabi’s room, I fell onto the bed and was surrounded by her smell. My dick instantly got hard thinking about her.
Fuck, I didn’t want to believe she was lying to me or cheating on me, but something in my gut told me both might be true.
The front door opened and Charity came to a halt as she covered her chest.
“Fucking A, Nic. You scared the shit out of me.”
I lifted my brow. Cole had told me a few weeks back about his and Charity’s hook up. He’d been kicking himself in the ass about forgetting a condom and at the same time wondering why Charity hadn’t returned any of his calls the last few days.
“Sorry. I was waiting on Gabi.”
She flashed me a smile. “I forgot she gave you a key.”
When she walked in, I couldn’t help but notice how tired she looked.
“Long day downstairs?”
Charity stopped walking and turned to me. “No. I wasn’t there today.”