She nodded once before leaving the living room with my mother following behind. I turned to look over at Gabriel while relief shot through me fast and hard. My heart pounded as he returned the look as well.
We no longer needed to hide.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - GABRIEL
I woke to the sound of my alarm. Sunlight streamed in through the windows for the first time in a few days since the constant cloud cover of a snowstorm passing through. Despite only sleeping for a few hours at the most, I’d never felt more energized as I pushed back the warm sheets and blankets from my legs. Acceptance, even if it was hesitant, had lifted the weight off my shoulders.
Even if Alyssa and Nikki both hadn’t totally come to terms with the relationship, I still meant every word that I told them both. I loved Penny more than anything in the world, and this wasn’t an ego boost for me. Everything about Penny spoke to my soul in ways that I never felt before. I had no intention of letting that go. Ever.
I padded into the bathroom to take a quick shower and ready myself for another long day in the office. The last thing I wanted to do was to sit down at my desk for a few hours while I tried to concentrate on work instead of wanting to bury myself in Penny while I could. Now that there was no fear of anyone walking in on us or finding out, I felt liberated, which only fueled my desires even more.
Alyssa’s door was still shut when I walked by, but the guestroom door was wide open. The bed was already made, too, and the bedside lamp was still on. I continued down the hallway to the kitchen where Penny and Nikki were talking quietly to one another over their coffee. I stopped when they both turned to look over their shoulders at me. My heart swelled when a ghost of a smile tugged at Penny’s lips.
“Morning,” I said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt the conversation. Just coming in to get some coffee before I head into work.”
“You weren’t interrupting,” Nikki said. “We were just talking about what Penny plans to do after she graduates college.”
I kept my face carefully guarded. I didn’t want to discuss any future plans yet, until I talked to Penny alone. She still had to return to school at the end of her break, and then finish up her college career. I loathed the idea of being apart, but I didn’t want to be the reason why Penny didn’t finish college.
“I’m going to go lay down for a little bit,” Penny said. She slid off the barstool next to Nikki while grasping her cup of coffee. “I didn’t sleep all that well last night.”
Her eyes caught mine then. Desire spiraled through me, knowing she hadn’t slept well because we didn’t want to push anything further on anyone. I had resisted the urge to point out that she no longer needed to sleep in the guestroom, now that everyone knew about
us, but neither one of us wanted to upset them any further. It was fresh and fragile.
Penny brushed by me in the direction of the guestroom. I watched her go from the corner of my eye while I poured myself a cup to go.
“Gabriel.”
“Yes?”
Nikki tapped a fingernail against the side of her coffee cup. “No matter how you two feel about one another, I won’t see her not finish college for you, or anyone.”
“I wouldn’t let her do that,” I said, turning to face Nikki fully. “I know how important it is.”
“Yes, I know, but I know my daughter is in love with you. I worry that she might not be able to navigate through a relationship easily while trying to focus on her studies.”
She had a good point there, even though I didn’t want to admit that age did factor into that portion of everything. I knew how to balance a life from years of doing it. Penny had little experience in maintaining a relationship, while also following her own goals.
I smoothed a hand over my jaw to make sure that I had gotten every bit of stubble, then, I met Nikki’s eyes. “I promise to talk with her about it. You don’t have to worry about any of that. I have no grand plans on keeping her against her will when you go back to New York.”
“Very funny,” Nikki muttered sarcastically. “Joke all you want. I’m still going to be concerned about my daughter’s well-being.”
“I would be concerned if you weren’t,” I said. “I have to get going. What are you planning to do this morning?”
“Maybe do a bit of shopping. I’m not sure yet.”
“Well, have a good day, either way.”
A ghost of a smile touched Nikki’s lips then. “You as well. And don’t think that I won’t be keeping tabs on you.”
“I’m aware of that,” I replied as I walked out of the kitchen.
The second that I entered my office, Neil barged in quickly with concern flickering in his eyes. He ran a quick and assessing gaze over me before letting out a small, relieved breath.
“No bullet holes in you,” he said. “How’d the conversations go with Penny’s mom?”
I slipped out of my coat and draped it casually across the back of my chair. Then I sat down and powered on my computer with the intention of playing catch up on work from the past few days since I had left.