Only With Me (With Me 2)

I laughed. Leave it to Charity to make me smile.

“What else is new? How are things with you and Cole?”

She chuckled then said, “They’re good.”

Lifting a brow, I asked, “Just good?”

“Just good. Hey, Beth and Nancy said hi.”

With a gasp, I covered my mouth and shook my head. “You went to knitting club.”

“Yeah well, I guess I was in the mood to knit some shit.”

Laughing, I let out a sigh as my sadness quickly engulfed me again. “I should have never come to Italy.”

“Why?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you when I get back.”

“Gabi, is everything okay? You sound so sad and I know how much you were looking forward to this trip.”

The hair on my body rose as a strange feeling swept over me. I quickly glanced around.

“Gabi?”

Someone was watching me.

“It’s been nice, but I may be coming home early.”

Lanzo’s eyes met mine and I knew that look. I’d seen it before.

“Oh, okay. Um, you’re sure everything is okay?”

Motioning with his head, I started to walk toward him. “Yeah. Listen, my tour is about to start. I need to run. See ya soon and I’ll keep you updated.”

“Sounds good. Love you!”

“Love ya back,” I said before hitting End and walking next to Lanzo.

“Someone is watching me.”

“Yes. I noticed the BMW the other day when it drove by the restaurant.”

I stopped walking. “Were there two men in it?”

He simply nodded.

My heart was racing and fear gripped deep within my soul.

“He couldn’t have found me. Could he have?”

Lanzo placed his hand on my lower back as we picked up the pace. His silence was my answer.

THE FEEL OF the ground hitting below my feet wasn’t enough to drive out the thoughts running in my head.

Stopping, I dropped my hands to my knees and dragged in a deep breath. “Fuck,” I whispered.

My phone buzzed. Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw it was Cole.

Cole: Charity said Gabi’s on her way home.

I stood up. She was coming home early.

Pushing my hand through my hair, I frowned.

Me: I did something I probably shouldn’t have.

Fucking hell. Why did I mention Scarlett when I was talking to Gabi? Hell, I knew my answer before I asked myself the question.

I was angry.

Hurt.

Drunk.

I wanted her to feel the way I felt when I saw her run into that asshole’s arms.

I dragged in a deep breath. None of it mattered because the facts were the facts. Gabi lied to me. Plain and simple. I needed to accept it and move on.

My phone rang and I let out a groan.

“What?”

“Dude, don’t snap my head off.”

I started walking on the trail again. “Sorry, Cole.”

“What did you do to mess up?”

Sighing, I replied, “It’s a long story. But I can tell you this, trust is the key in a relationship. Don’t forget that.”

Cole had found out a few days ago about the baby. He freaked for ten minutes he said, then told Charity he would be there for both her and the baby.

“Okay. What happened, Nic? What did you do?”

“Nothing. How are things with you and Charity?”

“Nice change of subject. They’re going. Every now and then I have a slight panic attack and wonder what in the fuck I’m going to do.”

“You do what you promised Charity you would do. Be there for her and then be a good dad when the baby comes.”

He sighed. “That’s a no brainer. But what about Charity?”

“What about her?”

“I like her, Nic. I like her a lot. But this is all moving so fast.”

I chuckled. “Listen, I hardly think she expects you to drop on one knee and ask her to marry you. She just needs to know that for right now, you’re there supporting her.”

“Yeah. But I’m confused as hell. I never in my life thought I would be happy with one woman. Then she came rushing into my world and everything is turned upside down and the thought of her not being there scares the shit out of me. What the fuck shit is that?”

My chest squeezed. I knew exactly how he felt. “Love. That shit is love.”

I stopped walking when I saw the cab pull up in front of the bakery.

“Yeah. That shit is fucked up.”

Nodding, I said, “Tell me about it. Did Charity mention when Gabi would be getting home?”

“This morning.”

Moving behind a tree, I watched as Gabi climbed out of the cab. She looked exhausted. My heart ached, and I fought the urge to rush across the street and take her into my arms.

When she wiped her face, my world felt like it had fallen apart all over again. She’d been crying.

“Did she say how she was?”

Cole remained silent.

“Cole?”

“She only said that Gabi sounded really upset, but that she would tell her everything when she got home. Nic, what’s going on?”

“Gabi was cheating on me. I got the evidence I needed, so I broke up with her.”