The CEO's Favorite

Chapter Thirty Five

As I exit my car, I stare at Gabriel's car that's parked in the driveway. I roll my eyes and walk the short path to the door. I'm not surprised when I open the door and see Gabriel sitting down on the couch in the living room.

Even though I'm mad at him, I can't deny how attractive he looks in casual clothes.

I pretend I don't see him and attempt to walk past him up the stairs. "Ally's mom dropped Lucas off. He's knocked out." I didn't have to pick Lucas up from school today because he had another playdate with Ally and went to her house straight from school.

"Okay," I respond and try to go up the stairs, but Gabriel's voice stops me.

"You took a detour after work." He mentions. Because of my sour mood, I'd taken my own car to work today, letting Gabriel go alone when on a regular day, we shared a ride.

"Yes, I did," I say, not turning around to look at him. I know he's behind me though because his voice sounds closer than before.

"Where'd you go?"

I turn around immediately. "I don't need permission to go somewhere else."

His lips quirk up. "I never said anything about permission, darling. Your detour only got me worried.

I can't help but glare at him. I hate that he's not taking this seriously enough. I hate that he's calling me darling while we're fighting. I hate that I like it. "Well, I went to check the status of my apartment. Speaking of which, you can deduct whatever you spent on it from my next salary."

This wipes the smile right off his face and he takes a step closer. "What? Your apartment? What's wrong with here? Do you not like it because of the reason I bought it?"

Well, while it's kind of odd living in the house he bought for his ex, that's not the exact problem. I cock my head at him. "Is living here not temporary?"

"It doesn't have to be." He whispers, caressing my face. I subconsciously lean into it. It has only been twenty-four hours, but for the week I've been living here, Gabriel doesn't go an hour without physical contact with me. He says one of his love languages is physical touch and it's fucking obvious. "You and Lucas can move all your stuff here."

"Yeah?" I chuckle as I step away from it, no humor to it. "And what will happen to my apartment?"

"You can do whatever you want with it, baby. I want you here."

I grit my teeth. I've forgotten how direct Gabriel can be sometimes. "We've been dating for a month, Gabriel. Couples don't just move in. You don't just start playing pretend family when you've only been dating someone a month."

"One month, one week, and one day," he corrects and I suck on my teeth. "You said you didn't have any doubts about us," he reminds me, looking vulnerable.

The crazy part is I don't mind moving in with him permanently and it seems Lucas doesn't mind at all. I don't mind that we never talked about moving in before we started living together. I don't mind that we're moving a bit too fast even with a child in the picture. I don't mind that I'm attached to him as much as I am.

"Is the house? We can all move. I can buy a different place. We should go house hunting sometime."

I don't know how to reply because the idea excites me, but I don't want to show it. Gabriel is bummed by my silence.

"You said you didn't have any doubts." He repeats.

"Well, that was before you started making decisions behind my back!"

"I don't know how else to tell you that I am sorry, Aria. I really am." He confesses. "If I knew it would upset you this much, I wouldn't have, trust me. I only have your best interests at heart. I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose."

My eyes start tearing up. His love is so pure. I know he has my best interests at heart and that's what is so hard about being mad at him. "I love you too, Gabriel, but that's not just it. You are so fucking secretive, it's making me go crazy trying to figure you out." I snap and I can't help the tears that roll down my eyes. It happens when I get frustrated. "It's like the more I get close to you, the less I know about you. I know nothing about your past, your family. I don't know if you have siblings. I don't know what your relationship with your mother is like. I don't know if you have any friends because if you do, you never talk about them and you definitely don't hang around them when I'm around. It's crazy. This is crazy. You say you love me, but you can't even let me in!"

At this point, I don't care if Lucas wakes up. I don't care about anything and it also seems like Gabriel doesn't care about anything else I was saying except, "You love me?"

"Of course, I do, you ass! Isn't it fucking obvious? I let you meet my parents! Lucas' father never met my parents!"

"You really do love me, baby?"

"I swear, I just want to hit you right now," I warn. He's ignoring everything else. He's ignoring me pouring out my feelings. I really do feel like hitting his ass.

I can't do that though because, in the next second, he kisses me. He kisses me with everything he has. He kisses me like I'm all he has and I can't help but kiss him the same way. It's like he's pouring his emotions into that one kiss and right there, I feel his walls breaking down.

When he pulls away, his eyes are teary. "I love you too. Come on, let's talk."